nicola laneri
Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche, Faculty Member
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Anatolian Archaeology, Archeologia, Social Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Theoretical Archaeology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, and 41 moreFunerary Archaeology, Archaeology of Religion, Pottery (Archaeology), Pottery technology and function, Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology, Material Culture Studies, Archaeological Method & Theory, Death and Burial (Archaeology), Mediterranean prehistory, Ancient Near Eastern Pottery, Archaeology of Funerary Rituals, Anthropology of Religion, Assyrian Empire, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near East (Archaeology), Ancient Near Eastern History, Archaeological Theory, Assyrian archaeology, Neo-Assyrian studies, Anatolian Studies, Ancient Religion, Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Near Eastern Studies, Sumerian & Akkadian literature, Assyriology, Archaeology of Ritual, Ancient Near Eastern Religions, Development of complex societies, Late Bronze Age archaeology, Middle Bronze Age, Iranian Archaeology, History of Religion, Sumerian, Early Bronze Age (Archaeology), Mesopotamia History, Archaeology of Ritual and Magic, Relational Ontology, Human-Animal Relations, Archaeology of Ancestors, and Religion edit
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Nicola Laneri teaches Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Catania and is the Director of the School of Reli... moreNicola Laneri teaches Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Catania and is the Director of the School of Religious Studies at CAMNES (Florence). He is the director of the Baghdad Urban Archaeological Project in Iraq and the co-director of the Ganja Regional Kurgan Archaeological Project (GaRKAP) in collaboration with the National Academy of Science of the Republic of Azerbaijan. He is also the PI of the PRIN 2020 project 'Godscapes: Modeling Second Millennium BCE polytheisms in the eastern Mediterranean'. He also taught at the University of Chicago, the Middle Eastern Technical University of Ankara and the Oriental Institute of Naples. From 2003 until 2016, he has been the director of the Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project (SE Turkey). In 2000, he was nominated Fulbright Research Scholar at the Dept. of Anthropology of the University of Columbia and Research Fellow at the Italian Academy at Columbia University. In 2002-2004, he was appointed Visiting Professor at the Middle East Technical University of Ankara (Turkey). In 2005, he acted as a Research Fellow at Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. In 2015 he was nominated Erasmus visiting professor at the University of Leiden
During his career, he organized conferences, panels and workshops as well as presented papers at internationally recognized meetings and institutions. He published more than 100 scientific articles in journals and books. edit
Organized forms of religious beliefs and practices can be traced to ca. 10,000 BCE in the ancient Near East, where the earliest evidence of ritual structures and objects can be found. Religious architecture, the relics of human skeletons,... more
Organized forms of religious beliefs and practices can be traced to ca. 10,000 BCE in the ancient Near East, where the earliest evidence of ritual structures and objects can be found. Religious architecture, the relics of human skeletons, animal symbolism, statues, and icons all contributed to a complex network into which the spiritual essence of the divine was materially present. In this book, Nicola Laneri traces the transformation of the belief systems that shaped life in ancient Near Eastern communities, from prehistoric times until the advent of religious monotheism in the Levant during the first millennium BCE. Considering a range of evidence, from stone ceremonial enclosures, such as Göbekli Tepe, to the construction of the first temples and icons of Mesopotamian polytheistic beliefs, to the Temple of Jerusalem, the iconic center of Israelite monotheism, Laneri offers new insights into the symbolic value embodied in the religious materiality produced in the ancient Near East.
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Che ruolo avevano i riti funerari nell’organizzazione sociale del mondo antico? Qual era il loro significato simbolico e ideologico? A quali modalità di trattamento era sottoposto il corpo del defunto? Come interpretare i corredi funerari... more
Che ruolo avevano i riti funerari nell’organizzazione sociale del mondo antico? Qual era il loro significato simbolico e ideologico? A quali modalità di trattamento era sottoposto il corpo del defunto? Come interpretare i corredi funerari e le offerte posti sia all’esterno sia all’interno delle tombe? In quale modo si esprimeva la distinzione tra le classi sociali dopo la morte? Nel rispondere a queste e altre domande, il testo si propone come guida basilare per studenti e studiosi interessati ai significati sociali e culturali dei costumi funerari delle società antiche.
