This course provides an overview of the hunter-gatherer-fisher communities of Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ireland and Europe, spanning a period of approximately 25,000 years. The lifeways of these hunter-gatherer-fisher communities will be explored through themes including economy and diet; settlement and mobility; significance of natural places; lithics and lithic technology; microwear analysis; burial and funerary practise; ritual and votive deposition; and aDNA analyses.

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the environment, landscape and fauna of Upper Palaeolithic Ireland and Britain.

2. Describe the evidence for settlement, economy, material culture, ritual and funerary practices of Upper Palaeolithic Ireland and Europe.

3. Describe the evidence for settlement, economy, material culture, ritual and funerary practices of Mesolithic Europe.

Megalithic monuments(from the Greek for 'Big Stones') are the most distinctive and visible evidence for the presence prehistoric peoples and their ritual and funerary activities in Ireland. This module examines the remains of the various types of megaliths found in Ireland with a focus on the Neolithic period (c.4000-2500 BCE). It also explores monuments from the early site of Gobekli Tepe in Turkey, to monuments in Northern Europe, Iberia, France and Britain, along with others in Asia and the Americas, in order to explore potential associated meanings, activities, beliefs and society related to the rationale behind their construction, and their use and re-use through time. Each monument is unique, but there are some typological, regional and chronological relations between a number of European megalithic constructions. The course also contextualises these monuments within the broader Irish Neolithic time period and into the Bronze Age, and looks at other evidence of monumentality, ritual and funerary activities.

1. Describe the various megalithic monuments of Ireland

2. Outline the various types of megaliths found across Europe

3. Be aware of the material culture associated with the megalithic tombs of Ireland

4. Contextualise Megalithic monuments within the broader knowledge of the Irish Neolithic

In this module, the student will travel through the Bronze and Iron Ages in Ireland and Europe (2400BC to AD400), from the development of metallurgy to the introduction of Christianity. Students will explore changes in burial/ritual practices, settlement and land use, in addition to technological developments.

1. Demonstrate awareness concerning arguments regarding the introduction of metallurgy in Ireland

2. Demonstrate detailed knowledge of Bronze and Iron Age settlement, material culture/technology, economy and ritual activities

3. Express archaeological data and ideas concerning the Bronze and Iron Ages through both written and oral formats