FF:AEA_23 La Tene in Cental Europe - Course Information

AEA_23 La Tene in Cental Europe

Extent and Intensity

2/0/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

doc. PhDr. Miloš Čižmář, CSc. (lecturer)

Guaranteed by

prof. PhDr. Zdeněk Měřínský, CSc.
Department of Archaeology and Museology – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Dobešová

Timetable

Mon 8:20–9:55 C33

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 7 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

The lecture familiarizes the students with the issues of the La Tène period in the territory of Central Europe in broader cultural and genetic connections. The lectures will be focused on the methodological aspects of the study of Czech, Bavarian, Moravian, Austrian, Slovak and Hungarian territories from the Late Hallstatt to the period around the turn of the Christian Era. The introductory part of the instruction is devoted to the contacts of the West Hallstatt princely milieu with the Mediterranean (Greek and Etruscan imports), the process of formation of the Celtic ethnic, and the emergence of an Old La Tène creative style. It continues with the instruction on the causes and course of the Celtic expansion, the flat cemeteries and their importance for the cognition of the Celtic society stratification. Attention will be paid to the current state of research of settlement formations, a new view of the significance and role of oppida for the Central European Celtic civilization, an assessment of the level of economy and trade. The lecture also includes an overview of Celtic religious conceptions and points out their reflections in the creative art.

Syllabus

• 1. Spatial and temporal definition, basic terminology and entities of Central European Celts. Overview of the main periodization systems of La Tène. Issues of relative and absolute chronology. 2. Characteristic of the Late Hallstatt “princely” milieu (Upper Danubian area, eastern France); its contacts with the Mediterranean (Greek and Etruscan imports). 3. Early La Tène magnate burials and fortifications (Hochdorf, Hradiště near Písek, Dürrnberg, Závist near Prague, Černov). The emergence of Old La Tène decorative style. 4. Overview of opinions of the historic Celts presence in the territory of Bohemia. Causes and main directions of their expansion. Pre-Duchcov horizon; Duchcov-Münsingen horizon. Celtic flat cemeteries, their chronology and general criteria. 5. Characteristics of flat cemeteries in Bohemia, Bavaria, Moravia and Austria (conformities, differences, specifics). 6. Characteristic of flat cemeteries in the Carpathian Basin - Slovakia, Hungary, Transylvania (conformities, differences, specifics). Anthropology of the Central European Celts. Stratification of the La Tène society based on the analysis of cemeteries. 7. Celtic settlement formations, their hierarchy and classification. Types of settlement features, knowledge of the settlement buildings as a whole. The relation of habitats and flat cemeteries. 8. Introduction to the issues of oppida, discussion of the definition of oppidum. Prerequisites and causes of their emergence. Types and variants of oppidal fortifications. An overview of problematic “oppida”. 9. Current status of the research of oppida in Bavaria and Bohemia and Moravia. Oppida in the Carpathian area (Bratislava, the Dacians in SW Slovakia). Late La Tène upland fortified settlements. 10. Examples of upland fortified settlements from the Middle Danubian area (Freinberg, Gründberg, Wien-Leopoldsberg, Braunsberg, Děvín) and East Slovakia (Zemplín). 11. Issues of quadrangular enclosed grounds, their spatial and significance relation to oppida (Bavaria, Bohemia, Moravia). Issues of knowability of the burial rite in the Late La Tène period. 12. An overview of Celtic religious conceptions. Data from written sources; archaeological manifestations of Celtic faith: cultic places, votive deposits, burial rite, plastic art. 13. Economic characteristic of the Central European La Tène. The importance of agriculture. Examples of manufacturing agglomerations, development of specialized crafts. The development of Celtic coinage, the level of long-distance and interior trade. 14. Púchov culture. Its spreading, development, ethnicity, types of settlements and main sites. Issues of “latenization” of the non-Celtic groups within the studied territory. 15. Assessment of technical and civilization progress of the Celtic society. Views on the causes of perishing of Central European Celts. Proofs of survival of Celtic groups (civitas Boiorum) in the Roman era.

Literature

• PODBORSKÝ, Vladimír. Pravěké dějiny Moravy. Edited by Jaromír Kubíček. V Brně: Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, 1993, 543 s. ISBN 8085048450. info

Assessment methods

Requirements for the colloquium: knowledge of the assigned specialist literature; overview of knowledge acquired during the lectures.

Language of instruction

Czech

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Information on completion of the course: Informace ke způsobu ukončení viz sylabus.
The course is taught once in two years.

• Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2007, recent)
  
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