B1728 - Aegean Archaeology (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the seminar students will be able to interpret issues related to specific historical phenomena in a diachronic and transversal perspective within the Aegean Bronze Age framework, thought the elaboration and synthesis of the data coming from the analysis of written records and material sources and from the collective debate originated from the contact with other people, especially the civilizations originating in the Near East and Anatolia. They will be able to formulate autonomously and in an organized way a research path or an intellectual work, using the specific acquired tools with methodological rigour, precision and accuracy.

Course contents

The course deals with the study of the Aegean civilizations of the Bronze Age (third and second millennium B.C.E). Lessons will firstly deal with geography and history of the researches; then with theCycladic civilization; the Cretan sites and the different paths that brought about the formation of the first Minoan palaces; the impact of the Cretan civilization outside the island and on the Greek mainland communities; and eventually the Mycenaean civilization, with the analysis of a few key-sites, such as Lerna, Mycenae, Tiryns and Pylos. Last but not least, attention will be given to the causes and long-lasting factors that brought about the decline and eventual collapse of the Mycenaean palatial states.

Readings/Bibliography

L. Bombardieri, G. Graziadio, E. Iasink, Preistoria e protostoria egea e cipriota, Firenze 2015 (compulsory)

A.L. D’Agata, L. Girella, Civiltà dell’Egeo, Carocci, Milano (compulsory for students who do not attend the course).

Selected essays, included in:

E. Cline (a cura di), The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean, Oxford 2010

C. Shelmerdine (a cura di), The Cambridge Companion to the Aegean Bronze Age, Cambridge 2008

FIgures, captions and plans from

ppt presentations by the teacher

- figures in J.-C. Poursat - C. Knappett, The Art and Archaeology of Aegean Bronze Age: A History, Cambridge 2022

Teaching methods

Lesson, followed by questions and possibly debate

Assessment methods

An interview concerning on the contents of the course. Evaluation will also take into account active participation (if any) at lessons.

Teaching tools

Booktexts, presentations at lessons; webquest

Office hours

See the website of Santo Privitera