Mediterranean Archaeology

The course addresses one of archaeology's most challenging and critical topics: human diversity, its indicators, and interpretations. A series of general lectures on the theoretical debates developed since the early 20th century will introduce the main methodological approaches to the topic, including evolution, genetics, archaeology, culture, and gender. A monograph course on the study of anthropomorphic figurines will explore the main aspects of the current debate through specific case studies that will be developed and discussed during student-led seminars. The course will consist of two parts shared by the lecturers and a third seminar part conducted by the students. The first part of the course will provide a theoretical framework for the different issues related to diversity, including gender, age, and status. This framework will be retraced through the analysis of contexts and material culture, including visual culture. The second part will explore the study of anthropomorphic figurines as a tool to investigate aspects and dynamics related to human diversity. This will be done by examining case studies characterized by different theoretical and methodological approaches, including stylistic, contextual, technological, and biometric analyses. In the third part of the course, students will propose and explore specific case studies through group work.

The course syllabus, which will be available at the beginning of the course, details essential readings for each lecture. The literature is provided here as a general reference for the topics discussed in the course. Bolger D., 2013. A Companion to Gender Prehistory. John Wiley and Sons. Insoll, T. (Ed.) (2007). The Archaeology of Identities. A Reader. Routledge. Lesure, R. (2011). Interpreting Ancient Figurines: Context, Comparison, and Prehistoric Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The course addresses one of archaeology's most challenging and critical topics: human diversity, its indicators, and interpretations. A series of general lectures on the theoretical debates developed since the early 20th century will introduce the main methodological approaches to the topic, including evolution, genetics, archaeology, culture, and gender. A monograph course on the study of anthropomorphic figurines will explore the main aspects of the current debate through specific case studies that will be developed and discussed during student-led seminars. The course will consist of two parts shared by the lecturers and a third seminar part conducted by the students. The first part of the course will provide a theoretical framework for the different issues related to diversity, including gender, age, and status. This framework will be retraced through the analysis of contexts and material culture, including visual culture. The second part will explore the study of anthropomorphic figurines as a tool to investigate aspects and dynamics related to human diversity. This will be done by examining case studies characterized by different theoretical and methodological approaches, including stylistic, contextual, technological, and biometric analyses. In the third part of the course, students will propose and explore specific case studies through group work.

The course syllabus, which will be available at the beginning of the course, details essential readings for each lecture. The literature is provided here as a general reference for the topics discussed in the course. Bolger D., 2013. A Companion to Gender Prehistory. John Wiley and Sons. Insoll, T. (Ed.) (2007). The Archaeology of Identities. A Reader. Routledge. Lesure, R. (2011). Interpreting Ancient Figurines: Context, Comparison, and Prehistoric Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.