93149 - Archaeology of the Body, Clothing and Ornamentation (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will gain a comprehensive understanding of the material and cultural dimensions of the human body as expressed through clothing, ornamentation, and bodily practices. Adopting a diachronic approach and integrating key anthropological and sociological theories, they will be able to critically engage with the study of the body as a socio-cultural construct and a medium of expression and identity. They will become familiar with various types of sources for investigating the materiality of clothing and ornamentation, as well as their role in reconstructing past lifestyles, socio-economic structures, and dimensions of gender and status across different cultures.

Course contents

This course examines archaeological research on the human body and dress in ancient civilizations, in terms of clothing, ornamentation, and body modification. The course considers different approaches and sources to define the topic and explores the way and extent to which these matters contribute to our understanding of ancient societies. By integrating textual sources, iconographic documents, and archaeological evidence, the course aims to delve into dress as a dynamic index in the construction of identity and instrumental in mediating social, political, and ritual relationships within the cultural environment. Through the study of various case studies across the Mediterranean, students will acquire theoretical and practical knowledge of the discipline and will be able to critically engage with the current debate in relation to wider social processes.

Introduction and methodological issues

• Archaeology of the body, clothing and ornamentation: conceptual definitions, approaches and sources
• Embodiment theories between anthropology and archaeology: from theorizing perception to understanding experience

Treating bodies in life and afterlife

• Embodying daily routine practices: cleanliness and beautification in antiquity
  
• Inscribing bodies: tattooing as identity body markers across millennia
• Body conception facing death: funerary rituals in the Roman and Late Roman empire

From body ornaments to ornamented bodies: dress and the construction of identity in antiquity

• Clothing and ornamentation in the Roman and Late Roman empire 
• Technological advancements and trade in clothing and ornamentation.

• Empowered bodies: ornaments and attire as expression of status and power
  

Readings/Bibliography

Recommended readings for students attending classes:

Della Casa P. (2013), Matters of Identity: Body, Dress and Markers in Social Context, in Tattoos and Body Modifications in Antiquity, Proceedings of the sessions at the EAA annual meetings in The Hague and Oslo, 2010/11, Zurich Studies in Archaeology, 9, 9-14. 

Joyce R.A. (2005), Archaeology of the Body, in The Annual Review of Anthropology 34, 139–158.

Graham E.-J. (2015), Corporeal concerns: the role of the body in the transformation of Roman mortuary practices In: Devlin, Zoë L. and Graham, Emma-Jayne eds. Death Embodied: Archaeological Approaches to the Treatment of the Corpse. Studies in Funerary Archaeology (9). Oxford: Oxbow, pp. 41–62.

Rife J.L. (2024), Burial and Society in the Greek World during Late Antiquity, in A. Dolea and L. Lavan, eds., Burial and Memorial in Late Antiquity (Late Antique Archaeology 13). Berlin & Leiden: De Gruyter Brill 2024. pp. 779-810.

Parani M. (2025), Byzantine Identity and Dress, in J. Ball (ed.), Byzantine Dress: a guide, 3-35.

Non-attending students:

Non-attending students are required to prepare one among the following manuals and six among the following readings:

Manuals:

Cleland L., Harlow M., Llewellyn-Jones L. (2005), The clothed body in the ancient world, Oxford.

Harlow M., Nosch M.-L. (2014), Greek and Roman Textiles and Dress. An Interdisciplinary Anthology, Oxford.

Lee M. (2015), Body, Dress and Identity in Ancient Greece. Cambridge and New York, Cambridge University Press https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107295261

Morgan F. P. (2018), Dress and personal appearance in Late Antiquity. The clothing of middle and lower classes, Leiden-Boston.

Readings:

Benda-Weber I. (2018), Early Greek garments: indications for Weaving techniques and textile ornaments on representations and evidence of contemporary textile remains, PURPUREAE VESTES VI Textiles and Dyes in the Mediterranean Economy and Society (M.S. Busana, M. Gleba, F. Meo, A.R. Tricomi eds.), 49-59.

Ciffarelli M. (2019), Introduction, in Fashioned Selves, Dress and Identity in Antiquity, Oxford, 1-10.

Della Casa P. (2013), Matters of Identity: Body, Dress and Markers in Social Context, in Tattoos and Body Modifications in Antiquity, Proceedings of the sessions at the EAA annual meetings in The Hague and Oslo, 2010/11, Zurich Studies in Archaeology, 9, 9-14.

Della Casa P., Witt C. (2013), Aspects of Embodiment – Tattoos and Body Modifications in Antiquity, in Tattoos and Body Modifications in Antiquity, Proceedings of the sessions at the EAA annual meetings in The Hague and Oslo, 2010/11, Zurich Studies in Archaeology, 9, 5-8.

Eicher J. B., Roach-Higgins M. E. (1992), Definition and classification of dress: implications for analysis of gender roles, in Barnes, Ruth & Eicher, Joanne B. (Eds.) Dress and gender: Making and meaning, New York:Berg Publishers, Inc., pp.8-28. https://hdl.handle.net/11299/170746 .

