Foragers to Farmers: The Archaeology of Early Societies (Sc)
This course taught me about archaeological evidence of past early societies. I gained a better understanding about the transition from hunting and gathering to a semi-sedentary and sedentary life. We learned about the early changes in human groups that were the precursors to social organisation today. We analysed and reviewed findings from the archaeological record and the theories developed from the evidence. Assessments and assignments included seminar participation, quizzes, a midterm, final exam, and final paper.
As a requisite for my degree, I needed to take this course. Unfortunately, it was during the brunt of the pandemic. Some educators had yet to completely grasp Zoom and its features. Sometimes, educators did not understand why students did not want to have their webcams on. Students with slower internet connections struggled to stay connected during synchronous meetings, which resulted in missing notes. For those who were not used to teaching online courses, the pandemic was a learning curve. Albeit, I learned a lot from this course and would recommend it to students who are interested in learning about the origins of sedentary lifestyles.
For the final paper, we were given free reign to choose our topic of focus, as long as it pertained to the course. In learning about subsistence practices of our ancestors, cannibalism was briefly touched upon during lecture. As a student who finds cannibalism to be a fascinating ritual amongst both human and non-human primates, I took the opportunity to focus my research on cannibalistic tendencies in our ancestors.
Excavations at Gran Dolina
Photo by CESAR MANSO/AFP via Getty Images
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