Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology
James C. Wright, Chair and Major Adviser
A. A. Donohue (on leave 2004-06)
Peter Magee (on leave 2004-05)
Mehmet Ali Ataç
Visiting Associate Professor:
Pamela A. Webb
Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities:
The curriculum of the department focuses on the cultures of the Mediterranean regions and the Near East in antiquity. Courses treat aspects of society and material culture of these civilizations as well as issues of theory, method and interpretation.
The major requires a minimum of 10 courses. Core requirements are Archaeology 101 and 102, one course in history and two semesters of the senior conference. Additional requirements are determined in consultation with the major adviser. Additional coursework in subjects related to archaeology may be offered in the Departments of Anthropology, Geology, Growth and Structure of Cities, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, History of Art, and Greek, Latin and Classical Studies.
Each student’s course of study to meet major requirements will be determined in consultation with the undergraduate major adviser in the spring semester of the sophomore year. Students considering majoring in the department are encouraged to take the introductory courses early in their undergraduate career and should also seek advice from departmental faculty. Students who are interested in interdisciplinary concentrations or in spending a junior year abroad are strongly advised to seek assistance in planning their major early in their sophomore year.
A semester-long research project, culminating in a lengthy paper written under the supervision of a member of the department, is required to be considered for honors. Students can register for honors — a unit of independent study (403) in either semester of the senior year — at the invitation of the department and the supervising faculty member. Honors are granted if the final paper is considered of superior quality (3.3 or above).
The minor requires six courses. Core requirements are Archaeology 101 and 102 in addition to four other courses selected in consultation with the major adviser.
Majors who contemplate graduate study in Classical fields should incorporate Greek and Latin into their programs. Those who plan graduate work in Near Eastern or Egyptian may take appropriate ancient languages at the University of Pennsylvania, such as Middle Egyptian, Akkadian and Sumerian. Any student considering graduate study in archaeology should study French and German.
The department strongly encourages students to gain fieldwork experience and assists them in getting positions on field projects in North America and overseas. The department is undertaking three field projects in which undergraduates may be invited to participate.
The Tarsus Regional Project in Turkey, cosponsored by Bryn Mawr College and Bogaziçi University in Istanbul, is currently investigating the Gözlü Küle mound at Tarsus, in Cilicia, and its vicinity. Both undergraduate and graduate students in archaeology participate in this project.
In summer 2002, the department, represented by Professor James Wright, began collaboration with the Fourth Inspectorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture in a multiyear excavation of a Mycenaean (Late Bronze Age) chamber tomb cemetery at Ancient Nemea, Greece. Undergraduate and graduate students in archaeology participate in this project, which focuses on excavation techniques, skeletal analysis and museum studies.
During winter semester break, Assistant Professor Peter Magee will continue his excavations at Muweilah in the United Arab Emirates. Undergraduate and graduate students in archaeology are invited participate in this project.
Study abroad is encouraged if the program is approved by the department. Major credit for courses taken is given on a case-by-case basis. Normally credit will not be given for courses that are ordinarily offered by the department.
