Aim of the course is to
offer the more advanced research lines on the study of ancient artefacts in a
ancient Mediterranean framework trying to investigate how was the use of a
household in Classical Antiquity. Artefacts were used for the storing of food stuffs,
the cooking and serving of meals, the drinking of wine and other beverages etc.
Vessels of fired clay shatter easily, but their sherds are nearly indestructible
and hence ubiquitous; they bear a multitude of messages, which - if decoded -
illuminate aspects of history, notably economic exchanges and consumption in
ancient times, that written sources keep us in the dark about. The course
offers advanced perspectives on the analyses of some case studies
(archaeological excavations, surveys, etc.) that use a detailed reading of
technological, ethnographical, anthropological and geographical models in order
to recostruct long periods of life of the ancient societies. The main aim is to
create a platform for an integrated approach to the subject through the
application of innovative interdisciplinary research. The lessons will diplay
how rich and varied are the studies on the material culture assemblages and its
associated activities in order to investigate key elements in the
socio-economic structures of the ancient world, capable of shedding light on a
formative period of ancient history - more specifically on the economic, social
and cultural development of the Mediterranean countries.
Based on the Dublin
descriptors the main aims of the course are:
1) Knowledge and
understanding. To provide students, through the integration of the history of
scholarship and contemporary approaches, with a comprehensive understanding of
the development of methodologies for the analysis of material culture. This
will enable them to critically assess the evolution of archaeological research
methods and their application to the study and interpretation of archaeological
evidence.
2) Ability to apply
knowledge and understanding. To enable students to apply state-of-the-art
methodologies in the analysis of the production processes and use of ancient
artefacts, thereby equipping them with the skills necessary to undertake
informed, critical, and methodologically sound research in the field of
Classical Archaeology. This goal will be achieved by involving the student in
the preparation of small seminars.
3) Autonomy of judgment.
Develop in students a critical approach to texts and materials with the ability
to move between cultures, behaviors and meanings of the societies of the
ancient world.
4) Communication skills.
Provide students with a specialized and appropriate vocabulary to enable them
to communicate with language properties to the scientific community.
5) Learning skills. Develop autonomy in the ability
to identify the most representative scientific texts and understand them
adequately.Reading the past: from Great Art to Small art
The course will examine major and minor artistic
productions of the Classical world, including architecture, sculpture,
painting, and other forms of material culture. These works will be analysed and
discussed during lectures with the aim of placing them within their historical
and cultural context, taking into account their possible authorship, the
circumstances of their production, and their chronological framework. Students
will develop the ability to read and interpret archaeological and artistic
evidence by identifying and assessing the various factors that contributed to
its creation, including authorship, artistic tradition or workshop, and the
political, social, and cultural motivations underlying its production.
T. Höelscher, La cultura visiva nel mondo greco e romano. Tra arte
e vita sociale Roma, Carocci, 2024 (about 3000 pages indicated by
the professor).
R. Francovich - D. Manacorda,
Dizionari di archeologia. Temi, concetti, metodi,
Roma-Bari 2000 (solo le voci, Archeometria;
Classificazione e tipologia; Archeologia del Commercio; Archeologia del
consumo; Contesto; Cultura materiale; Archeologia della produzione; Tecnologie
produttive). (15 pp. complessive)
G. Bejor – M. Castoldi – C. Lambrugo – E. Panero,
Botteghe e artigiani. Marmorari, bronzisti, ceramisti
e vetrai nell’antichità classica, Milano 2012 (250 pagine
complessive).
J.-P.
Morel, L’artigianato e gli artigiani, in Storia di Roma, vol. II, L’Impero mediterraneo I. La repubblica
imperiale, pp. 143-156 (13 pagine).
F.
Coarelli, Il Mausoleo di Alessandro Severo e il vaso Portland,
in F. Coarelli, Contesti perduti.
Archeologia, topografia, storia dell’arte, Roma 2026, pp. 211-241).
(PDF delivered by the professor)
D.
Malfitana, Therikleia Poteria. Ateneo (Deipnosofistai
XI 470e – 472e) e alcuni kantharoi
da un santuario cipriota. Note per una rilettura, in «Quaderni
ticinesi di numismatica e antichità classiche», XXXIII, 2004, 217-247 (PDF
fornito dal docente). (30 pp.)
D. Malfitana Fatiche erculee nella ceramica corinzia di età romana.
Coppe abbinate per un ciclo figurativo incompiuto, in «Mélanges de l'École Française de Rome. Antiquité», 2005, 1, 17-53 (PDF fornito
dal docente). (36 pp.)
Laboratory sessions involving the use of
specialized equipment will be conducted by A. Mazzaglia, Subject Expert and
holder of the National Scientific Qualification for Full Professorship (First
Level) in Archaeology.
Please remember that in compliance with art 171
L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or
journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.
For further information on sanctions and regulations
concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee
Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione
Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian
Association on Copyright).
The teachers undertake, within the limits of the
financial resources, to ensure as far as possible that a copy of the adopted
texts is available in the departmental library or (in the case of hard-to-find
texts, articles and essays) to make them available on Studium, in accordance
with the applicable copyright laws.
