Students

ARCH2201 – Archaeology of Texts and Material Culture: Minos and Mycenae

2026 – Session 1, Online-flexible

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff
Susan Lupack
susan.lupack@mq.edu.au
Lecturer, Tutor
Nicholas Kazmias
nicholas.kazamias@mq.edu.au
Contact via email
By appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
40cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
The Minoan and the Mycenaean cultures of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000–1100 BCE), whose legends were recounted in Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey, have been traditionally referred to as ‘prehistoric’, implying they were non-literate. But both cultures kept records of their transactions and interacted with other states whose regular political correspondence is preserved on clay tablets. This unit explores the methods used to interpret the rich material culture and textual evidence of these closely intertwined societies, utilising artistic iconography, architectural site plans, the distribution of ceramic styles, archaeogenetics, and yet undeciphered Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B scripts, which represents an early form of Greek. Students will investigate the information provided by the Linear A and Linear B texts, analysing for both the information they provide and for what they do not. Other forms of material culture will be sought to fill in those gaps. Students will critically engage with topics such as the historiography of Bronze Age scholarship, changing interpretations of the nature of Minoan society, and the evolving understanding of extra-palatial Mycenaean networks, in order to reflect on how culturally contingent our view of the past can be, but also how inspiring it is to know that there is room for new and independent thinking.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate knowledge of key artefacts, sites, and texts, representing the Minoan and Mycenaean societies of the Aegean Bronze Age.
  • ULO2: Understand how the investigation of material culture leads to cultural insights concerning the social, economic, political, and religious aspects of human societies.
  • ULO3: Engage with the Linear A and Linear B documents and evaluate the interpretive value of textual evidence. in conjunction with other types of material culture.
  • ULO4: Critically assess the historiography of Aegean Bronze Age archaeology, reflecting on the influence of cultural perspectives in shaping historical narratives.
  • ULO5: Locate, analyse, and synthesise a range of primary and secondary source materials, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.

General Assessment Information

NOTE: If you use AI, you will have to include a statement at the top of your essay detailing which version you used, how you used it, and for what purposes. If you use any AI-generated text, you must cite it and provide the link. We will discuss the use of AI further in class.

LATE SUBMISSION OF ASSESSMENT TASKS : 

Please let me know ahead of time if you are having difficulty completing an assessment. It's just good for us to know that something is going on even if you do not want to share what it is that is keeping you from submitting by the due date. We want to help you do well in the class.  Please apply for a Special Consideration if you need one!

Please note: The policy is that unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – five (5) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Research Essay 35% No Week 13, Sunday 7 June, 23:59 Individual No Open
Problem set 30% No Sundays Weeks 2-5, 7-12 Individual No Open
Presentation 35% No Recess, Sunday, 12 April, 23:59 Individual No Observed

Research Essay

Assessment Type 1: Written Submission
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 13, Sunday 7 June, 23:59
Weighting: 35%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Students will research a given topic dealing with key themes in the archaeology of the Greek Bronze Age.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of key artefacts, sites, and texts, representing the Minoan and Mycenaean societies of the Aegean Bronze Age.
  • Understand how the investigation of material culture leads to cultural insights concerning the social, economic, political, and religious aspects of human societies.
  • Engage with the Linear A and Linear B documents and evaluate the interpretive value of textual evidence. in conjunction with other types of material culture.
  • Critically assess the historiography of Aegean Bronze Age archaeology, reflecting on the influence of cultural perspectives in shaping historical narratives.
  • Locate, analyse, and synthesise a range of primary and secondary source materials, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.

Problem set

Assessment Type 1: Problem-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: Sundays Weeks 2-5, 7-12
Weighting: 30%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Open

Short answer problems focused on material taken from the lecture and readings.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of key artefacts, sites, and texts, representing the Minoan and Mycenaean societies of the Aegean Bronze Age.
  • Engage with the Linear A and Linear B documents and evaluate the interpretive value of textual evidence. in conjunction with other types of material culture.
  • Critically assess the historiography of Aegean Bronze Age archaeology, reflecting on the influence of cultural perspectives in shaping historical narratives.

Presentation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 25 hours
Due: Recess, Sunday, 12 April, 23:59
Weighting: 35%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

Students will analyse and research an artefact of their choice from the Minoan or Mycenaean world. Students will discuss their work in a presentation.
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of key artefacts, sites, and texts, representing the Minoan and Mycenaean societies of the Aegean Bronze Age.
  • Engage with the Linear A and Linear B documents and evaluate the interpretive value of textual evidence. in conjunction with other types of material culture.
  • Locate, analyse, and synthesise a range of primary and secondary source materials, including material evidence, ancient texts, and modern scholarship.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • Academic Success for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

DELIVERY

Lectures: Lectures will be delivered live! There will be interaction during the lecture! Please join in!!  I love to see as many of you there as possible! 

The lectures will also be recorded for the Online/flexible students, so you will be able to access them on the Echo360 platform via our iLearn site. It takes a bit of time for the lectures to be formatted and loaded, so keep in mind that the tutorials build on the lecture -- if you are attending one of the tutorials that take place right after the lecture, either come to the lecture in person, or watch it as it is live-streamed so that you are ready for the tutorial.

Tutorials:

Each week in our tutorials we will expand on the knowledge we gather from the lectures and the readings - please make sure that you attend or watch the lecture before the tutorial as very often we will use material from the lecture in the tutorials. 

'Tutorial questions' or a specific prompt will be provided that we will discuss in the tutorials. Keep in mind that you can also use these tutorial questions or prompts as a guide to what is most important in the lectures and the readings. For many tutorials you will be broken into groups so that you can discuss the questions or prompt together, and then toward the end of the tutorial we will get back together and each group will present what they discussed.

Tutorial Work for Online/Flexible Students – Discussion Forums:

Every week that an internal student tutorial is held, there will be a corresponding online discussion forum that will focus on the same questions as those that are discussed in the internal tutorials. Responses will be expected by the evening of the Sunday following that week's lecture.

 

MAIN TEXTS

In addition to these main texts, there will be additional readings in most weeks. You can access these online through the Library's search tool, MultiSearch:

Shelmerdine, C. (ed.). 2008. The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York.

Cline, E. H. (ed.). 2010. The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean (ca. 3000-1000 BC). Oxford University Press, Oxford, New York.

Weekly set readings are listed in each week's section.

NB: All readings for class should be completed before the lecture, and must be completed before attending the tutorials and taking the quizzes. For those of you with tutorials that occur straight after the lecture, this means you will have to have read them before the lecture (please!).

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2026.06 of the Handbook