asic knowledge of the problems related to the origin of the first urban phenomena; knowledge of political systems and social structures of leading cultures between the III and I millennium BC in the ancient Near East, ability to communicate the information acquired
teacher profile teaching materials
In addition to providing a basic knowledge of the cultures of Mesopotamia and Iran in the 3rd millennium BC, the course also aims to enable students to develop a capacity for critical analysis of archaeological objects, helping them to fully understand the significance of the dynastic art of the pre-achemenid societies of the ancient Near East through a historical contextualisation of the archaeological data.
On the basis of course attendance and profit, the student's training, for those interested, will be completed with participation in archaeological excavations at the site of Shahr-i Sokhta, Sistan-va-Baluchistan, Iran.
- E. Ascalone, L’Archeologia dell’Iran Antico. Interazioni, integrazioni e discontinuità nell’Iran del III millennio a.C., Si.Sc.A.M., Messina 2006, pp. 3-111.
- E. Ascalone, I Sumeri, in La Storia dell’Arte. Le prime civiltà, Mondadori Electa, 2006, pp. 83-127.
- M. Liverani, Antico Oriente. Storia, Società, Economia, Editori Laterza, Roma-Bari 1988, pp. 107-200; 232-291.
- H. Frankfort, Arte e architettura dell’Antico Oriente, Torino 1970, pp. 5-68.
Programme
The 2021/2022 course aims to present the main artistic and architectural manifestations of Mesopotamia and the Iranian plateau between the second half of the 4th and the very first years of the 2nd millennium BC. The study of the main cultural expressions of the individual peoples who inhabited the alluvial areas between the Tigris and the Euphrates, together with the contemporary Elamite productions known in Fars, in Kerman and in Sistan-va-Baluchistan, will be tackled both with an art-historical approach and with a purely archaeological methodology that allows us to define cultural horizons within specific stratum sequences. With this in mind, the presentation of individual cultural dynamics from the Uruk period (ca. 3500-3000 BC) to the Neo-Sumerian period (ca. 2120-2004 BC), passing through numerous regionalisation processes (ca. 3000-2800/2700 BC), the first dynastic formulations (ca. 2700-2350 BC) and the first imperial-type organisations (Akkad, ca. 2350-2200 BC), will also be assisted by an adequate historical introduction.In addition to providing a basic knowledge of the cultures of Mesopotamia and Iran in the 3rd millennium BC, the course also aims to enable students to develop a capacity for critical analysis of archaeological objects, helping them to fully understand the significance of the dynastic art of the pre-achemenid societies of the ancient Near East through a historical contextualisation of the archaeological data.
On the basis of course attendance and profit, the student's training, for those interested, will be completed with participation in archaeological excavations at the site of Shahr-i Sokhta, Sistan-va-Baluchistan, Iran.
Core Documentation
- J. Álvarez-Mon, The Art of Elam, ca. 4200-525 BC, Routledge, London - New York, 2020, pp. 34-179.- E. Ascalone, L’Archeologia dell’Iran Antico. Interazioni, integrazioni e discontinuità nell’Iran del III millennio a.C., Si.Sc.A.M., Messina 2006, pp. 3-111.
- E. Ascalone, I Sumeri, in La Storia dell’Arte. Le prime civiltà, Mondadori Electa, 2006, pp. 83-127.
- M. Liverani, Antico Oriente. Storia, Società, Economia, Editori Laterza, Roma-Bari 1988, pp. 107-200; 232-291.
- H. Frankfort, Arte e architettura dell’Antico Oriente, Torino 1970, pp. 5-68.
Type of delivery of the course
The course will start on 5 October from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. The course will be held every Tuesday (Classroom 25), Thursday (Classroom 25) and Friday (Classroom 4) from 4pm to 6pm.Type of evaluation
The examination will be exclusively oral on the topics covered during the course and on the basis of the handouts provided (the texts will be used as a possible supplement).