Ancient Near Eastern Art Research Papers (original) (raw)

- by
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- Ancient Near Eastern Art, Assyrian Empire

In this study, I argue that the literary depictions and iconographic images of wings on various hybrid creatures are a means of depicting that creature’s association with wind and the cardinal directions, and that recognizing this correlation offers greater insight into the function and meaning of these creatures in the written and iconographic records generally. As such, I intend to add to our increasing awareness of the close relationship between textual and iconographic motifs in the ancient Near East. Furthermore, I contend that attention to the number of wings a creature possesses informs our understanding of the entity’s perceived cosmological abilities.

- by scott noegel
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- Egyptology, Assyriology, Hebrew Bible, Ancient Near East

This paper examines the possible foreign origins of the pillar base of the Judean Pillar Figurine (JPF). After considering and rejecting Mesopotamian and Levantine origins due to lack of chronologically compatible antecedents, the hypothesis of Cypriot origins is presented. The data show that Cyprus did have a pillar-based goddess image in its repertoire immediately preceding the earliest appearnaces of the JPF in Judea. Furthermore, there is evidence of contacts between Cyprus and Judea in the areas where and when the JPFs first appear. The mixing of the foreign pillar base with the indigenous arms positioning under the breasts led to the iconography of the JPF. The essay then considers the origins of the pillar-based idol in Cyprus, noting that it emerged from the 'hoop-skirt' base of the Goddess With Upraised Arms from Crete.

The volume investigates the processes—historical, intellectual, and political—through which archaeological artifacts have been, at moments in their histories, transformed into aesthetic objects. That investigation is critical, thorough, and revealing; inclusion of archival records and contemporary objects challenges the reader (and in the original exhibition, the viewer) to wrest the artifacts out of whatever art historical or archaeological narrative they had nestled into and view them critically and historiographically as constructs of particular historical ideas.

i TH E HISTORY of excavation at Nimrud is well known, from the work of Layard and Lofrus in the nineteenth centu ry to the seasons of work by Mal-Iowan and David Oa tes on behalf of the British School in Iraq, and finally to the most recent investigations by the Iraqis and Poles while they were restoring the N orthwest Palace of Assurn asirpal II on the citadel.' Luckily, most of the sculpture and reliefs originally found by Layard in the N orthwest Palace were carefully numbered in situ before they were removed-mainly to the British Museum; watercolor renderin gs were made of individual slabs in addition to reconstru cted views that attempted , through nineteenth-century eyes, to evoke the palace as it "must have been. "

- by Irene Winter
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- Art History, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Art

This thesis explores a specific form of representation from the Syrian Bronze Age: aniconic standing-stones, lacking inscriptions or decorations. These have been mainly studied from the point of view of texts which mention cult activity associated with them, but there has been heretofore no integrated analysis of archaeological finds, analysing architecture and associated material culture in comparison to texts. I will interpret litholatry (the cult of standing-stones) from the point of view of the influence of semi-nomadic pastoralists from the Syrian desert frontier on the culture of urban societies, and of the negotiation of urban/tribal identities of city kings through ritual.

- by Maïra al-Manzali
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Assyriology, History of Religion
- by Mark Beumer
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- Religion, History, Ancient History, Archaeology

Between 1930-1932 C. L. Woolley and his staff investigated the so-called “archaic” levels of the Ziqqurat Terrace, the sanctuary of the moon god Nanna-Zu’en at Ur. Two superimposed phases (Archaic II-I) of a complex consisting of a large rectangular boundary wall encompassing domestic-like buildings (kitchen temples), were extensively exposed. This paper aims at re-assessing the Archaic I phase evidence from a contextual point of view. In order to reconstruct the excavated loci, a thorough analysis of the unpublished archive of the Ur excavation kept at the British Museum of London was carried out, and the original materials, housed at the BM and the Penn Museum of Philadelphia, were taken into examination afresh. The outcome of this study would be a functional analysis of the Archaic I phase, completed by a new discussion of the finds. This would provide new element for the discussion of the chronological framework of this phase, as well as shed more light on the activities carried out in one of the most important sanctuaries of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia.