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With contributions spanning from the Neolithic Age to the Iron Age, this book offers important insights into the religions and ritual practices in ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern communities through the lenses of their material... more
With contributions spanning from the Neolithic Age to the Iron Age, this book offers important insights into the religions and ritual practices in ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern communities through the lenses of their material remains.
The book begins with a theoretical introduction to the concept of material religion and features editor introductions to each of its six parts, which tackle the following themes: the human body; religious architecture; the written word; sacred images; the spirituality of animals; and the sacred role of the landscape. Illustrated with over 100 images, chapters provide insight into every element of religion and materiality, from the largest building to the smallest amulet. This is a benchmark work for further studies on material religion in the ancient Near East and Egypt.
The book begins with a theoretical introduction to the concept of material religion and features editor introductions to each of its six parts, which tackle the following themes: the human body; religious architecture; the written word; sacred images; the spirituality of animals; and the sacred role of the landscape. Illustrated with over 100 images, chapters provide insight into every element of religion and materiality, from the largest building to the smallest amulet. This is a benchmark work for further studies on material religion in the ancient Near East and Egypt.
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The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans) started in the late fifth millennium B.C.E. in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze... more
The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans) started in the late fifth millennium B.C.E. in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze and Iron Age. The propagation of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. It is with the purpose of defining the origin, distribution and development of the use of kurgans in such a broad region that an International workshop was organized in Florence by CAMNES and CNRS. The workshop aimed at examining chronological issues, cultural dynamics at inter-regional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the “kurgan people” over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, were also discussed. This volume is thus the result from the contributions that were presented during those two days (29-30 March 2018) of intense confrontation on this topic.
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The human body serves as a symbolic bridge between communities of the living and the divine. This is clearly evident in mythological stories that recount the creation of humans by deities within ancient and contemporaneous societies... more
The human body serves as a symbolic bridge between communities of the living and the divine. This is clearly evident in mythological stories that recount the creation of humans by deities within ancient and contemporaneous societies across a very broad geographical environment.
In certain circumstances, parts of selected humans can become an ideal proxy for connecting with the supernatural, as demonstrated by the cult of human skulls in Near Eastern Neolithic communities, as well as the cult of relics of Christian saints from the early Christian era.
To go deeper into this topic, this volume aims to undertake a cross-cultural investigation of the role played by both humans and human remains in creating forms of relationality with the divine in antiquity. Such an approach will highlight how the human body can be envisioned as part of a broader materialization of religious beliefs that is based on connecting different realms of materiality in the perception of the supernatural by communities of the living.
In certain circumstances, parts of selected humans can become an ideal proxy for connecting with the supernatural, as demonstrated by the cult of human skulls in Near Eastern Neolithic communities, as well as the cult of relics of Christian saints from the early Christian era.
To go deeper into this topic, this volume aims to undertake a cross-cultural investigation of the role played by both humans and human remains in creating forms of relationality with the divine in antiquity. Such an approach will highlight how the human body can be envisioned as part of a broader materialization of religious beliefs that is based on connecting different realms of materiality in the perception of the supernatural by communities of the living.