ARCH B101. The Uses of the Past: Introduction to Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology
A historical survey of the archaeology and art of the ancient Near East, Egypt and the prehistoric Aegean. Three hours of class, one hour of special topics a week. (Ataç, Division III)
ARCH B102. The Uses of the Past: Introduction to Classical Archaeology
A historical survey of the archaeology and art of Greece, Etruria and Rome. Three hours of class, one hour of special topics each week. (Miller-Collett, Division III)
ARCH B201. Preclassical Greek Art and Archaeology
The art and archaeology of Greece and its Mediterranean neighbors between the end of the Bronze Age and the Persian invasion (ca. 1100 to 480 B.C.E.), the period which saw the rise of the city-state, the introduction of democracy, and the spread of Greek civilization by colonization and trade. The architecture, painting, sculpture and minor arts will be studied with attention to their historical and cultural contexts. (Donohue, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B202. Classical Greek Art and
The art and archaeology of Greece and its Mediterranean neighbors between the Persian invasion of 480 B.C.E. and the rise of Macedonia in the mid-fourth century B.C.E., the period which saw the rise of Athens, the achievements of the Periclean democracy and the dissolution of Athenian power in the wake of the Peloponnesian War. The architecture, painting, sculpture and minor arts will be studied with attention to their historical and cultural contexts. (Donohue, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B203. Ancient Greek Cities and
A study of the development of the Greek city-states and sanctuaries. (Wright, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities 203)
ARCH B205. Greek Sculpture
One of the best-preserved categories of evidence for ancient Greek culture is sculpture. The Greeks devoted immense resources to producing sculpture that encompassed many materials and forms and served a variety of important social functions. This course examines sculptural production in Greece and neighboring lands from the Bronze Age through the fourth century B.C.E. with special attention to style, iconography and historical and social context. (Webb, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B206. Hellenistic and Roman Sculpture
This course surveys the sculpture produced from the fourth century B.C. to the fourth century A.D., the period beginning with the death of Alexander the Great that saw the transformation of the classical world through the rise of Rome and the establishment and expansion of the Roman Empire. Style, iconography and production will be studied in the contexts of the culture of the Hellenistic kingdoms, the Roman appropriation of Greek culture, the role of art in Roman society, and the significance of Hellenistic and Roman sculpture in the post-antique classical tradition. (Donohue, Division III; cross-listed as History of Art 206) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B209. Aegean Archaeology
The prehistoric cultures of the Aegean area concentrating on Minoan Crete, Troy, the Aegean Islands and Mycenaean Greece. (Wright, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B222. Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great achieved heroic status in his own time. This provided a basis for the Alexander mythology that endures to today in the popular media. This course uses archaeological and historical evidence through the centuries to reconstruct the life and afterlife of the figure of Alexander. (Miller-Collett, Division III)
ARCH B224. Women in the Ancient Near East
A survey of the social position of women in the ancient Near East, from sedentary villages to empires of the first millennium B.C.E. Topics include critiques of traditional concepts of gender in archaeology and theories of matriarchy. Case studies illustrate the historicity of gender concepts: women's work in early village societies; the meanings of Neolithic female figurines; the position of women in early states; the representation of gender in the Gilgamesh epic and other Sumerian texts; the institution of the "Tawananna" (queen) in the Hittite empire; the indirect power of women such as Semiramis in the Neo-Assyrian palaces. Reliefs, statues, texts and more indirect archaeological evidence are the basis for the discussion of the historical examples. (Magee, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B226. Anatolian Archaeology
The archaeology and cultural history of Anatolia (modern Turkey) from prehistory to Classical times. An overview of topography and monuments and consideration of interconnections with the Near East and Aegean. (staff, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B230. Archaeology and History of Ancient Egypt
The cultural, social and political development of Egypt from the beginning of settled communities in the Nile Valley to the end of the New Kingdom (ca. 5000 to 1100 B.C.E.), in both the African and the wider Near Eastern contexts. Emphasizes archaeological remains, but also makes use of documentary evidence. (Ataç, Division III)
ARCH B236. Syro-Palestinian Archaeology
The archaeology of the Levant and its relationships with surrounding cultures from the Neolithic Period through the end of the Iron Age. Topics include the history of research and focus on the relationships among cultures within the area. (staff, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B239. Land of the Buddha
This course uses archaeological evidence to reconstruct social and economic life in South Asia from ca. 1200 to 0 B.C.E. We examine the roles of religion, economy and foreign trade in the establishment of powerful kingdoms and empires that characterized this region during this period. (Magee, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B240. Mesopotamia before 1600 B.C.E.
An examination of the development of Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian culture from the origins of village life to the fall of the Old Babylonian Dynasty. After a brief overview of the origins of food production and of Neolithic development, particular attention is paid to the origins of urbanism, writing, long-distance trade and other characteristics of social complexity; the Sumerian city-states of the Early Dynastic period and their social, religious and economic life; the appearance of other ethnic groups and their effect on cultural development; the founding and the fall of supra-regional empires; and the archaeological evidence for the life and ideologies of the ancient Mesopotamians. (Ataç, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B241. Mesopotamia after 1600 B.C.E.