- by Giacomo Benati
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- Functional Analysis, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Iraq, Ancient Near Eastern Art
- by Amy Rebecca Gansell
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- Anthropometry, Facial Anthropometry, Anthropometrics, Ancient Aesthetics

Compared with the stelae of the Akkadian period, Akkadian royal statues have received little scrutiny beyond the question of style. This article brings together the numerous visual and verbal fragments from the statues of Manishtushu to reconstruct their forms and textual components and to assess their role in the practice of Akkadian kingship. The king's multiple, nearly identical statues participated in his effort to maintain authority over cities incorporated into the nascent Akkadian state. Through the standardization and replication of statues erected in the temple precincts of various cities, Manishtushu displayed an equitable allegiance to the gods of the cities now under his rule. As an expression of the relationship between the king and the gods, this evenhanded treatment represents an intermediate stage in a transformation of kingship that would culminate in the deification of Naram-Sin, Manishtushu's successor.*

Taking into account Neo-Assyrian sculpture, seals, and jewelry, as well as carved ivory figures that embellished imported Levantine luxury goods, this essay focuses on images of women and the ideals of feminine beauty they embodied in elite Neo-Assyrian contexts. In order to recover ancient notions of beauty from visual sources, I incorporate comparative archaeological, textual, and ethnographic evidence. First, I identify visual consistencies indicative of physical characteristics of beauty. In addition to fulfilling cultural expectations of attractiveness, I propose that these external properties also manifested personal attributes of beauty, primarily: sexuality, fertility, and purity. I then interpret the role and reception of images of queens, goddesses, and idealized female figures in the Neo-Assyrian court, where they would have served as vital complements to male imagery and to the actual mortal men and women with whom they were juxtaposed.

This study examines the role of the pithoi drawings and wall paintings of Kuntillet ‘Ajrud. It suggests that the pithoi drawings were sketches made in preparation for the wall paintings. The repeated attempts to find meaning in the layout of the drawings on the pithoi, or to trace links between them and the inscriptions, seem therefore futile. It argues that only an investigation of the pottery drawings and the wall paintings as a one assemblage reveals the thematic program of the buildings’ décor, which is comprised of two groups: one depicts subject matters related to the king and his activities, the second presents beneficial motifs. The combination of these themes typify state-run official buildings in the first millennium throughout the ancient Near East and does not support the suggestion that Kuntillet ‘Ajrud served as a ‘religious’ building or centre, although the state sponsored site at Kuntillet ‘Ajrud it included a small cultic architectural space.

- by María Cecilia Tomasini
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- Ancient Near Eastern Art, Ancient Mesopotamia

Study of Levantine ivories has focused overwhelmingly on stylistic classification in pursuit of attribution to specific locations of production. This focus has had the effect of overlooking a consideration of the uses of ivories in the Levant as a whole. Starting from ivories found in predominately Levantine cultural contexts at Zincirli, Ḥamāh and Tall Ḥalaf, this paper examines the range of genres and forms of ivory objects consumed by Iron Age Levantine communities. As parts of furnishings, containers, toiletry items, and military gear, ivory played a central role in the display of elite Iron Age Levantine identities, both in life and death.

This book/album was printed in a large format of 34 by 34 cm. It presents all aspects of the Sennacherib's siege of Lachish in 701 BCE - the historical, archaeological and artistic aspects. The book/album contains a new, detailed and accurate set of drawings of the Lachish reliefs prepared by Judith Dekel, new photographs of the reliefs taken by Avraham Hay, and reconstructions of the Assyrian siege made by Gert le Grange.
It was published in 1982 by the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University. The book/album is now out of print.

ABSTRACT: The following 58 questions follow the documentary (no.6), PBS: The Lost Gardens of Babylon (60 minutes) (2014; 60 min.). The question sheet aids in furnishing a summary of the documentary's coverage and sequence of specific topics. A very good documentary detailing Stephanie Dalley's theory about the later traditions concerning the "(Hanging) Gardens of Babylon " as reflecting an actual origin and location in King Sennecherib's garden at Nineveh, over 100 years earlier (ca. early 7th century BCE) and at a site much further to the north (i.e., at Sennecherib's palace at Nineveh, in Assyria, versus in Nebuchadnezzar II's palace at Babylon). WEB LINK: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-lost-gardens-of-babylon-watch-the-full-episode/1203/. The documentary introduces some of the traditions and evidence concerning the location and date of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and proceeds to Dalley's research and theories for equating it with an earlier garden built by Sennacherib beside his palace at Nineveh: This earlier garden is attested from diverse evidence in the British Museum (e.g., a cuneiform prism; palace wall panels), publications on earlier excavations at Nineveh, recent visits to and assessments of key sites in Iraq (e.g., Khinis; Jerwan; Nineveh), plus consultation with other specialists (e.g., Dr. Jason Ur: using Corona satellite imagery analysis and landscape interpretation). A very enjoyable documentary showing features and issues in both Ancient and modern Iraq.

- by Gregory Mumford
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Anthropology

The Warka Vase is an iconic artifact of Mesopotamia. In the absence of rigorous botanical study, the plants depicted on the lowest register are usually thought to be flax and grain. This analysis of the image identified as grain argues that its botanical characteristics, iconographical context and similarity to an archaic sign found in proto-writing demonstrates that it should be identified as a date palm sapling. It confirms the identification of flax. The correct identification of the plants furthers our understanding of possible symbolic continuities spanning the centuries that saw the codification of text as a representation of natural language.

- by Naomi F Miller and +1
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Mesopotamian Religions, Ancient Near East

This paper deals with the possibility of retracing the monumental setting of ancient contexts now lost and not documented directly by the study of indirect sources that describe them, literally or visually. The assumption is that monuments that did not come down to the present day can nonetheless be studied and contextualized thanks to what is echoed in literary or epigraphic sources and to their depiction in other media.
Here, the possibility that one or more now-lost statues representing the mušḫuššu, the serpo-dragon of Marduk, were erected at Babylon at least since the Late Babylonian period is discussed on the basis of both epigraphic and iconographic evidence.

- by Vito Messina
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- Religion, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies

Les problèmes à Babylone, Irak actuelle, sont nombreuses. Ici, je mettrais en avant le pillage de la ville antique.

- by María Cecilia Tomasini
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- Ancient Near Eastern Art, Ancient Mesopotamia

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

A mere three centuries before the construction of the Ishtar Gate, King Ashurnasirpal II of Assyria (r. 883-859 BCE) praised himself by declaring, "I had baked bricks glazed in lapis lazuli color." 1 Both Ashurnasirpal II and Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562 BCE), the builder of the Ishtar Gate, were part of a long tradition of rulers who promoted royal building projects that incorporated brilliantly glazed molded bricks to monumentalize an otherwise generally dull-colored mud brick architecture. As early as the fifth millennium BCE, the prevailing form of exterior building decoration had been the vertical articulation of the walls with projecting and recessed elements to create a niched architecture with coloristic effects based on light and shadow, which responded to the desire for a dynamic façade. Thus, projections and recesses are key features of ancient Near Eastern sacred architecture. This building decoration is found primarily on exterior and courtyard façades, materializing the demarcation between the sacred and the profane. Emphasizing the important façades of a building could be achieved using different techniques. The oldest form of plastic façade decorations are buttresses and recesses, which could be easily realized by halving and quartering rectangular clay bricks. More complicated façade structures, such as semicolumns and figurative decorations, were achieved either by molded bricks (fired and unfired) or through relief plaster covering. In the case of molded bricks, the clay was pressed into a specially made mold, whereas in the case of plaster reliefs, the decor was cut into the plaster coating of the bricks. It is noteworthy that different manufacture techniques can be found in one region at the same time. Cone mosaics of clay and stone , characteristic of the Uruk culture, emerged in the second half of the fourth millennium BCE as a further embellishment technique in the decorative articulation of architectural façades. This complex wall decoration is mainly found in Mesopotamia, but also in southeastern Turkey and Iran. 4 Since the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000-1550 BCE), relief-faced brick decorations have been made of both molded and cut mud bricks. During the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1550-1100 BCE), epigraphic evidence indicates that the earliest glazed building decorations appeared in Mesopotamia and Iran. In the Iron Age (ca. 1100-539 BCE), the first glazed mud bricks are archaeologically documented. However, the development of shaped and glazed bricks is far less linear 2.

- by Helen Gries and +1
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- Ancient Near East, Seleucid Empire, Assyrian archaeology, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The work deals with the problem of the role of cults in defining and preserving ethnic
and cultural identity. In particular it is focused on the question of the continuity and change
of local religioustraditionsin Persian and Hellenistic rural innersouthern Phoenicia. During
these periods peoples of the hilly country of the inland of Tyre lived the experience of the
comparison with the vivid and multicultural coastal society, characterized by the presence
of strong Egyptian and Greek influence, well recognizable in different aspects of the artistic
production and material culture. Using what Jean-Loup Amselle calls the “démarche
discontinuiste”, that is to analyse human activities focusing on the identification of what is
indistinct instead of what is well defined and classified, we will present the documentation
of the rural sanctuary of Kharayeb, founded around the sixth – fifth century and remained
in use until the first cent. B.C.

- by Ida Oggiano
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Iconography, Cultural Identity

La sociedad griega mantuvo siempre una marcada diferenciación de roles femeninos y masculinos, lo cual tuvo una enorme influencia en la creación de su espacio mitológico. Las mujeres que transgredían el modelo establecido y aceptado socialmente eran rápidamente identificadas como aquellas que habían cedido a su naturaleza innata, abandonando el orden que las mantenía dentro del mundo civilizado para regresar a la barbarie, como sucedía con las amazonas.
No obstante, también existían aquellas mujeres que, celosas de desempeñar su rol a la perfección se convirtieron en un ejemplo social a seguir, fomentado por la vertiente masculina de la sociedad e inmortalizado por la literatura, tal fue el caso de la esposa de Odiseo, Penélope.

- by Arturo Sanchez Sanz
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- Religion, Comparative Religion, Mythology And Folklore, History
- by Sara Rich
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- Hinduism, Near Eastern Archaeology, Ontology, Latin American and Caribbean History

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions

A few images of queens are preserved from the Neo-Assyrian period, and they all wear a peculiar crown, apparently reproducing a town wall, with square towers. In my contribution, I will take the evidence from relief and glyptics into account, and I will propose some interpretations for this peculiar ornament: what it represented, and why was it adopted by Assyrian queens. I will also try to verify the frequently-proposed hypothesis that the mural crown has a Syrian or Anatolian origin.

- by Frances Pinnock
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- Syria, Assyrian archaeology, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Mesopotamia

Özet
Kültürel ilişki, bir kültürün çekirdek bölgeden daha geniş bir coğrafyadaki diğer kültürlerle etkileşim içine girerek değişmesini sağlayan bir döngüdür. Akad Çağı boyunca Anadolu ile Mezopotamya’nın birbiriyle
bağlantı halinde olduğu Arkeolojik ve filolojik belgelerle kanıtlanmıştır. Anadolu’da bulunan Akad Çağı kabartmaları da bizzat Akad Krallarının bölgeye ilgisinin kanıtlarını sunar. Bu çalışmanın amacı; Arkeolojik
kanıtların tipoloji ve kronoloji bakımından değerlendirilmesiyle, Akad Çağı’nda Anadolu ile Mezopotamya arasındaki kültürel ilişkilere ışık tutmaktır. Farklı kültürel özelliklere sahip her iki bölgede de metalik seramik, Suriye şişeleri, tankardlar, ‘topf mit Zwillingsösen’ veya çift ip delikli kulplu çömlekler, ay biçimli baltalar, boğumlu mızrak uçları, toggle-pin türü iğneler, altın hilal biçimli küpeler, dörtlü spiral kolye taneleri, disk
biçimli boncuklar, uçlara doğru daralan silindir formlu akik kolye taneleri, Akad mühürleri veya bullaları ile kurşun figürinler veya taş kalıpları gibi benzer tipteki pekçok maddi kültür kalıntısı, Akad Çağı boyunca kültürel
ilişkilerin boyutunu ortaya koymaktadır. Bunlar kolay taşınabilir veya yerleşimlerde sipariş üzerine üretilebilir olmaları bakımından ticari ürün olmalıdır. Anadolu ve Mezopotamya’da yaygın bir şekilde kullanılan eserler, ortak beğeniyi yansıtmaktadır. Örneğin disk biçimli boncuklar Anadolu, Mezopotamya, Kafkasya ve Mohenjo Daro’ya kadarki geniş bir alana yayılmıştır. Bu durum Akad Çağı’nda Anadolu ve Mezopotamya’nın çevre kültür bölgelerini de zaman zaman etkilediğini gösterir. Sonuç olarak Anadolu - Mezopotamya kültürel ilişkileri ışığında ithal veya bunların yerel taklidi olan süs eşyaları, silahlar, mühürler, metal veya seramik kapların Anadolu’da ortaya çıkması; MÖ III. Bin sonunda iki bölge arasında ticaretin varlığını ve fikir alışverişinin olduğunu göstermektedir.

