Archaeology

"Ceramic Production in the Southern Levant between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages: Methods and Perspectives" Through lectures and open discussion seminars on assigned readings, the course aims to provide in-depth knowledge of topics and issues connected with the study of the organization of ceraic production in the the southern Levant (Palestine and Transjordan) between the Early and Middle Bronze Age, in response to changes and reorganization of the economic and political structures of local societies. The course program is organized according to the following structure: - Introduction, Topics 1-3, 6 hours - Module 1: Early Bronze Age II-III, Topics 4-9, 12 hours - Midterm Summary, Topic 10, 2 hours - Module 2: Early Bronze Age IV, Topics 11-15 - Module 3: Middle Bronze Age, Topics 16-20, 12 hours - End-of-Course Summary, Topic 21, 2 hours The course (42 hours) will focus on the organization of ceramic production in the southern Levant (Palestine and Transjordan) between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, focusing in particular on the Early Bronze Age II-III (ca. 3000-2500 BC), the Early Bronze Age IV (ca. 2500-1950 BC), and the Middle Bronze Age I (ca. 1950-1800 BC). BC); in this way, it will be possible to address the issue of the economic structures underlying the organization of production within a cycle of urbanization - de-urbanization - urban regeneration. The course is divided into three modules, preceded by a general introduction (Topics 1-3, 6 hours) on the organization of production in the southern Levant during the time period under consideration, including some fundamental theoretical, conceptual, and methodological notions necessary for the subsequent analysis of the selected case studies. This will be followed by an analysis of the organization of ceramic production in the Early Bronze Age II-III, during the period of emerging urbanization (Module 1, Topics 4-9, 12 hours), the Early Bronze Age IV, during the period of economic and social restructuring on a village basis (Module 2, Topics 11-15), and the Middle Bronze Age I, during the phase of urban regeneration (Module 3, Topics 16-20, 12 hours). In each module, an introduction to chronological and historical-archaeological issues and the organization of society will be provided for each period, framing the subsequent discussion of selected case studies. Specific archaeological contexts and ceramic classes will be presented, analysed, and discussed, and classroom activities will be conducted on ceramic materials from archaeological excavations. Each module will conclude with an open classroom discussion of assigned readings. At the end of the second module (Topic 14, 2 hours) and at the end of the course (Topic 21, 2 hours), there will be a mid-term and final summary, respectively, to assess understanding in class, with open discussion and the opportunity for students to ask questions on the topics covered. The course aims to provide advanced knowledge of the material culture of the Southern Levant in the period under consideration, focusing in particular on the possibility of reconstructing the technical expertise and forms of organization of ceramic production and understanding how these are influenced by (and at the same time reflect) the changes in social, economic and political structures during the time period under consideration.

No prerequisites required.

Graham Philip - Douglas Baird, Early Bronze Age ceramics in the southern Levant: an overview, in Graham Philip - Douglas Baird (Eds), Ceramic and Change in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant, Levantine Archaeology 2. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000, pp. pp. 3–29. J.P. Dessel - Alexander H. Joffe, Alternative approaches to Early Bronze Age Pottery, in Graham Philip - Douglas Baird (Eds), Ceramic and Change in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant, Levantine Archaeology 2, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000, pp. 31-58. Kamal Badreshany - Graham Philip, Ceramic studies and petrographic analysis in Levantine archaeology, the limitations of current approaches, Levant 52/1-2 (2020), pp. 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2020.1786270. Stanley Klassen - T.P. Harrison, The Madaba Settlement Cluster and the Nature of Early Bronze Age Urbanism in the Central Highlands of Jordan, in J.C. Long Jr (Edd.) - J.C. Long Jr (edd.), Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age - Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard, Sheffield: Equinox, 2021, pp. 311-334. S. Klassen, Petrographic Analysis of EB III Ceramics from Tall al-'Umayri, Jordan: a Re-evaluation of Levels of Production, in Patrick Sean Quinn (Ed.), Interpreting Silent Artefacts: Petrographic Approaches to Archaeological Ceramics, Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, 2009, pp. 189-210. R. Greenberg – N. Porat, A Third Millennium Levantine Pottery Production Center: Typology, Petrography, and Provenance of the Metallic Ware of Northern Israel and Adjacent Regions, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 301 (1996), pp. 5-24. https://doi.org/10.2307/1357293. Kamal Badreshany - Graham Philip - Melissa Kennedy, The development of integrated regional economies in the Early Bronze Age Levant: new evidence from ‘Combed Ware’ jars, in Levant, 52/1–2 (2020), pp. 160–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2019.1641009. Pierre de Miroschedji, P., On Early Bronze Age Levantine combed vessels: the view from the south. Levant, 53/1 (2021), pp. 30-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2021.1917814. Valentine Roux – Pierre de Miroschedji, Revisiting the History of the Potter’s Wheel in the Southern Levant. Levant 41/2 (2009), pp. 155-173. https://doi.org/10.1179/007589109X12484491671095. Marta D’Andrea, The Early Bronze IV Period in South-Central Transjordan: Reconsidering Chronology Through Ceramic Technology, in Levant 44/1 (2012), pp. 17-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2018.1449374. S. Bourke, The Middle and Late Bronze Ages, in J. Haron – D.R. Clark (Eds), The Pottery of Jordan: A Manual, Amman: The American Center of Research & The Madaba Regional Archaeological Museum Project: Amman, 2022, pp. 50-57. S. Klassen, MB II Flat-Bottomed Handmade Cooking Pots from Wadi Tumilat: A Useful Chronological Marker or an Indicator of Technical Style?, in T.P. Harrison - E.B. Banning - S. Klassen (Eds), Walls of the Prince: Egyptian Interactions with Southwest Asia in Antiquity. Essays in Honour of John S. Holladay Jr. (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 77), Leiden: Brill, 2015, pp. 11-36. Further readings will be assigned for the seminars during the course and will be available on Moodle; it will soon be possible to sign up to the course through the Sapienza e-learning platform. The readings assigned for the seminars (indicated in the course syllabus) are not part of the sourcebooks for the exam but are mandatory for the seminars, which aim to facilitate the understanding of the topics addressed in the course and the development of the knowledge and skills that are part of the course's objectives.