Fusillo E. (2022), Tracing Stigma: The Evolution of the Tattoo in the Middle Ages, University of Dayton.

Harlow M. (2004), Female Dress, Third – Sixth century: the messages in the Media?, in Antiquité Tardive, 203-215.Harlow M. (2004), Female Dress, Third – Sixth century: the messages in the Media?, in Antiquité Tardive, 203-215.

Harlow M., Nosch M.-L. (2014), Weaving the Threads: methodologies in textile and dress research for the Greek and Roman world – the state of the art and the case for cross-disciplinarity, in Greek and Roman Textiles and Dress an Interdisciplinary Anthology, Oxford, 1-33.

Hawken K. (2022), Tattooing in Antiquity, Symbolism, and Practice in Early Cultures, in Anthropology Department Scholars Week. 6. https://cedar.wwu.edu/anthropology_scholarsweek/6

Jones C. P. 1987, Stigma: Tattooing and Branding in Graeco-Roman Antiquity, in The Journal of Roman Studies, 77, 139-155.

Joyce R.A. (2005), Archaeology of the Body, in The Annual Review of Anthropology 34, 139–158.

Larsson Lovén L. (2014), Roman Art: what can it tell us about dress and textiles? A discussion on the use of visual evidence as sources for textile research, in Harlow M., Nosch M.-L. (2014), Greek and Roman Textiles and Dress. An Interdisciplinary Anthology, Oxford, 260-278.

Lee M.M. (2012), Dress and Adornment in Archaic and Classical Greece, in A companion to women in the ancient world, ed. S. L. James, S. Dillon, Wiley-Blackwell.

Llewellyn-Jones L. (2021), Body and Clothing, in A Cultural History of Color in Antiquity, 81-102.

Muthesius A. (2016), Cloth, colour, symbolism and meaning in Byzantium (4th-15th centuries), in Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας, 37, 181–198. https://doi.org/10.12681/dchae.10695

Parani M. (2007), Defining personal space: dress and accessories in Late Antiquity, in Objects in Context, Objects in Use. Material Spatiality in Late Antiquity. (Late Antique Archaeology 5 - 2007), ed. L. Lavan, E. Swift and T. Putzeys (Leiden and Boston), 497-529.

Parani M. (2025), Byzantine Identity and Dress, in J. Ball (ed.), Byzantine Dress: a guide, 3-35.

Rife J.L. (2024), Burial and Society in the Greek World during Late Antiquity, in A. Dolea and L. Lavan, eds., Burial and Memorial in Late Antiquity (Late Antique Archaeology 13). Berlin & Leiden: De Gruyter Brill 2024. pp. 779-810.

Roach-Higgins M. E., Eicher J. (1992), Dress and Identity, in Clothing and Textiles Research Journal 10(4):1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X9201000401

Shamir O. (2013), Dress, Hellenistic and Roman Period, in D. M. Master (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Bible and Archaeology. Oxford, 1:328-336.

Teaching methods

Classes will include frontal lectures and active discussion. Regular and active participation in classwork will be taken into account in the final assessment. Ppt presentations will be used in class, combined with additional digital resources such as audio-video content, documentaries, multimedia data.

During the course, specialists will be involved to talk about specific topics.

The last week of the course will be devoted to peer discussion of selected lectures, presented individually or in groups.

A field trip to a museum and/or a local archaeological context is also planned.

Assessment methods

For attending students, grades will be awarded during the course through assessment of active participation in class discussions, oral presentations of a selected context/case study and an oral exam.

A student who attends at least 75% of the lectures is considered a regular attendee.

The final exam consists of a written essay and an oral exam.

The written essay (15,000 characters including notes and bibliography) will analyze a specific context/case study related to course contents. The topic will be agreed with the lecturer who will provide the basic scientific literature. Specific bibliography will be independently compiled by the student. The essay must clearly present the topic, objectives, analysis, and conclusions. Detailed guidelines will be provided.

Plagiarism or academic dishonesty will result in failure of the exam.

The essay will be synthetically presented to the class during the last part of the course and discussed in details in an oral exam during the scheduled sessions.

During the oral exam, two additional questions will assess the student’s ability to present topics using appropriate academic language and to connect different texts in order to develop a coherent argument. Knowledge of the recommended bibliography and the topics covered during the lectures is required.

Evaluation criteria:

• Participation and attendance: 15%
• Steering a discussion and critical thinking: 15%
• Class presentation of selected topic/case study: 25%
• Oral exam: 45%

Non-attending students will take an oral examination.

The overall assessment will take the following parameters into consideration:

- an excellent knowledge of the subject matter, the ability to analyse topics, to refer to them using terminology specific to the field and to critically discuss specific issues, supporting one's own opinion, will be rewarded with an excellent mark.

- a mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter with the ability to analyse, with a correct, though not always field-specific, command of language will be rewarded with a 'fair' grade.

- a minimal knowledge of the subject matter will not be sufficient to pass the examination.

Exams are scheduled on a monthly basis, specifically in January, February, March, April, May, June, October, November, and December.

Teaching tools

PDFs of ppt presentations, additional readings and other support materials will be available on the Online Teaching platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/).

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Giulia Marsili