Archaeology

African Rock Art and UNESCO World Heritage The course, organized in seminar format, will begin with a series of introductory lectures providing a solid theoretical and methodological framework on Holocene African rock art. Particular attention will be devoted to sites currently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which will be examined both for their stylistic and iconographic features and for the cultural and identity values they embody within their regional contexts. The approach will not be limited to the internal analysis of the representations, but will also consider the archaeological and landscape settings in which these testimonies are situated, emphasizing the territorial and environmental dimension as an integral part of their meaning. Within this perspective, sites already recognized by UNESCO will be systematically compared with properties included on the Tentative List, allowing for discussion of the criteria, processes, and challenges involved in the inscription of cultural heritage on the World Heritage List. The seminar, structured in working groups, will focus on applied activities: students will be guided in the cataloguing and critical analysis of rock art sites dating to the prehistoric and protohistoric periods, with a particular focus on their potential candidacy for inscription on the World Heritage List. Each group will be required to produce an analytical dossier, including descriptive, contextual, and evaluative elements, in line with international procedures for documentation and nomination. Through this combination of lectures, seminar discussions, and practical exercises, the course aims to develop both critical and operational skills in the fields of archaeological research, cultural heritage protection, and the valorization of rock art sites in the African and international context.

Basic knowledge of English and French is recommended.

During the course teaching material (PPT, PDF) will be distributed. The basic references are: Aron Mazel 2025. African rock art and World Heritage: context, safeguarding and prospects for the future. In S. di Lernia (ed) Echoes of Africa’s past. Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 10, 2025 pp. 199-225. Sanz N. (2012) Rock art and the UNESCO world heritage list, in McDonald J. and Veth P. (eds.) Companion to Rock Art. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd: 489-514. Di Lernia, S. 2017. Archeologia Africana. Carocci editore (cap.6). https://whc.unesco.org/en/rocktart/

The course is organized into introductory lectures on general topics, whose total number is based on the degree of preparation of students and any skills already acquired in the Africanist field. The seminar is organized in working groups (usually from 2 to 4 students per group) that will analyze and critically elaborate the bibliographic material. On the basis of the actual numerical consistency of the course (i.e., number of students),a series of cycles of presentations (minimum 2, maximum 4) with projections and general discussions is envisaged. The last two lessons are dedicated to comparisons and general discussion.

Course attendance is not compulsory to do the oral exam. The seminar, by its nature and structure, requires a frequency of at least 3/4 of the lessons and discussion cycles.

The course includes the ongoing evaluation of the ppt presentations made by the students: in particular, the critical capacity of data processing, the quality of exposure, the actual participation to the general discussion are evaluated. The final oral exam consists of an assessment of the reference bibliography (with a 1/3 impact on the final evaluation), in addition to the overall judgment of the seminar work carried out.

During the course didactic materials will be distributed (PPT, PDF). DBARICH, B. E. (ed.) 1987. Archaeology and environment in the Libyan Sahara. The excavations in the Tadrart Acacus, 1978-1983, Oxford: BAR. CREMASCHI, M. & DI LERNIA, S. (eds.) 1998. Wadi Teshuinat. Palaeoenvironment and Prehistory in South-western Fezzan (Libyan Sahara), Firenze: All'Insegna del Giglio. DI LERNIA, S. 2017. Archeologia Africana. Carocci editore.

The course is organized into introductory lectures on general topics, whose total number is based on the degree of preparation of students and any skills already acquired in the Africanist field. The seminar is organized in working groups (usually from 2 to 4 students per group) that will analyze and critically elaborate the bibliographic material. On the basis of the actual numerical consistency of the course (i.e., number of students),a series of cycles of presentations (minimum 2, maximum 4) with projections and general discussions is envisaged. The last two lessons are dedicated to comparisons and general discussion.

African Rock Art and UNESCO World Heritage The course, organized in seminar format, will begin with a series of introductory lectures providing a solid theoretical and methodological framework on Holocene African rock art. Particular attention will be devoted to sites currently inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which will be examined both for their stylistic and iconographic features and for the cultural and identity values they embody within their regional contexts. The approach will not be limited to the internal analysis of the representations, but will also consider the archaeological and landscape settings in which these testimonies are situated, emphasizing the territorial and environmental dimension as an integral part of their meaning. Within this perspective, sites already recognized by UNESCO will be systematically compared with properties included on the Tentative List, allowing for discussion of the criteria, processes, and challenges involved in the inscription of cultural heritage on the World Heritage List. The seminar, structured in working groups, will focus on applied activities: students will be guided in the cataloguing and critical analysis of rock art sites dating to the prehistoric and protohistoric periods, with a particular focus on their potential candidacy for inscription on the World Heritage List. Each group will be required to produce an analytical dossier, including descriptive, contextual, and evaluative elements, in line with international procedures for documentation and nomination. Through this combination of lectures, seminar discussions, and practical exercises, the course aims to develop both critical and operational skills in the fields of archaeological research, cultural heritage protection, and the valorization of rock art sites in the African and international context.

Basic knowledge of English and French is recommended.

During the course teaching material (PPT, PDF) will be distributed. The basic references are: Aron Mazel 2025. African rock art and World Heritage: context, safeguarding and prospects for the future. In S. di Lernia (ed) Echoes of Africa’s past. Arid Zone Archaeology Monographs 10, 2025 pp. 199-225. Sanz N. (2012) Rock art and the UNESCO world heritage list, in McDonald J. and Veth P. (eds.) Companion to Rock Art. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd: 489-514. Di Lernia, S. 2017. Archeologia Africana. Carocci editore (cap.6). https://whc.unesco.org/en/rocktart/

The course is organized into introductory lectures on general topics, whose total number is based on the degree of preparation of students and any skills already acquired in the Africanist field. The seminar is organized in working groups (usually from 2 to 4 students per group) that will analyze and critically elaborate the bibliographic material. On the basis of the actual numerical consistency of the course (i.e., number of students),a series of cycles of presentations (minimum 2, maximum 4) with projections and general discussions is envisaged. The last two lessons are dedicated to comparisons and general discussion.

Course attendance is not compulsory to do the oral exam. The seminar, by its nature and structure, requires a frequency of at least 3/4 of the lessons and discussion cycles.

The course includes the ongoing evaluation of the ppt presentations made by the students: in particular, the critical capacity of data processing, the quality of exposure, the actual participation to the general discussion are evaluated. The final oral exam consists of an assessment of the reference bibliography (with a 1/3 impact on the final evaluation), in addition to the overall judgment of the seminar work carried out.

During the course didactic materials will be distributed (PPT, PDF). DBARICH, B. E. (ed.) 1987. Archaeology and environment in the Libyan Sahara. The excavations in the Tadrart Acacus, 1978-1983, Oxford: BAR. CREMASCHI, M. & DI LERNIA, S. (eds.) 1998. Wadi Teshuinat. Palaeoenvironment and Prehistory in South-western Fezzan (Libyan Sahara), Firenze: All'Insegna del Giglio. DI LERNIA, S. 2017. Archeologia Africana. Carocci editore.

The course is organized into introductory lectures on general topics, whose total number is based on the degree of preparation of students and any skills already acquired in the Africanist field. The seminar is organized in working groups (usually from 2 to 4 students per group) that will analyze and critically elaborate the bibliographic material. On the basis of the actual numerical consistency of the course (i.e., number of students),a series of cycles of presentations (minimum 2, maximum 4) with projections and general discussions is envisaged. The last two lessons are dedicated to comparisons and general discussion.