The Bronze Age Mediterranean (3000- 1100 BCE)

Aims

This course aims to: 

• introduce you to the Archaeology of the Mediterranean Bronze in a diachronic perspective, from the Early Bronze Age to the 11th century BCE and a wide geographic perspective from the easternmost Mediterranean islands and Anatolia to Sardinia and the Balearic Islands
   
• cover a wide range of topics, such as the archaeology and history of different Mediterranean regions, environments and resources, economy, food, and subsistence patterns, including discussions on biodiversity and sustainability in the past and present
   
• examine the distinctive art and material cultures of the Mediterranean, including immaterial culture and heritage and provide methodological tools for you to assess and distinguish between different art and material culture categories

Content

What shaped life in the Ancient Mediterranean during the Bronze Age period? This course offers an overview of life in the prehistoric Mediterranean including discussions on what influences culture, ways of living and creating architecture, art, material culture, as well as language and heritage. The cultures of the Bronze Age Mediterranean were constantly shaped by interaction between Mediterranean island regions and their surrounding mainlands, this course brings the study of the Ancient Mediterranean world, into this perspective. We will focus on specific case studies examining large environments and their cultural evolutions (e.g., Minoan Crete, Mycenaean Greece, Nuragic Sardinia, Cyprus during the Bronze Age and Anatolia) as well as networks between these territories and their dynamics. Overall, this course will extend our perspective from the ‘hegemony’ of the Mediterranean cultures such as Greece and Rome during antiquity and urge us to think of Mediterranean identities and cultures as hybrid formations linked to geography, resources, interaction, and human mobility. 

Presentation of the course 

Methods of teaching this course will include presentation and assessment of archaeological, historical, and ancient literature evidence, as well as evidence of visual culture data revealing the complexity of Bronze Age identities and the range of cultures in the Mediterranean. Participants will be encouraged to contribute and expand on the given materials, and they will be supported to form their own evaluation and analysis of the material covered during the sessions.

Course sessions

1. The Neolithic Mediterranean: This session will introduce the context across this vast region and its landscapes and offer perspectives on the processes of the Neolithic period, early communities, burial customs, and resources.
    
2. The 3rd millennium BCE across Anatolia and Greece: In this session we look at the fascinating processes of urbanisation and rise of social complexities across the Mediterranean basin.
    
3. A region shaped by islands and mobility: In this session we look at the distinctive shape of island cultures and their identity, as well as the role of large Mediterranean islands and small networks of islands, in shaping mobility and connectivity across the region.
    
4.  The 2nd millennium BCE: major developments and collapse of Bronze Age systems towards the end of the millennium. In this session we look at the peak of Bronze Age powers such as the Minoans, Mycenaeans and Nuragic people and examine scenarios of their decline. 
    
5. All change: the onset of the Iron Age: new resources and structures. In this session we explore the dynamic changes occurring after the collapse of the Bronze Age systems across the Mediterranean and how particular communities adapted, survived, or evolved.

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to equip you with an understanding of the core themes and questions that drive the discipline of Mediterranean prehistory, in a broad comparative perspective that considers developments in different chronological periods
   
• to become familiar with the role of different types of architecture, material culture and organic residues used in our interpretations
   
• to acquire methodological and theoretical tools enabling you to assess linguistic, epigraphic, and immaterial culture evidence, and how to use these to understand human activity and evolution of Bronze Age societies

Required reading

Broodbank, C, The Making of the Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean from the Beginning to the Emergence of the Classical World (Thames &Hudson, Ltd 2013) Chapters 7 -8 and Chapter 1 if you have time https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cam/reader.action?docID=5067363 

Blake, E, and Knapp, A, B, editors, The Archaeology of Mediterranean Prehistory (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 2004) – available on the VLE.

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.