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"Religion is a phenomenon that is inseparable from human society. It brings about a set of emotional, ideological and practical elements that are pervasive in the social fabric of any society and characterizable by a number of features.... more
"Religion is a phenomenon that is inseparable from human society. It brings about a set of emotional, ideological and practical elements that are pervasive in the social fabric of any society and characterizable by a number of features. these include the establishment of intermediaries in the relationship between humans and the divine; the construction of ceremonial places for worshipping the gods and practicing ritual performances; and the creation ritual paraphernalia. Investigating the religious dimensions of ancient societies encounters problems in defining such elements, especially with regard to societies that lack textual evidences and has tended to lead towards the identification of differentiation between the mental dimension, related to religious beliefs, and the material one associated with religious practices, resulting in a separation between scholars able to investigate, and possibly reconstruct, ritual practices (i.e., archaeologists), and those interested in defining the realm of ancient beliefs (i.e., philologists and religious historians).
The aim of this collection of papers is to attempt to bridge these two dimensions by breaking down existing boundaries in order to form a more comprehensive vision of religion among ancient Near Eastern societies. This approach requires that a higher consideration be given to those elements (either artificial -- buildings, objects, texts, etc. -- or natural -- landscapes, animals, trees, etc.) that are created through a materialization of religious beliefs and practices enacted by members of communities. These issues are addressed in a series of specific case-studies covering a broad chronological framework that from the Pre-pottery Neolithic to the Iron Age."
The aim of this collection of papers is to attempt to bridge these two dimensions by breaking down existing boundaries in order to form a more comprehensive vision of religion among ancient Near Eastern societies. This approach requires that a higher consideration be given to those elements (either artificial -- buildings, objects, texts, etc. -- or natural -- landscapes, animals, trees, etc.) that are created through a materialization of religious beliefs and practices enacted by members of communities. These issues are addressed in a series of specific case-studies covering a broad chronological framework that from the Pre-pottery Neolithic to the Iron Age."
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The first volume opening the series D of "Studien zur Urbanisierung Nordmesopotamines" is represented by the proceedings of an international workshop hold during the VI ICAANE 2008 in Rome. The workshop aimed to enlarge the current... more
The first volume opening the series D of "Studien zur Urbanisierung Nordmesopotamines" is represented by the proceedings of an international workshop hold during the VI ICAANE 2008 in Rome. The workshop aimed to enlarge the current perspective on the socioeconomic exchanges that occurred during the Late Third and Early Second millennium BC between communities inhabiting Northern Mesopotamian and Southeaster Anatolian regions. The 19 contributions are divided into two sections. The first one ('Environment, Landscape and Settlement Pattern') aims to define how the settlements located in the different regions of the Syrian Jazirah and the Upper Valleys of the Tigris and the Euphrates reacted to the historical and climatic events that, during the Late Third millennium BC, brought to a halt the phenomenon of urban revolution that characterized these regions during the Third millennium until the advent of the Old Akkadian Empire. Moreover, it tries to establish the relationship between these different regions focusing on the positive outcomes that the socioeconomic crisis of the Late Third millennium brought about. The second section ('Site's Analyses and Material Culture') provides different archaeological case studies focusing mainly on the regions of the Upper Tigris valley and the Syrian Jazirah with new results of recent researches and excavations; some contributions show clear connections between these two regions on the base of the material culture. The conclusion is provided by a synthesis of the transformations in the societal organization of the communities in Northern Mesopotamia and Southeaster Anatolian regions and a comparison of the different options explaining the changes.
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The Museum of Archaeology of the University of Catania (MAUC) is the place where the Guido Libertini’s collection (1888-1953), former rector of the Catania University, is exhibited: the exposition is a journey through the archaeology of... more
The Museum of Archaeology of the University of Catania (MAUC) is the place where the Guido Libertini’s collection (1888-1953), former rector of the Catania University, is exhibited: the exposition is a journey through the archaeology of the Catania region from the Prehistory to the Medieval age.
The collection’s remarkable core consists of classical antiquities collected by Libertini, to which other finds brought to light over the years of the activities of the Institute of Archaeology have been added. In its entirety, the Museum nucleus consists of 325 finds (fine and common wares, terracotta figurines, inscriptions), and hundreds of coins dating to the Greco-Roman era.
