NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ART HISTORY I

The course belongs to the "Core educational activities" of the archaeological curriculum of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in "Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management" and in the "Related and interdisciplinary ctivities" of the "Antiquity" curriculum of the of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in Humanities. It may be also interesting for students of the curriculum "The Mediterranean World from Antiquity to the Middle Ages" of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in History of the art-historical curriculum of the Programme in "Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management".
The aims of the course are: to introduce students to the themes and methods of Near Eastern Archaeology, to provide them with a basic knowledge of the archaeology and art history of pre-classical Mesopotamia, thereby letting them familiarise with specialised field terminology and provide them with essential instruments for the analysis and interpretation of archaeological evidence

At the end of the course the student will have a basic knowledge, gained through the study of a hand-bbok, of the chronology and development of the pre-classical civilisations of Mesopotamia, of the cultural, social and economic processes which characterise them, and of the most typical features of both arts and material culture of each period. He/she will be able to recognise, describe and comment upon, using an appropriate terminology, monuments, works of art and artefacts belonging to each of the studied periods. Finally, he/she will have a critical conscience of the processes and methods through which field knowlegde was formed, from the beginning of archaeological research in the area until its contemporary developments

There are no special pre-requirements for this course, although it is advisable to have a basic knowledge of methods and themes of archaeological research. This can be also acquired by following other archaeological disciplines at the same time as this one.
Students interested in the civilisations of the Ancient Near East may also choose: History of the Ancient Near East; Egyptology; Phoenician-punic archaeology; Prehistory and protohistory of Eastern Mediterranean; Islamic Archaeology and Muslim Art History, Assyriology; Semitic Philology, History of Religions I

Some introductory lessons will provide students with basic information about the natural environment, population dynamics, general features and chronology of the pre-classical civilisations of the Near East, about the main themes and methods of archaeological research in the region from its origins until the present time, and about the late prehistory of the Near East. The remaining part of the course will especially focus on the first urban civilisations and the first Near Eastern empires. Examples of the main categories of monuments, works of art and artefacts will be presented and commented upon, with the aim of enabling the student to undertake in autonomy the study of a hand-book dealing with Mesopotamian archaeology from the 4t to the mid-1st millennium BC.
The lessons may be integrated by lectures on specific subjects by Italian or foreign experts

For all students:
D. NADALI, A. POLCARO (eds.), Archeologia della Mesopotamia antica, Roma 2015 (Carocci editore)
+ selection of images (downloadable from the Moodle platform)
PP presentations used during the course (available on the Moodle paltform)

Optional for students attending the lessons, compulsory for students not attending the lessons:
P. MATTHIAE, Prima lezione di archeologia orientale, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2005.

An alternative bibliography will be offered to Erasmus students with insufficient knowlegdge of Italian language

Written exam, consisting of 6 (mostly open-answer) questions both on the topics analysed in the suggested literature and on those dealt with during the lessons. Typically, the student may be asked to comment an illustration of a find (plan of a building, photo of an art-work or of a typical artefact) taken from the suggested literature and images collection, or to describe the material culture of a specific period, a specific class of finds, etc. One question will be devoted to the geography and/or chronology of the studied civilisations. The evaluation will take into account both the degree of comprehension and knowledge of the subject acquired by attending the lessons and through individual study, and the ability to present a topic in an articulated way and by making use of an appropriate terminology.
Erasmus students with insufficient knowlegdge of Italian language wil be offered the possibility to take the exam in English.

Frontal lectures with display of Power Point presentations + individual study of the proposed literature.
The lessons may be integrated by lectures on specific subjects by Italian or foreign experts and other activities (guided visits to museums and exhibitions, seminaries and exercises)

Italian

- The course corresponds to the first part of the 12 CFU exam.
- Students are strongly advised to attend the lessons (lectures by invited scholars and other activities included)
- PP presentations and images selection can be downloaded on the Moodle platform

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development