Start date 30 September 2024
Monday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Aula C - Dept. of Modern Humanities, Building: CU003
Wednesday from 12:00 to 14:00, Aula Seminario - Dept. of European Studies, Building: CU003

OPIS 2Y0FQTW3

The purpose of this class is to give a background knowledge to students
in near eastern archaeology in general and delve into some specific topics of
Mesopotamian and Levantine areas, contextualizing and highlighting the
development of local societies and features of the urban phenomenon.

The course includes a first part dedicated to the general geographical
and chronological framework of the Mesopotamia and the Levant, the history of
excavations and studies. Subsequently, an overview of the history of art and
architecture, urban planning and monuments, material culture and technologies
of the cultures of the Near East in the Bronze Age will be made.

The second part will be focused on some Levantine key-sites and on some
selected cases-study of the archaeological periods illustrative of the
development of proto-historical cultures, the dynamics of sedentary-nomadic
cultures, the social stratification, the appearance and collapse of the city,
funerary archaeology and the archaeology of religion in the ancient Near East.

Training objectives

The course provides the student with the knowledge and understanding of
the cultures of the ancient Near East, between the 4th and 1st millennium BC,
through the use of advanced textbooks, stimulates knowledge and understanding
applied to the issues addressed during the course, from the history of studies
to the periods examined as case studies. Through appropriate skills, it helps
to develop the autonomy of judgment, including reflection on historical,
artistic, and archaeological themes, and communication skills, critical
thinking on aspects and problems of the different Near Eastern cultures, and
the ability to also learn the appropriate terminology, necessary to undertake
subsequent studies with a high degree of autonomy. 

Expected learning outcomes

The expected learning outcomes are related to the knowledge and
understanding of the cultures of the ancient Near East, between the 4th and 1st
millennium BC, through the use of advanced textbooks, to the knowledge and
understanding skills applied to the issues addressed during the course, from
the history of studies to the periods examined as case studies, through
appropriate skills, autonomy of judgment, including reflection on historical,
artistic and archaeological themes, communication skills, demonstrating the
ability to communicate ideas, aspects and problems of the different Near
Eastern cultures to specialist and non-specialist interlocutors, the ability to
learn, even the appropriate terminology, necessary to undertake subsequent
studies with a high degree of autonomy.

The course aims to train students in theories, methodologies and modern
techniques of analysis of archaeological, artistic and literary data of the
major ancient oriental cultures of Mesopotamia and the Levant, between the
4th and 1st millennium BC.

Key competences required

Key competences concerning geography, history, and archaeology of Near
East are important; knowledge of Italian and English are necessary.

Evaluation

The final evaluation consists of an oral exam during which questions
will be proposed on the topics discussed during the lessons and treated in the
syllabus. To evaluate the candidate’s performance will compete the terminology
used, the ability to expose the concepts and classification in the
historical-geographical context.

Attendance at lessons and seminars, active participation in the
classroom, knowledge of the indicated syllabus are fundamental elements for
passing the final exam, while useful reasoning and self-study skills are useful
elements.

To pass the exam you must obtain a mark of not less than 18/30. The
student must demonstrate to express himself in an appropriate language, to have
acquired sufficient knowledge of the basic topics presented during the lessons
and to be able to orientate himself in the basic aspects of the discipline.

To achieve a mark of 30/30 cum laude, the student must instead
demonstrate that he has acquired excellent knowledge of all the topics covered
during the course, being able to link them in a logical and consistent way, as
well as reasoning skills and autonomous study.

Classes

The classes are taught, with the aid in the classroom of ppt
presentations, excavation reports, and other didactic material.

Students will be provided with presentations, images and other didactic
materials used during the lessons.

During classes will be organized a visit to the Museum of the Near East,
Egypt and Mediterranean of Sapienza, the participation to which it is mandatory
to pass the exam.

Didactic material and recommended lectures 

The slides and the material used during the lessons will be made
available on the didactic platforms; the bibliography will be made available in
pdf format.

The texts that will be indicated as bibliography are available in pdf
format on the pages of academia and researchgate:
uniroma1.academia.edu/LorenzoNigro
www.researchgate.net/profile/Lorenzo-Nigro-2;
uniroma.academia.edu/DariaMontanari www.researchgate.net/profile/Daria-Montanari.

Recommended readings will be indicated during the course and will be
extracted from:

S. Richard, “Near Eastern Archaeology: A Reader”, 2003.

D.C. Snell (ed.), “A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near
East” (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World), 2005.

D.T. Potts (ed.), “A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near
East” (Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World), 2012.