The choice to digitize the museum’s catalogue is based on the relevance of the Libertini collection, on the quality and consistency of the supporting documentation, on the significant presence of legacy data and on the cultural significance that the Museum has for the collectivity and for the University of Catania community.
The collection’s remarkable core consists of classical antiquities collected by Libertini, to which other finds brought to light over the years of the activities of the Institute of Archaeology have been added. In its entirety, the Museum nucleus consists of 325 finds (fine and common wares, terracotta figurines, inscriptions), and hundreds of coins dating to the Greco-Roman era.
The choice to digitize the museum’s catalogue is based on the relevance of the Libertini collection, on the quality and consistency of the supporting documentation, on the significant presence of legacy data and on the cultural significance that the Museum has for the collectivity and for the University of Catania community.
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The GaRKAP (i.e., Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project) is a joint Azerbaijani-Italian project in western Azerbaijan that investigates the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli... more
The GaRKAP (i.e., Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project) is a joint Azerbaijani-Italian project in western Azerbaijan that investigates the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli (i.e., kurgans) in the southern Caucasus during a period ranging from the fourth to the first millennia BCE.
This paper will present the results of the first two seasons (2018 and 2019) of the archaeological work performed in the two regions investigated by the project that are: the area directly north of the modern city of Ganja (i.e., the northern section of the Heydar Aliyev Park), where numerous kurgans of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age are located; and, the steppe region of Şadılı-Uzun Rama along the valley of the Kurekçay, a creek affluent of the Kura river in the Goranboy district, where the preliminary reconnaissance survey has identified ca. 205 kurgans dating back to the Kura-Araxes period as well as to a Late Bronze/Early Iron Age archaeological phase.
This paper will present the results of the first two seasons (2018 and 2019) of the archaeological work performed in the two regions investigated by the project that are: the area directly north of the modern city of Ganja (i.e., the northern section of the Heydar Aliyev Park), where numerous kurgans of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age are located; and, the steppe region of Şadılı-Uzun Rama along the valley of the Kurekçay, a creek affluent of the Kura river in the Goranboy district, where the preliminary reconnaissance survey has identified ca. 205 kurgans dating back to the Kura-Araxes period as well as to a Late Bronze/Early Iron Age archaeological phase.
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Nell'Azerbaigian occidentale una missione italo-azera sta scavando una necropoli con tumuli funerari realizzati dal IV al I millennio a.C. Tra salme corredi e slitte carbonizzate emerge il ritratto di una società nomade di tipo... more
Nell'Azerbaigian occidentale una missione italo-azera sta scavando una necropoli con tumuli funerari realizzati dal IV al I millennio a.C. Tra salme corredi e slitte carbonizzate emerge il ritratto di una società nomade di tipo egualitario ma divisa per credenze e culti magici
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The Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project (GaRKAP) is a joint Azero-Italian project that aims at investigating the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in large funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli-that is,... more
The Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project (GaRKAP) is a joint Azero-Italian project that aims at investigating the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in large funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli-that is, kurgans-in the southern Caucasus during a period ranging from the fourth to the first millennium BCE. It is in this region that large numbers of kurgans, dating to the Early Bronze Age (that is, the Kura-Araxes period) through to the Iron Age, have been identified. In particular, the funerary tumuli dated to the Kura-Araxes period reveal a common mortuary custom of multiple human depositions inside a large chamber that is burnt at the conclusion of ritual practices; the Late Bronze/ Early Iron Age burials, on the other hand, are smaller in size and usually present single or double human depositions, furnished with bronze objects and, in some circumstances, the skeletal remains of equids. This paper will present the results of the first season of the archaeological work performed in western Azerbaijan, in the Ganja-Gazakh region. More specifically, it is focused on the city of Ganja, where a series of Late Bronze/Early Iron Age kurgans are located in the steppe of Uzun Rama, along the valley of a creek affluent of the Kura River in the Goranboy district, which is marked by the presence of large kurgans dated to the late fourth millennium BCE and characterised by collective burials.
