An important part of being an active researcher in archaeology is generating new knowledge and ideas about the archaeological past. This includes excavating new sites, examining artifacts and ecofacts, and reviewing data in new ways. In this assignment, you are the researcher digging for new clues amongst the data.

Begin by choosing an important site or type of site that was built and/or used in British early prehistory. You must email me no later than February 19 to clear your choice. Read as much as you can about your site/type site and critically evaluate the data and leading interpretations.

Next, write a paper (max. 2500 words) that discusses

      – your sites significance, what it tells us about the past, and how its use/significance changed over time

      – the data that have been gathered and the leading interpretations

      – any controversies that surround these interpretations

      – your critical analysis of the interpretations (use the ‘Thinking Critically’ handout to help guide you)

Make sure you use concrete data and examples to support your ideas and cite all of your information in text and include a bibliography at the end of your paper. There are several handouts in the Student Writing Support folder to help guide you through this process of research, analysis, essay planning, and persuasive writing.

Your paper should be supported by a minimum of 10 reliable, scholarly resources, including at least 1 site/excavation report, that are correctly referenced using the Harvard method. In your research, avoid websites, blogs, newspaper articles and magazine articles because they are not detailed enough for this assignment. You must submit your paper online in the dropbox folder provided no later than March 29, 2020 at 11:59 pm. Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5% per day, inclusive of weekends.

Here are a few sites or types of sites you may wish to research, but you are not limited to these.

Durrington Walls, Wiltshire    henges
Cairnpapple, West Lothian, Scotland    stone circles
Milfield Basin henge complex, Northumberland    recumbent stone circles
Maes Howe, Orkney    chambered cairns
Barnhouse, Fife    timber longhouses
Castlerigg Stone Circle, Cumbria    round barrows
Thornborough henges, Yorkshire    long barrows
Star Carr, Yorkshire    passage graves
Knap of Howar, Orkney    burnt mounds