This module reunites the study and analysis of prehistoric societies around the Mediterranean basin into a coherent if diverse field of exploration. It takes a long-term perspective, ranging from the last Ice Age to the start of the 1st millennium BC, and a broad spatial approach, seeking to identify the overall trends and conditions that underlie local phenomena. Opening topics include the glacial Mediterranean, origins of seafaring, diverse early Holocene trajectories, including Levantine-European farming, and Neolithic and eastern Chalcolithic societies. The crux of the module is formed by the multiple transformations of the late 4th and 3rd millennium BC, including the environmental mediterraneanisation of the basin, the rise of the first complex societies and world-systemic relations in Egypt, the Levant and adjacent areas, and the equally new societies of Mediterranean Europe. Later sessions explore the Mediterranean during the 2nd millennium BC, comparing societies in the east, centre and west and the interactions between them. A final session examines the transition to the Iron Age Mediterranean. . This module  may taken in conjunction with courses in the prehistory of specific regions, such as the Aegean, Italy, the Levant, Anatolia and Egypt, as well as Europe and Africa. 

Aims of the course

To provide advanced, well-rounded, inter-disciplinary training in the prehistory of the Mediterranean
	To introduce students to the most important current research questions
	To instruct students in critical analysis of current research (problems, method and theory, the quality of evidence, substantive results)
	To recognise and interrogate the main classes of material, imagery and monuments in the early Mediterranean
	To prepare students to undertake original research in Mediterranean prehistoric archaeology
Learning Outcomes

ability in reading and debate through assessment and evaluation of alternative interpretations, and presentation of reasoned conclusions
	recognition of the linkages between data, methods and ideas
	application of the methods and theories of inter-disciplinary analysis
	skill in integrating a variety of evidence from different disciplines into overall interpretations
	proficiency in the setting out information and ideas clearly in written form
	preparation for designing and operationalising research topics in this field.
Teaching Methods

The course is taught through weekly seminars which  have weekly recommended readings, which students will be expected to have done, to be able fully to follow and actively to contribute to discussion.

Further information is available here https://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/study/graduate-taught/courses/mediterranean-prehistory