- by Michael G Hasel
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- Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Anthropology, Near Eastern Studies
- by Agnete Wisti Lassen and +1
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- Art History, Ancient Near Eastern Art, ANE Cylinder Seals, Ancient Seals and Sealings

Ever since the Hittite city of Boğazköy was discovered in 1834, Hittite people, their culture, and society have been a great source of both archaeological and historical interest. Their kings, known as one of the three Great Kings of the Ancient Near East in the Late Bronze Age, has fascinated scholars and readers alike. Hittite religion, and recently their magic rituals, have also recently captivated academic and public interest. However, there has been no definitive scholarship concerning Hittite women. This essay will provide a perspective on the role of Hittite women. It will provide an in-depth analysis into the lives of Hittite women of all classes, beginning with aspects of a Hittite woman's life from birth, through to marriage, and death. It will also examine the lives of Hittite royal women and the so-called Wise Women, who played an important role in the lives of Hittite people. In the process, it will show that women in Hittite society had an important role to play in many aspects of life.

- by Debbie Turkilsen
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- Religion, Ancient History, Cultural History, Near Eastern Archaeology

ABSTRACT: The following 112 questions follow the documentary (no.8), Kultur: Persepolis ... (60 minutes). The question sheet aids in furnishing a summary of the documentary's coverage and sequence of specific topics. A good documentary detailing various aspects of the Persians, especially at Persepolis, but also at Susa, Behistun, Naqsh-i Rustam, Babylon, Choga Zanbil etc. A commercially available dvd, plus a 1-2 minute online overview by Kultur (WEB LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gav5S_osQ9A), but no other obvious Youtube link to this documentary in April 2018 (Of note: One "duplicate" title did appear via Youtube, but it is actually the incorrect video, namely another video on this site, but it did feature Persepolis). Regarding the documentary this response sheet follows, it provided lots of CGI reconstructions of Persepolis by a professional project using the original archaeological publications, an architectural model, on-site data collection, and other resources. Various other okay to good documentaries are also available on the Persian Empire, but this one fit the course best.

- by Gregory Mumford
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Anthropology

ABSTRACT: This lecture continues from lecture 6 (which focused on Early Dynastic Sumer & Akkad), and examines various geographic and cultural areas beyond southern Mesopotamia, ca, 2,900 - 2,350 BC. Brief overviews are provided starting with Southwest Iran (Proto-Elamite culture), the Zagros Mountains and Iranian Plateau to the east, and links with the Indus Valley (Harappan Culture: ancient Meluha) via the Persian/Arabian Gulf (e.g., ancient Dilmun & Magan). The focus switches to northern Mesopotamia (e.g., Ninevite 5 and Metallic greay ware cultures), the Transcaucasian region (Kura-Araxes culture), east Central Anatolia (e.g., Arslantepe; Norsuntepe), and Southeast Anatolia (i.e., northern fringe of Syria), and Cilicia. An overview is then provided regarding the kingdoms of Mari (Euphrates) and Ebla in western Syria, plus an overview of Palestine during the Early Bronze Age, with a more specific summary of the interconnections between these regions and Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and Egypt. The lecture ends with a summation of the collapse of the Early Bronze Age III in the Levant in particular, ca. 2,300 - 2,200 BCE. The end-of-lecture summary has yet to be completed, but may await the second offering of this course in Spring 2020. UPDATED: 2022 Spring offering.

