Cultural Identity in the Pre- and Dynastic Middle East: Archaeological Context, Transformations and Interpretation

Pre-requisites: To have completed basic academic studies and master studies, with a specialization in research in archaeology of the Middle East.

Course objectives: Familiarization and understanding complex problems, theoretical and logistical postulates and deliberating Middle Eastern archaeology, with the aim of enabling the candidate for independent research.

Course description: Middle East region in a chronological frame from the Epipaleolithic to: - end of the second dynasty (Egypt), - end of the Iron Age (Palestine), -end of the Uruk period (Mesopotamia); Beside the review of the relevant aspects, above all on the contextual and conceptual level, of the specifics of cultural identity and their influence on one another will be addressed; Interpretation of archaeological data the perception of it in modern society.

Learning Outcomes: Essay and a written examination.

Literature/Reading:

• Anđelković, B., 2002, Evolucija gerzeške kulture: unutrašnji i spoljni činioci. Doktorska disertacija, Univerzitet u Beogradu.
• Jiménez Serano, A., 2002, Royal Festivals in the Late Predynastic Period and the First Dynasty. BAR International Series 1076. Oxford: Archaeopress.
• Algaze, G., 2008, Ancient Mesopotamia at the Dawn of Civilization: The Evolution of an Urban Landscape. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Smith, A. T., 2003, The Political Landscapes: Constellations of Authority in Early Complex Polities. Berkeley: University of California Press.
• Flores, D. V., 2003, Funerary Sacrifice of Animals in the Egyptian Predynastic Period. BAR International Series 1153. Oxford: Archaeopress.
• Ritner, R. K., 1997, The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice. Studies in Ancient Oriental Institute Civilization 54. Chicago: The Oriental Institute.
• Silberman, N. A., 1989, Between Past and Present: Archaeology, Ideology and Nationalism in the Modern Middle East. New York: Henry Holt.
• Haas, J., (ed.) 2001, From Leaders to Rulers. New York et al.: Kluwer Academics, Plenum Publishers.
• Wylie, A., 2002, Thinking from Things: Essays in the Philosophy of Archaeology. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press.