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In ancient times, wine was usually considered a rare commodity to be used by elites and mostly associated with ritual practices. This is especially the case of ancient Mesopotamian communities, which, starting from the fourth millennium... more
In ancient times, wine was usually considered a rare commodity to be used by elites and mostly associated with ritual practices. This is especially the case of ancient Mesopotamian communities, which, starting from the fourth millennium BCE, gave an increasing value to this precious alcoholic beverage that was mostly produced and imported from regions periph- eral to Mesopotamia proper, as in the case of the Taurus foothills in southeastern Turkey.
Thus, this article aims at demonstrating the value acquired by wine between the late third and the early second millennium BCE, taking into account the archaeological data availa- ble from two sites located in this area, specifically, Titriş Höyük, in the upper section of the Euphrates, and Hirbemerdon Tepe, in the Tigris river valley, where wine production, con- sumption and exchange had a primary importance in structuring the socio-economic organ- ization of the communities inhabiting these ancient settlements.
Thus, this article aims at demonstrating the value acquired by wine between the late third and the early second millennium BCE, taking into account the archaeological data availa- ble from two sites located in this area, specifically, Titriş Höyük, in the upper section of the Euphrates, and Hirbemerdon Tepe, in the Tigris river valley, where wine production, con- sumption and exchange had a primary importance in structuring the socio-economic organ- ization of the communities inhabiting these ancient settlements.
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Abstract: We propose here to assess the notion of «extended mind» as a useful tool for research on human cognition and human activities, by focusing more on its functions than on ontological considerations. More specifically, our aim in... more
Abstract: We propose here to assess the notion of «extended mind» as a useful tool for research on human cognition and human activities, by focusing more on its functions than on ontological considerations. More specifically, our aim in this issue of Reti Saperi Linguaggi is to put together approaches from archeology and phi- losophy, in order to show the complex interplay between mind and matter: minds have to be seen both as embedded into the world and decoupled from it, insofar as humans are able to create and use external scaffolds, which in turn deeply change their cognitivity.
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Excavations at the relatively small but strategically placed site of Hirbemerdon Tepe, located along the west bank of the upper Tigris River in modern southeastern Turkey, have yielded significant results. During the Middle Bronze Age... more
Excavations at the relatively small but strategically placed site of Hirbemerdon Tepe, located along the west bank of the upper Tigris River in modern southeastern Turkey, have yielded significant results. During the Middle Bronze Age (2000–1600 B.C.E.), the site was situated in an ecologically stratified landscape that included river terraces suitable for agriculture as well as forested uplands ideal for pastoral and hunting activities. A significant result of these excavations, which were conducted by the Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project, was the discovery of a well-preserved architectural complex with associated ritual artifacts on the northern side of the high mound. This report describes and situates this Middle Bronze Age site within its geographic, cultural, and ecological context. It examines the emergence of this small regional center and investigates the role of ritual activities in the development of socially integrated communities in the frontier zone of northern Mesopotamia during the beginning of the second millennium B.C.E.