Given the inclusion of seminars in the course's programme, attendance in this course is highly recommended. Non-attending students should agree on a supplementary programme with the teacher.

Students are required to take an oral exam to assess their individual knowledge of the topics and themes addressed in the course and in the suggested readings and must demonstrate ability to debate these subjects with appropriate specific vocabulary. To pass the exam, students must obtain a minimum grade of 18/30; to obtain the maximum grade, i.e., 30/30, possibly with honours, students must answer correctly to all questions as well as demonstrate competent and critical knowledge of the topics dealt with in the course syllabus.

The course's reference bibliography will be indicated for each and every lecture on the lecture's slides, which will be uploaded in pdf format on a weekly basis to Moodle, on the course available through the Sapienza e-learning platform.

The course's teaching activities include frontal lessons arranged in didactic units, accompanied by hands-on activities on ceramics from archaeological excavations held in the classroom and seminars based on open discussion of reading assignments. A mid-course and an end-of-course summaries with bidirectional Q&A sessions are foreseen too, for learning assessment. A visit to the Museum of the Near East, Egypt and the Mediterranean of Sapienza University is scheduled.

"Ceramic Production in the Southern Levant between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages: Methods and Perspectives" Through lectures and open discussion seminars on assigned readings, the course aims to provide in-depth knowledge of topics and issues connected with the study of the organization of ceraic production in the the southern Levant (Palestine and Transjordan) between the Early and Middle Bronze Age, in response to changes and reorganization of the economic and political structures of local societies. The course program is organized according to the following structure: - Introduction, Topics 1-3, 6 hours - Module 1: Early Bronze Age II-III, Topics 4-9, 12 hours - Midterm Summary, Topic 10, 2 hours - Module 2: Early Bronze Age IV, Topics 11-15 - Module 3: Middle Bronze Age, Topics 16-20, 12 hours - End-of-Course Summary, Topic 21, 2 hours The course (42 hours) will focus on the organization of ceramic production in the southern Levant (Palestine and Transjordan) between the Early and Middle Bronze Ages, focusing in particular on the Early Bronze Age II-III (ca. 3000-2500 BC), the Early Bronze Age IV (ca. 2500-1950 BC), and the Middle Bronze Age I (ca. 1950-1800 BC). BC); in this way, it will be possible to address the issue of the economic structures underlying the organization of production within a cycle of urbanization - de-urbanization - urban regeneration. The course is divided into three modules, preceded by a general introduction (Topics 1-3, 6 hours) on the organization of production in the southern Levant during the time period under consideration, including some fundamental theoretical, conceptual, and methodological notions necessary for the subsequent analysis of the selected case studies. This will be followed by an analysis of the organization of ceramic production in the Early Bronze Age II-III, during the period of emerging urbanization (Module 1, Topics 4-9, 12 hours), the Early Bronze Age IV, during the period of economic and social restructuring on a village basis (Module 2, Topics 11-15), and the Middle Bronze Age I, during the phase of urban regeneration (Module 3, Topics 16-20, 12 hours). In each module, an introduction to chronological and historical-archaeological issues and the organization of society will be provided for each period, framing the subsequent discussion of selected case studies. Specific archaeological contexts and ceramic classes will be presented, analysed, and discussed, and classroom activities will be conducted on ceramic materials from archaeological excavations. Each module will conclude with an open classroom discussion of assigned readings. At the end of the second module (Topic 14, 2 hours) and at the end of the course (Topic 21, 2 hours), there will be a mid-term and final summary, respectively, to assess understanding in class, with open discussion and the opportunity for students to ask questions on the topics covered. The course aims to provide advanced knowledge of the material culture of the Southern Levant in the period under consideration, focusing in particular on the possibility of reconstructing the technical expertise and forms of organization of ceramic production and understanding how these are influenced by (and at the same time reflect) the changes in social, economic and political structures during the time period under consideration.

