Course: Archaeology of Death and Burial 1

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Course title Archaeology of Death and Burial 1
Course code KAR/SMRT1
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter
Number of ECTS credits 3
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Makovička Tomáš, PhDr. Ph.D.
Course content
This lecture series presents the development of burial forms and customs in prehistoric societies from the perspective of archaeology. The lecture begins with a theoretical introduction and a discussion of ethical issues related to the study of burial sources. The lecture then focuses on an overview of burial methods in different periods and geographical areas (especially Europe), and attention is also paid to the phenomenon of building funerary monuments. Specific methods of archaeological research applied to particular finding situations are also selectively discussed throughout the course. 1. Introduction 2. Ethic questions of studying sources of burial rite 3. Oldest evidence of intentional burials (Middle and Late Paleolithic) 4. First extensice burial sites (Mesolithic) 5. Burial rite of the oldest agriculturers (Neolithic) 6. Monumentality of tombs and structure of society (Eneolithic) 7. Tradition and changes at the beginning of the Bronze Age 8. Rich burials of the Bronze Age. 9. Elite burials of the Iron Age (Halstatt) 10. Excursion: remarkable graves in the Altai region 11. Burial rite of the Celts (La Téne period) 12. Death in ancient Rome and Greece 13. Burials of the Roman period in the Barbaricum

Learning activities and teaching methods
Lecture
  • Contact hours - 26 hours per semester
  • Preparation for an examination (30-60) - 52 hours per semester
prerequisite
Knowledge
To characterize individual periods of prehistory
To orientate in excavation and documentation methods in archaeology
Skills
To understand a scientifically-structured lecture
To read and to understand a scientific text in Czech and English/German
To use electronic information sources
Competences
N/A
N/A
learning outcomes
Knowledge
To outline basic trends of burial rites and important empiric finds of prehistory, and to recognize their cultural context
Will be able to determine the basic forms of the burial rite as it is documented in the archaeological and anthropological and historic sources
Will culturally contextualize some of the important empirical finds
To know basic terminology connected with prehistoric burial
Skills
To identify importand trends in burial rites of individual prehistoric periods
Competences
N/A
N/A
teaching methods
Knowledge
Lecture with visual aids
Skills
Lecture with visual aids
Competences
Lecture with visual aids
One-to-One tutorial
Self-study of literature
assessment methods
Knowledge
Written exam
Skills
Written exam
Competences
Written exam
Recommended literature
  • Pearson, Mike Parker. The archaeology of death and burial. [Gloucestershire] : Sutton Publishing, 2001. ISBN 0-7509-1777-6.
  • Planck, D. Der Keltenfürst von Hochdorf: Methoden und Ergebnisse der Landesarchäologie in Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart, 1985.
  • Podborský, Vladimír. Dvě pohřebiště neolitického lidu s lineární keramikou ve Vedrovicích na Moravě : výstup výzkumného projektu GA ČR č. 404/00/1070 = Zweigräberfelder des neolitischen Volkes mit Linearbandkeramik in Vedrovice in Mähren. Brno : Masarykova univerzita, 2002. ISBN 80-210-2933-1.
  • Podborský, Vladimír. Pravěké dějiny Moravy. Brno : Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, 1993. ISBN 80-85048-45-0.
  • Rudenko, S. I. Der zweite Kurgan von Pasyryk : arbeitsergebnisse der Expedition des Institutes für Geschichte der materiallen Kultur der Akademie der Wissenschaften der UdSSR v J. 1947 : vorläufiger Bericht. Berlin : Kultur und Forschrift, 1951.
  • Svoboda, J. Paleolit a mezolit: pohřební ritus. Brno, 2003.
  • Šmejda, Ladislav. Archaeology of burial mounds. Ústí nad Labem : Vlasta Králová, 2006. ISBN 80-903412-6-8.
  • Šmejda, Ladislav; Turek, Jan. Spatial analysis of funerary areas. Plzeň : Aleš Čeněk, 2004. ISBN 80-86898-07-5.
  • Waldhauser, Jiří. Jak se kopou keltské hroby : laténská pohřebiště ze 4.-3. století v Čechách. Praha : Lidové noviny, 1999. ISBN 80-7106-300-2.
  • Zápotocká, Marie. Bestattungsritus des böhmischen Neolithikums (5500-4200 B.C.) : Gräber und Bestattungen der Kultur mit Linear-, Stichband- und Lengyelkeramik. Praha : Archäologisches Institut der Akademie der Wissenschaften der Tschechischen Republik, 1998. ISBN 80-86124-13-4.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester