10595492, LT Global Humanities (L-42): Introduction to the Near Eastern Archaeology, 30 Sept - 16 Dec 2026

Monday 10 am -12 pm - Aula E – Vetrerie Sciarra

Wednesday 12 pm -2 pm - Aula D – Vetrerie Sciarra

https://meet.google.com/wbm-ybou-zcw

The course provides the student with the knowledge and understanding of the cultures of the ancient Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean, 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 Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean cultures, and the ability to also learn 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 for the analysis of archaeological, artistic and literary data of the major ancient oriental cultures of Mesopotamia and the Levant, between the fourth and first millennium BC.

Introduction to the Near Eastern Archaeology
The purpose of this class is to give a background knowledge to students in Western Asia and Eastern Mediterranean 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 (10h). 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 (10 h).
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 (6 h), 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 (12 h).

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.

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.