AEB_A15a Paleolithic in Central Europe - seminar

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2023
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Ludmila Kaňáková Hladíková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
doc. PhDr. Martin Oliva, Ph.D., DSc. (lecturer)
doc. Mgr. Klára Šabatová, Ph.D. (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Ludmila Kaňáková Hladíková, Ph.D.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Šibíčková
Supplier department: Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 16:00–17:40 M12, except Mon 13. 11.
Prerequisites (in Czech)
AEB_A14a Paleolithic in Central Europe || NOW( AEB_A14a Paleolithic in Central Europe )
Předpokladem je absolvování nebo současný zápis předmětu AEB_A14a Paleolithic and Mesolithic in Central Europe. Schopnost přinejmenším pasivně zvládnout odborný archeologický text v anglickém a německém jazyce (po domluvě v jiné cizí řeči).
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 9 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Seminar to the course which provides an introduction to history of Palaeolithic research on our territory, basic concepts from the cooperating natural sciences, classification, characteristic and utilization of raw materials for chipped stone industry, typology of chipped stone industry and chronological, anthropological and archaeological aspects of the Lower Palaeolithic to Mesolithic periods.
Learning outcomes
After completion of the course, student will be able to:
- formulate the knowledge acquired during study of recommended literature on the given topic, and set the results of this study into wider context;
- present the selected topic to colleagues in the form of a pictorial presentation;
- compare scholarly opinions about the selected problem;
- hold a discussion about a research topic and give reasonable arguments;
- offer to the colleagues a short written paper about the selected topic (inquiry, theses) including bibliography.
Syllabus
  • 1. History of Palaeolithic research on our territory: the period until 1914; main places of work and persons after WWII.
  • 2. Basic concepts from the cooperating natural sciences: geology – division of the Quaternary period; glacial cycle; types of deposits.
  • 3. Archaeological materials. Division, characteristic and utilization of raw materials for chipped stone industry Technology: artefact; basic concepts (style, technique, method); types of retouch, their functions. Dynamic classification of the Polish school; the study of operation sequences in France. Experiments; ethnographic analogies; use-wear analysis. Pseudoartefacts.
  • 4. Typology of chipped stone industry.
  • 5. Lower Palaeolithic: finds of Homo heidelbergensis; pebble, fragment and fine-shaped industries; scavenging; chronologically by the end of Holstein interglacial.
  • 6. Middle Palaeolithic: flake industries; Levallois and discoid methods; hunting specialization?; regional and local stability of industries; finds of the Neanderthal people; first burials (so far not in the area of interest).
  • 7. The question of transition to Upper Palaeolithic – local continuity or arrival of the H.s.s. from Africa through the Near East? Chronological, anthropological and archaeological aspects of the issue. The oldest Upper Palaeolithic industries (Szeletian, Bohunician) and their counterparts in Europe and the Near East.
  • 8. Aurignacian – the first civilisation of anatomically modern humans on the whole territory of Europe and the Near East. The oldest entirely worked bone weapons; Upper Palaeolithic blade technique. Míškovice type in East Moravia.
  • 9. Middle phase of Upper Palaeolithic – Gravettian; in Moravia an advanced civilisation of Pavlovian. The role of mammoth hunting in the increase in social complexity. The shift of settlement into river valleys; chipped stone industry and the imported raw materials; the boom of bone industry, ornaments and art; variable handling with human remains; interpretation of the so-called dumps of mammoth bones. Upper Gravettian complexes with notched points.
  • 10. Epiaurignacian and Epigravettian as a manifestation of economic change with the worsening climate of Upper Würm. The continued connection to erratic flint resources; large settlement agglomerations in Central Moravia; hyper-specialization of the typological sphere; revival of the leaf point tradition. Proto-Magdalenian phenomena in Grubgraben.