No prerequisites required.

Graham Philip - Douglas Baird, Early Bronze Age ceramics in the southern Levant: an overview, in Graham Philip - Douglas Baird (Eds), Ceramic and Change in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant, Levantine Archaeology 2. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000, pp. pp. 3–29. J.P. Dessel - Alexander H. Joffe, Alternative approaches to Early Bronze Age Pottery, in Graham Philip - Douglas Baird (Eds), Ceramic and Change in the Early Bronze Age Southern Levant, Levantine Archaeology 2, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000, pp. 31-58. Kamal Badreshany - Graham Philip, Ceramic studies and petrographic analysis in Levantine archaeology, the limitations of current approaches, Levant 52/1-2 (2020), pp. 5-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2020.1786270. Stanley Klassen - T.P. Harrison, The Madaba Settlement Cluster and the Nature of Early Bronze Age Urbanism in the Central Highlands of Jordan, in J.C. Long Jr (Edd.) - J.C. Long Jr (edd.), Transitions, Urbanism, and Collapse in the Bronze Age - Essays in Honor of Suzanne Richard, Sheffield: Equinox, 2021, pp. 311-334. S. Klassen, Petrographic Analysis of EB III Ceramics from Tall al-'Umayri, Jordan: a Re-evaluation of Levels of Production, in Patrick Sean Quinn (Ed.), Interpreting Silent Artefacts: Petrographic Approaches to Archaeological Ceramics, Oxford: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd, 2009, pp. 189-210. R. Greenberg – N. Porat, A Third Millennium Levantine Pottery Production Center: Typology, Petrography, and Provenance of the Metallic Ware of Northern Israel and Adjacent Regions, Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 301 (1996), pp. 5-24. https://doi.org/10.2307/1357293. Kamal Badreshany - Graham Philip - Melissa Kennedy, The development of integrated regional economies in the Early Bronze Age Levant: new evidence from ‘Combed Ware’ jars, in Levant, 52/1–2 (2020), pp. 160–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2019.1641009. Pierre de Miroschedji, P., On Early Bronze Age Levantine combed vessels: the view from the south. Levant, 53/1 (2021), pp. 30-68. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2021.1917814. Valentine Roux – Pierre de Miroschedji, Revisiting the History of the Potter’s Wheel in the Southern Levant. Levant 41/2 (2009), pp. 155-173. https://doi.org/10.1179/007589109X12484491671095. Marta D’Andrea, The Early Bronze IV Period in South-Central Transjordan: Reconsidering Chronology Through Ceramic Technology, in Levant 44/1 (2012), pp. 17-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/00758914.2018.1449374. S. Bourke, The Middle and Late Bronze Ages, in J. Haron – D.R. Clark (Eds), The Pottery of Jordan: A Manual, Amman: The American Center of Research & The Madaba Regional Archaeological Museum Project: Amman, 2022, pp. 50-57. S. Klassen, MB II Flat-Bottomed Handmade Cooking Pots from Wadi Tumilat: A Useful Chronological Marker or an Indicator of Technical Style?, in T.P. Harrison - E.B. Banning - S. Klassen (Eds), Walls of the Prince: Egyptian Interactions with Southwest Asia in Antiquity. Essays in Honour of John S. Holladay Jr. (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 77), Leiden: Brill, 2015, pp. 11-36. Further readings will be assigned for the seminars during the course and will be available on Moodle; it will soon be possible to sign up to the course through the Sapienza e-learning platform. The readings assigned for the seminars (indicated in the course syllabus) are not part of the sourcebooks for the exam but are mandatory for the seminars, which aim to facilitate the understanding of the topics addressed in the course and the development of the knowledge and skills that are part of the course's objectives.

Given the inclusion of seminars in the course's programme, attendance in this course is highly recommended. Non-attending students should agree on a supplementary programme with the teacher.

Students are required to take an oral exam to assess their individual knowledge of the topics and themes addressed in the course and in the suggested readings and must demonstrate ability to debate these subjects with appropriate specific vocabulary. To pass the exam, students must obtain a minimum grade of 18/30; to obtain the maximum grade, i.e., 30/30, possibly with honours, students must answer correctly to all questions as well as demonstrate competent and critical knowledge of the topics dealt with in the course syllabus.

The course's reference bibliography will be indicated for each and every lecture on the lecture's slides, which will be uploaded in pdf format on a weekly basis to Moodle, on the course available through the Sapienza e-learning platform.

The course's teaching activities include frontal lessons arranged in didactic units, accompanied by hands-on activities on ceramics from archaeological excavations held in the classroom and seminars based on open discussion of reading assignments. A mid-course and an end-of-course summaries with bidirectional Q&A sessions are foreseen too, for learning assessment. A visit to the Museum of the Near East, Egypt and the Mediterranean of Sapienza University is scheduled.