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The materialization of religious beliefs is a complex process involving an active dialectic between ideas and practices that are physically engraved in the artefactual remains of ritual activities. However, this process is relevant only... more
The materialization of religious beliefs is a complex process involving an active dialectic between ideas and practices that are physically engraved in the artefactual remains of ritual activities. However, this process is relevant only if it is based on a contextual association of elements (e.g. the performance of ceremonial activities, the creation of symbolic objects, the construction of ceremonial spaces) that validates the meaning of each component as part of a whole. Thus, archaeologists should try to connect these elements to form a network of meanings that stimulated the senses of ancient individuals in framing their cognitive perception of the divine. The study here presented will thus tackle such general theoretical tenets focusing particularly on the importance of the materialization of religious beliefs in constructing the ideological and economic domain of small-scale societies in rural contexts. In so doing, these topics will be confronted and developed through the analysis and interpretation of the archaeological data obtained from the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000-1600 BC) architectural complex at the northern Mesopotamian site of Hirbemerdon Tepe, located along the upper Tigris river valley region in modern southeastern Turkey.(Received March 23 2010)(Accepted May 19 2010)(Revised September 28 2010)(Online publication January 31 2011)
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Among ancient and modern societies, the transformation in funerary customs can represent a clear indicator of changes in the social fabric of a given society. It is within this perspective that archaeologists should thus correlate the... more
Among ancient and modern societies, the transformation in funerary customs can represent a clear indicator of changes in the social fabric of a given society. It is within this perspective that archaeologists should thus correlate the information available from the “world of the living” with those recognizable in funerary contexts. For the purpose of reaching this target, the focus of this paper is on the residential graves found in Mesopotamian contexts of the late third and early second millennia BCE, and on the relationship between changes in funerary customs, socioeconomic transformations and the emergence of new social groups among Mesopotamian communities during this specific period.
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Archaeology is not just about writing reports and interpreting ancient societies and their social structures, but it is also a process which should aim at the creation of a clear communicative message to the general public. Thus,... more
Archaeology is not just about writing reports and interpreting ancient societies and their social structures, but it is also a process which should aim at the creation of a clear communicative message to the general public. Thus, archaeologists should be aware of every possible medium of communication – verbal, written, visual, sound – to express re-constructions of ancient pasts. In this essay I express some ideas about how archaeologists could collaborate with experts, for example theatre directors, in defining artistic way of communicating the past. Finally, I focus on the relationship between academia and fringe archaeology and I look into the political role of archaeologists in modern society.
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... Stein, Gil; Edens, Christopher; Edens, Julie Pearce; Boden, Kenneth; Laneri, Nicola; Özbal, Hadi; Earl, Bryan; Adriaens, Annemie; Pittman, Holly - Southeast Anatolia before the Uruk expansion: preliminary report on the 1997... more
... Stein, Gil; Edens, Christopher; Edens, Julie Pearce; Boden, Kenneth; Laneri, Nicola; Özbal, Hadi; Earl, Bryan; Adriaens, Annemie; Pittman, Holly - Southeast Anatolia before the Uruk expansion: preliminary report on the 1997 excavations at Hacinebi, Turkey - In: Anatolica, 24 ...
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Analisi delle tecniche di manifattura del vasellame ceramico dell’inizio del IV millennio a.C. da Susa (Iran), conservato al Museo L. Pigorini (Roma). Le coppe di Susa del Museo Pigorini, Roma. Analisi tecnologica attraverso l'indagine radiografica, in Contributi di Materiale Archeologico Orientale (1997) 7: 177-205more
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Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Anatolian Studies, Anatolian Archaeology, and 11 moreAncient Near East, Assyrian archaeology, Assyrian Empire, Neo-Assyrian studies, Iron Age, Iron Age Anatolia, Iron age anatolian pottery, Hirbemerdon Tepe, Grooved Ware, Upper Tigris Region, and Southeastern Anatolia
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"Recent excavations in the upper Tigris River valley have yielded an increasing number of archaeological data that have been helping archaeologists in the reconstruction of ancient histories in this specific region. Among these projects,... more
"Recent excavations in the upper Tigris River valley have yielded an increasing number of archaeological data that have been helping archaeologists in the reconstruction of ancient histories in this specific region. Among these projects, the Hirbemerdon Tepe Archaeological Project has focused its attention on a fundamental phase of occupation - the Middle Bronze Age - that characterises the site as well as numerous other settlements in the upper Tigris River valley. The present article will emphasise the role played by Hirbemerdon Tepe, located along the western bank of the upper Tigris river valley in southeastern Turkey, at both a local and inter regional level during the Middle Bronze Age period that shows an increase in long-distance commercial exchanges between Mesopotamian and Anatolian polities. More specifically, an in depth analysis will be given to the large architectural complex discovered on the site’s High Mound and on a preliminary interpretation of the material culture found within it."