  • 11. Magdalenian – the last great civilisation of hunters in Europe and the position of Moravia at its eastern edge. Occupation of caves and sporadic open-air sites (the latter are typical of Thuringia); prevalence of reindeer and horse in the game fauna; development of throwing weapons from antlers; chipped stone industry and its raw materials; absence of burials; engravings of animals and stylised representations of women.
  • 12. Late Palaeolithic – development of local groups in the Late Glacial; greater mobility of groups of people; extraction of silicites and ochre in Poland; specialized workshops. The character of settlements (mostly short-term and open-air sites); the decline of art.
  • 13. Mesolithic: nature at the beginning of the Holocene; the situation of settlements – both at river sandbanks and in remote areas, under overhangs etc.; utilization of minor local resources of food and raw materials; variability of adaptation in various ecological zones as an alternative to the origins of plant cultivation and domestication of animals in the Near East. Spread of agriculture: invasion versus acculturation. The attitude of hunters and gatherers to the adoption of productive economy.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • SÁZELOVÁ, Sandra, Alena MIZEROVÁ and Martin NOVÁK. Forgotten times and spaces: New perspectives in paleoanthropological, paleoethnological and archeological perspectives. Brno: Institute of Archeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences; Masaryk University, 2015, 618 pp. ISBN 978-80-7524-000-2. info
  • PŁONKA, Tomasz. Kultura symboliczna społeczeństw łowiecko-zbierackich środkowej Europy u schyłku paleolitu. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 2012, 558 stran. ISBN 9788322933190. info
  • NERUDA, Petr, Martina LÁZNIČKOVÁ-GALETOVÁ and Gabriela DRESLEROVÁ. Retouchers and bones with grooves from the Kůlna Cave in the Moravian Karst :interdisciplinary analysis of hard materials from middle palaeolithic horizons. Vyd. 1. Brno: Moravské zemské muzeum, 2011, 125 s. ISBN 9788070283776. info
  • NERUDA, Petr. Střední paleolit v moravských jeskyních (Middle Palaeolithic in Moravian Caves). 1st ed. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, 2011, 247 pp. Dissertationes Archaeologicae Brun/Prag 8. ISBN 978-80-210-5444-8. info
  • VENCL, Slavomil and Jan FRIDRICH. Archeologie pravěkých Čech – Svazek 2: Paleolit a mezolit. Praha: Archeologický ústav AV ČR, Praha, v.v.i., 2007, 164 pp. ISBN 978-80-86124-76-6. info
  • NOVÁK, Martin. Pavlov I - Southeast: Review of spatial distributions. In Pavlov I - Southeast : A Window Into the Gravettian Lifestyles. Brno: Archeologický ústav AVČR Brno, 2005, p. 53-71. Dolnověstonické studie 14. ISBN 80-86023-67-2. info
  • SVOBODA, Jiří, P. HAVLÍČEK, V. LOŽEK, J. MACOUN, R. MUSIL, A. PŘICHYSTAL, H. SVOBODOVÁ and E. VLČEK. Paleolit Moravy a Slezska. 2. aktualizované vydání. (Paleolithic of Moravia and Silesia. 2nd revised edition.). ČR: Archeologický ústav AV ČR Brno, 2002. Dolnověstonické studie 8. ISBN 80-86023-40-0. info
  • PODBORSKÝ, Vladimír et al. Pravěké dějiny Moravy. Brno: Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, 1993, 543 pp. ISBN 80-85048-45-0. info
Teaching methods
lectures, discussions about chosen topics, teaching in the depository of the Moravian Museum, visit to permanent exhibition in the Anthropos Pavilion
Assessment methods
Active participation, detailed knowledge of the development tendencies of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic in Central Europe; basic knowledge of the most important sites (e.g. the Kůlna Cave, Předmostí, Willendorf, Smolín, etc.), identification of the basic techniques, types and raw materials of chipped stone industry on marked examples.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Information on completion of the course: Ke získání kolokvia je třeba dostatečná a aktivní účast a splnění zadaných referátů.
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021.
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