The course of Archaeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East, intended for students of Languages and modern cultures, includes one module of 6 CFU for a total of 36 teaching hours. This module will be held in the first semester: lessons will start on Wednesday, September 29, 2021. The module is accessible to everybody. Owing to the special features of the discipline, the relevance of images, videos and 3d reproductions of objects, attendance is highly recommended.
The course aims at stimulating students to gain a better understanding on the dynamics of preservation and development of the artistic and archaeological heritage in the ancient Near East; achieving a fundamental knowledge of the most important Near Eastern collections from the top museums in the world. As well as outlining the main features of the historic, archaeological and linguistic development of the most relevant civilisations from the ancient Near East, with a special focus on Mesopotamia.
This course aims at stimulating students to gain a better understanding on the dynamics of preservation and development of the artistic and archaeological heritage in the ancient Near East; achieving a fundamental knowledge of the most important Near Eastern collections from the top museums in the world. As well as outlining the features of the historic, archaeological and linguistic development of the most relevant civilisations from the ancient Near East, with a special focus on Mesopotamia.
At the end of course, the students must achieve the following learning results:
- to focus and comprehend the dynamics of cultural heritage preservation in the Near East;
- to know the main museum collection of Near Eastern antiquities worldwide,
- as well as the main features of historical, artistic and linguistic development of Mesopotamian civilization from Prehistory to the great empire of the I millennium BC.
No specific prerequisites are required.
Very likely remote lectures on Microsoft Teams, supported by Powerpoint presentations, videos and 3D reproductions of architecture, artefacts and works of art. The didactic material will be published on a weekly base on the Aulaweb platform.
1. Issues of destruction and recostruction of Near Eastern cultural heritage in the aftermath of wars and Islamic terrorism. From Mosul to Nineveh and Nimrud, from Palmyra to Bamiyan in Afghanistan: recent developments on the preservation of the archaeological and artistic heritage in the Near East, with a special focus on Iraq and Syria.
2. The birth of the discipline and the formation of the main collections of antiquities from the ancient Near East in museums worldwide.
3. Archaeology and art history of the ancient Near East, with a special emphasis on Mesopotamia from the agricultural revolution to the Assyrian and Babylonian empires in the Second and First Millennium BC.
4. Introduction to ancient Akkadian and Sumerian languages, with translations of some brief sections of the law code of Hammurapi, and passages of the epic of Gilgamesh.
5. I'll organise a guided tour of the Egypt Museum in Turin: students are expected to know the main collections illustrated in the tour.
Program for attending students:
As a complement to the lectures’ notes and images:
A. Invernizzi, "Dal Tigri all'Eufrate - Volume I, Sumeri e Accadi". Le Lettere, Firenze,1992/2007: only images and topics dealt with in lectures; 2. A. Invernizzi, "Dal Tigri all'Eufrate - volume II, Babilonesi e Assiri", Le Lettere, Firenze,1992/2007: only images and topics dealt with in lectures; 3. Paolo Brusasco, "La Mesopotamia prima dell'Islam", Bruno Mondadori, 2008.
Further readings:
Two chapters of one of the following books:
- Paolo Brusasco, "Dentro la devastazione. L'ISIS contro l'arte di Siria e Iraq". La Nave di Teseo 2018. - Paolo Brusasco, “Tesori rubati. Il saccheggio del patrimonio artistico nel Medio Oriente”, Bruno Mondadori 2013. - Paolo Brusasco, “Babilonia. All'origine del mito”. Cortina, Milano, 2012. - Paolo Brusasco, "Looting the past. Syria's cultural heritage under attack: another Iraq?", Libreria Universitaria 2012: only Section 1.
- Mario Liverani, “Assiria. La preistoria dell’imperialismo”. Laterza, Bari, 2017.
- Mario Liverani, “Paradiso e dintorni, Il paesaggio rurale dell'antico Oriente”. Laterza 2018.
- Zainab Bahrani, "La Mesopotamia, Arte e architettura", Einaudi, Torino, 2017.
- Jean Bottero, "The Oldest Cuisine in the World: Cooking in Mesopotamia", The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2004.
- V. Cortese, M.C. Guidotti, "Antico Egitto. Arte, storia e civiltà", Giunti, Firenze, 2017.
- A. Gardiner, "La civiltà egizia", Einaudi, Torino, 2017.
Bibliography on the Akkadian and Sumerian languages (only a few sections dealt with in the course):
Akkadian language:
Richard Caplice, “Introduction to Akkadian”, Rome, Biblical Institute Press, 1988.
Sumerian language:
Franco D'Agostino, Pietro Mander, "Appunti di grammatica sumerica", corso elementare, Aracne, Roma 2007.
Overseas students can agree with the lecturer a bibliography in English or in another language.
Program for non-attending students: A. Invernizzi, "Dal Tigri all'Eufrate - Volume I, Sumeri e Accadi". Le Lettere, Firenze, 1992/2007: the whole volume; 2. A. Invernizzi, "Dal Tigri all'Eufrate - volume II, Babilonesi e Assiri", Le Lettere, Firenze, 1992/2007: the whole volume; 3. Paolo Brusasco, "La Mesopotamia prima dell'Islam", Bruno Mondadori (2008).
Further readings: Three chapters of one of the following books:
- Paolo Brusasco, "Dentro la devastazione. L'ISIS contro l'arte di Siria e Iraq". La Nave di Teseo 2018. -Paolo Brusasco, “Tesori rubati. Il saccheggio del patrimonio artistico nel Medio Oriente”, Bruno Mondadori 2013. - Paolo Brusasco, “Babilonia. All'origine del mito”. Cortina, Milano, 2012. -Paolo Brusasco, "Looting the past. Syria's cultural heritage under attack: another Iraq?", Libreria Universitaria 2012: only Section 1.
-Mario Liverani, “Assiria. La preistoria dell’imperialismo”. Laterza, Bari, 2017.
Texts on the Akkadian and Sumerian languages (only a few sections dealt with in the course and to be agreed with the lecturer):
Ricevimento: Every Wednesday at 13.00 after lecture on Teams.
PAOLO BRUSASCO (President)
CHIARA BENATI
ARCHEOLOGY AND HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EST
The exam consists of an oral assessment on the syllabus contents. Candidates will be asked at least one question for each of the topics dealt with in the module, with a special focus on cultural heritage preservation, museum collection of Near Eastern antiquities worldwide, as well as the development of the archaeology, history, art history and lanhuages of ancient Mesopotamia.
