Oriental languages and civilizations

Near Eastern Art and Archaeology: An Introduction The course offers to the students an introduction to the archaeology of the ancient Near East and to the history of studies, and provides an overview of the problems and themes of archaeological research in the Near East. Therefore the course aims to provide students with an adequate language, a basic knowledge of the archaeological periods and cultures of the Near East, the basic analytical tools for the description and interpretation of the archaeological evidence of the pre-classical Near East. At the end of the course, students will have acquired general notions about the development of near-eastern societies, their distinctive cultural, artistic and socio-economic traits, and a familiarity with the geography and chronology of the region. Students must be able to describe material culture, works of art and monuments of the concerned periods with correct use of the language, they must demonstrate that they have acquired critical skills of the cultural processes that generated them, and knowledge of the history of the discipline. The first introductory lessons will provide basic information on the geography of the region, on the chronology and on the archaeological periods of the pre-classical Near East (4 h). A part of the course will be dedicated to the history of studies (6 h) and subsequently specific issues will be explored, such as the first urbanization (6 h), the first empires (8 h), in a chronological span between the 4th and 2nd millennium BC, in the Fertile Crescent, from Mesopotamia (8 h) to the Levant (8 h).

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

P. Matthiae ‟Prima lezione di archeologia orientale”, 2005. Letture selezionate da: M. Frangipane, ‟Un frammento alla volta. Dieci lezioni dall’archeologia”, 2023. D. Nadali - A. Polcaro ‟Archeologia della Mesopotamia antica”, 2015. + any teaching materials, articles or chapters used in class

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, immages and other didactic materiale used during the lessons. Attendance is mandatory to achieve expected learning outcomes. 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.

Attendance is fundamental to achieve expected learning outcomes.

Two summary meetings are planned, one halfway through and one at the end of the course, during which the central themes will be outlined and the types of questions and reasoning useful for passing the exam will be reviewed. Attendance at lectures and seminars, active participation in class, and knowledge of the recommended reading list are fundamental elements for passing the exam, while reasoning skills and independent study are also useful. 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.

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.