Mesopotamian Archaeology
Objectives
a. Understanding the socio-economic, cultural and religious contexts that caracterized ancient Mesopotamia; b. Recognizing the main artistic manifestations in the specific contexts in which they appeared; c. Identifying the main archaeological remains and archaeological structures of ancient Mesopotamia and being able to place them in the right chronological period; d. To provide an understanding and a dialogue on the conservation of the Mesopotamian architectural and archaeological heritage, as well as on the policies that must be adopted to safeguard it.
General characterization
Code
722051363
Credits
10.0
Responsible teacher
Francisco José Gomes Caramelo
Hours
Weekly - 3
Total - 280
Teaching language
Portuguese
Prerequisites
Available soon
Bibliography
- ANASTASIO, S., Costriure tra i due fiume, Firenze, Museo e Istituto Fiorentino di Preistoria \"Paolo Graziosi\", 2011.
- LARSEN, M. T., The Conquest of Assyria: Excavations in an Antique Land, 1840-1860, New York, Routledge, 1996.
- LEICK, G., Dictionary of Ancient Near East Architecture, London, Routledge, 1988.
- MATTHEWS, R., The Archaeology of Mesopotamia: Theories and Approaches, New York and London, Routledge, 2003.
-MARGUERON, Jean-Claude, Mari: Capital of Nothern Mesopotamia in the Third Millennium, Oxford and Philadelphia, Oxbow Books, 2014.
- MONTERO FENOLLÓS, J.L. et al., Asirios en el Medio Éufrates. La cerámica medioasiria de Tell Qabr Abu al-Atiq en su contexto histórico-arqueológico, Ferrol, Proyecto Arqueológico Medio Éufrates Sirio (PAMES-UDC) y Sociedade Luso-Galega de Estudos Mesopotámicos, 2015.
Teaching method
Teaching Methodology - The curricular unit will be divided into theory classes, accompanied by visual information (PowerPoints and small informative videos), and practical classes, in which iconographic sources and artefact catalogues will be analysed.
Evaluation method
Evaluation method - a written paper (70%), oral presentation(30%)
Subject matter
1. Geographic and chronological contextualization
2. The travelers´ accounts on ancient Mesopotamia and the first excavations (19th and 20th centuries)
3. The musealization and conservation of ancient Mesopotamian archaeological heritage / current problems
4. The building materials
5. The architectural elements
6. The origins and development of urbanism
6.1. The case of Mari
6.2. The case of Babylon
7. Public and private architecture
7.1. The temples
7.2. The palaces
7.3. The military structures
7.4. Domestic spaces
8. Pottery: Types, History, Development
9. Metals and trade routes