An examination of the development of Babylonian and Assyrian culture from the so-called Dark Age following the end of the Old Babylonian Dynasty, through the time of the "International Age" of the late second millennium B.C.E., the critical period of the transition from the Bronze to the Iron Age at the end of the millennium. Attention is given to the evidence for economic development and change as seen in the archaeological record; technological change and its effect on society and culture; the influence of foreign contacts and new peoples on Mesopotamian culture; and the ways in which religious ideas and political aspirations inform the art of the times. (Ataç, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B301. Greek Vase-Painting
Greek vase-painting as an original form of art, its relation to other arts and its place in archaeological research. This course makes extensive use of the vases and shards in the Ella Riegel Collection. (Miller-Collett, Division III)
ARCH B302.Greek Architecture
The Greek architectural tradition and its historical development. (Webb, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities 302 and Graduate Seminar 503) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B303. Classical Bodies
An examination of the conceptions of the human body evidenced in Greek and Roman art and literature, with emphasis on issues that have persisted in the Western tradition. Topics include the fashioning of concepts of male and female standards of beauty and their implications; conventions of visual representation; the nude; clothing and its symbolism; the athletic ideal; physiognomy; medical theory and practice; the visible expression of character and emotions; and the formulation of the "classical ideal" in antiquity and later times. (Donohue, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B305. Ancient Athens: Monuments and Art
Detailed analysis of the monuments, archaeology and art of ancient Athens — the home of such persons as Pericles, Sophocles and Plato. The course considers the art and monuments of ancient Athens against the historical background of the city, and is a case study in understanding the role of archaeology in reconstructing the life and culture of the Athenians. (Miller-Collett; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities 305) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B308. Ceramic Analysis
Pottery is a fundamental means of establishing the relative chronology of archaeological sites and of understanding past human behavior. Included are theories, methods and techniques of pottery description, analysis and interpretation. Topics include typology, seriation, ceramic characterization, production, function, exchange and the use of computers in pottery analysis. Laboratory work on pottery in the department collections. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. (Magee, Division I or III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B316. Trade and Transport in the Ancient World
Issues of trade, commerce and production of export goods are addressed with regard to the Aegean cultures of the Late Bronze Age and the wider Mediterranean of the first millennium B.C.E. Crucial to these systems is the development of the means of transport for land and sea. Readings from ancient texts are targeted with the evidence of archaeological/ underwater excavation and information on the commodities traded in antiquity. (staff, Division III; cross-listed as Growth and Structure of Cities 316) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B318. Peasants, Traders, Bureaucrats: Economies in the Ancient Near East
An introduction to economic organization, including production, distribution and consumption in the Ancient Near East. After introducing some basic concepts, the character and problems of textual and archaeological sources are discussed. (Magee, Division III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B324. Roman Architecture
(Scott, Division III; cross-listed as Greek, Latin and Classical Studies 324, Growth and Structure of Cities 324 and History of Art 324) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B327. Spatial Analysis in Archaeology
The spatial dimensions of social phenomena are critical issues in archaeological theory and method. Sophisticated approaches are being employed by archaeologists to document the spatial contexts of past human activities, as the once dominant geographic view of space as an inflexible absolute has been replaced by the recognition that space is foremost a social product and that structures, settlements, landscapes and regions are inhabited, organized and perceived by societies and individuals in a multitude of ways. The goal of this course is therefore to introduce students to current methods for the qualitative analysis of ancient spaces and the quantitative analysis of the spatial attributes of archaeological data. (Compton, Division I)
ARCH B328. Analysis of Geospatial Data
An introduction to analysis of geospatial data, theory and the practice of geospatial reasoning. As part of this introduction students will gain experience in using one or more GIS software packages and be introduced to data gathering in the field by remote sensing. Each student is expected to undertake an independent project that uses the approaches and tools presented. (Crawford, Wong, Wright; cross-listed as Biology 328 and Geology 328)
ARCH B332. Archaeological Field Techniques
Learning to excavate, survey and understand resultant information is an important skill for field archaeologists. In this course we review advances in field techniques, conduct mock-surveys and excavations, and analyze data. We also examine how field techniques have affected (or been in response to) shifts in archaeological theory. (Magee, Division I or III) Not offered in 2004-05.
ARCH B398, B399. Senior Conference
A weekly seminar on common topics with assigned readings and oral and written reports. (Wright, Ataç)
ARCH B403. Independent Supervision
The Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology sponsors the following courses in the Department of Greek, Latin and Classical Studies, which should be of interest to archaeology students (see description under individual department).
Classical Culture and Society
110. The World Through Classical Eyes
(Donohue, Division III)