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In archaeology, funerary practices are a quintessential element in the process of interpreting ancient societies due to the widespread presence in the archaeological record of remains associated with mortuary depositions. For this reason,... more
In archaeology, funerary practices are a quintessential element in the process of interpreting ancient societies due to the widespread presence in the archaeological record of remains associated with mortuary depositions. For this reason, throughout the last hundred years, archaeologists have debated both methodologically and theoretically what value to assign to the remains of funerary rituals enacted by ancient communities in relationship to other social and cultural domains.
The aim of this contribution is to define the canons of funerary practices of ancient Near Eastern communities from prehistoric periods through the first millennium BCE. This will be achieved through a detailed interpretation of the relationship between funerary practices, socioeconomic organization, and religious beliefs among specific ancient Near Eastern societies. Using a diachronic perspective, it will be demonstrated that a transformation in one of these domains had a direct impact on the others. Case studies will be used to test how specific aspects of mortuary and funerary practices among ancient Near Eastern communities have become canonical.
The aim of this contribution is to define the canons of funerary practices of ancient Near Eastern communities from prehistoric periods through the first millennium BCE. This will be achieved through a detailed interpretation of the relationship between funerary practices, socioeconomic organization, and religious beliefs among specific ancient Near Eastern societies. Using a diachronic perspective, it will be demonstrated that a transformation in one of these domains had a direct impact on the others. Case studies will be used to test how specific aspects of mortuary and funerary practices among ancient Near Eastern communities have become canonical.
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The relationship between objects, people, and places can be fundamental when the aim is to create forms of memorialization for the dead among the living. This is especially the case of ancient societies who left behind numerous traces... more
The relationship between objects, people, and places can be fundamental when the aim is to create forms of memorialization for the dead among the living. This is especially the case of ancient societies who left behind numerous traces that can be useful for scholars in reconstructing ancient religious beliefs and practices. In particular, archaeologists have used a social memory theoretical framework to enlarge the field of research to a broader agenda that, as emphasized by Andrew Jones, can help researchers in defining ‘how things and places helped societies remember’. Regarding funerary contexts, researchers have primarily directed their interest towards the definition of archaeological correlates that can help identify tangible elements to be associated with ancient cults of the ancestors.
Even though the search for the cult of the ancestors can be both risky and tricky, this exercise can be particularly fruitful if the archaeological data are supported by written sources that better explain the role of the ancestors and how they were venerated and memorialized by a given society. For example, in the case of the ancient Near East the proliferation of texts dedicated to this topic can be found starting from the third millennium BCE. These texts are mostly concerned with the subject of royal or elite ancestor worship and it therefore appears of great importance to confront these textual evidences with archaeological data helpful for interpreting and reconstructing the ritual practices involved in the memorialization of royal ancestors.
Of particular relevance for the topic investigated in this paper is the appearance of Royal Hypogea built underneath palaces, as well as mausolea that have marked the urban fabric of numerous ancient Near Eastern cities starting from the third and continuing until the first millennia BC.
Thus, in this paper I will use a social memory theoretical framework as a tenet to be used in analysing two specific case studies from western Syria: the third millennium example available from Ebla, and the second millennium Royal Hypogeum discovered at Qatna. In this epistemological process I will use the written data to support my theoretical tenet that is based on the assumption that the creation of the memory of royal ancestors is pivotal for constructing the ‘charismatic authority’ of royal families and linking them to a cosmic dimension; because, as I mentioned in a previous publication, ‘in order to establish this authority, the leader’s charisma has to be communicated through a language based on the performance of rituals that assist the observer in connecting the royal domain with the divine one’.