- by Gregory Mumford
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- Ancient History, Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Anthropology

Perhaps the first question one should ask about women in the an of ancient Mesopotamia is: "Why so few?" Despite the recent and comprehensive study of Julia Asher-Greve on old Sumerian women, 1 and attention to women in special situations in recent analyses.e the number of actual roles in which women appear are relatively few when compared with many other ancient cultures. As Rivka Harris has recently demonstrated,3 roles played by women in the epic literature of Mesopotamia are equally limited. Women are regarded favorably when they advise, nurture and encourage men in their struggles for success and fulfillment, Panicularly valued is the mother-son relationship, and those situations in which women act to maintain the norms of society through ritual or through socially integrative action. And since these auxilliary roles generally take place on the sidelines, as "catalysts" in the narrative rather than as main characters/l they fall outside of the usual Mesopotamian focus on "culminating scenes" in the visual arts. S Notable exceptions to this occur in the representations of female deities -not our subject today -and of elite women in socially-sanctioned public roles.

- by Irene Winter
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- Art History, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Ana kullanım amacı ürünlerin bir yerden bir yere nakli sırasında
güvenliği, bir odanın veya odanın içerisindeki ürünlerin korunması
olsa da farklı kullanım amaçları da bulunan mühürler,
gerek üzerindeki betimlemeler ve gerekse işlendikleri maddeler
ile özellikle tarihöncesinin sanat anlayışı ile oluşturulmuştur.
Arkeoloji literatüründe yayınlanmış ve bilimsel değerlendirmeye
tabi tutulmuş mühürlerin büyük bir kısmı koleksiyonlarda
yer alan eserlere aittir. Ülkemizde bugüne kadar çeşitli
koleksiyonerlere ait eserler yayınlanmış olsa da mühürler
hakkında herhangi bir yayın bulunmamaktadır. Elinizdeki bu
çalışma içerisinde günümüzden 8000 yıl öncesinden 1500 yıl
öncesine kadar olan zaman dilimine ait damga, silindir ve kompozit
mühürler yer almaktadır. Bu bağlamda Ülkemiz için bir
ilk olma özelliğine de sahip olan elinizdeki çalışma entelektüel
okuyucuya söz konusu mühürler ve ait oldukları dönemlerle
ilgili genel resmi sunmayı amaçlarken koleksiyonda yer alan
mühürlerin bilim dünyasına tanıtılmasını da hedeflemektedir.

The essays in this volume engage explicitly in a variety of theoretical and methodological strategies for the interpretation of dress, dressed bodies, and their representations in the ancient world. Focusing on personal ornaments, portraiture and architectural sculpture, the collected papers investigate the visual, somatic and semantic significance of the act of getting dressed, what it meant to be dressed in various ways, and how dress contributed to and shaped identities in antiquity. Authors draw from a wide range of disciplinary frameworks, integrating literary and archaeological evidence, experimental archaeology, social theory and the study of iconography. This volume spans a broad area both geographically and chronologically, bringing the ancient Near East into dialogue with the Classical world from prehistory through late antiquity. The breadth and inclusivity of this volume provide a strong theoretical and methodological foundation for the collaborative study of the dynamic role of dressed bodies and images that depict them.

- by megan cifarelli
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- Classical Archaeology, Art History, Historical Archaeology, History of Dress
- by Wolfgang Balzer
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- Ancient History, Near Eastern Archaeology, Iconography, Art History
- by Irene Winter
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- Near Eastern Archaeology, Art History, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near Eastern Art