In this paper, I will especially focus on the investigation of the role of body memories in constructing forms of memorialization with an emphasis on how memories were incorporated by the social body through the practice of ritual journeys and convivial eating.
Even though the search for the cult of the ancestors can be both risky and tricky, this exercise can be particularly fruitful if the archaeological data are supported by written sources that better explain the role of the ancestors and how they were venerated and memorialized by a given society. For example, in the case of the ancient Near East the proliferation of texts dedicated to this topic can be found starting from the third millennium BCE. These texts are mostly concerned with the subject of royal or elite ancestor worship and it therefore appears of great importance to confront these textual evidences with archaeological data helpful for interpreting and reconstructing the ritual practices involved in the memorialization of royal ancestors.
Of particular relevance for the topic investigated in this paper is the appearance of Royal Hypogea built underneath palaces, as well as mausolea that have marked the urban fabric of numerous ancient Near Eastern cities starting from the third and continuing until the first millennia BC.
Thus, in this paper I will use a social memory theoretical framework as a tenet to be used in analysing two specific case studies from western Syria: the third millennium example available from Ebla, and the second millennium Royal Hypogeum discovered at Qatna. In this epistemological process I will use the written data to support my theoretical tenet that is based on the assumption that the creation of the memory of royal ancestors is pivotal for constructing the ‘charismatic authority’ of royal families and linking them to a cosmic dimension; because, as I mentioned in a previous publication, ‘in order to establish this authority, the leader’s charisma has to be communicated through a language based on the performance of rituals that assist the observer in connecting the royal domain with the divine one’.
In this paper, I will especially focus on the investigation of the role of body memories in constructing forms of memorialization with an emphasis on how memories were incorporated by the social body through the practice of ritual journeys and convivial eating.
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Communication in Archaeology: The Use of Multimedia Devices in Communicating Ancient Pasts, (2010) in ‘Beyond the artifact: Digital Interpretation of the Past’: Proceedings of the Conference for Computer Applications in Archaeology (F. Nicolucci and S. Hermon eds.). Budapest: Archeolingua, pp. 523-527more
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From Slab Construction to Wheel Throwing: Evolution or Transformation? A Journey Through the History of Pottery Manufacturing Techniques in the Near East between the Vth and the IInd Millennium BC, in Proceedings of the Ist International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (P. Matthiae et al. eds.) (Rome): 773-780more
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Acceso de usuarios registrados. Acceso de usuarios registrados Usuario Contraseña. ...
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Call for Papers for Session #661: ‘ON FIRE! Ancient Pyrotechnologies in Productive and Ritual Eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern Contexts', to be held at the 30th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA),... more
Call for Papers for Session #661: ‘ON FIRE! Ancient Pyrotechnologies in Productive and Ritual Eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern Contexts', to be held at the 30th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA), ‘Persisting with Change’, Rome 28-31 August 2024, is now open. The session (15-minute oral presentation) aims at investigating the use of fire for both productive and ritual purposes in a wide geographical area (i.e., the Eastern Mediterranean and the Near East) from prehistoric times until the first millennium BCE. Those interested in participating can send an abstract (Title: max 20 words; abstract: min. 150 words and max 300 words) by Thursday 8th February 2024.
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The GaRKAP (i.e., Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project) is a joint Azerbaijani-Italian project in western Azerbaijan that investigates the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli... more
The GaRKAP (i.e., Ganja Region Kurgan Archaeological Project) is a joint Azerbaijani-Italian project in western Azerbaijan that investigates the spread of the tradition of burying the dead in funerary chambers covered with circular tumuli (i.e., kurgans) in the southern Caucasus during a period ranging from the fourth to the first millennia BCE. This paper will present the results of the first two seasons (2018 and 2019) of the archaeological work performed in the two regions investigated by the project that are: the area directly north of the modern city of Ganja (i.e., the northern section of the Heydar Aliyev Park), where numerous kurgans of the Late Bronze/Early Iron Age are located; and, the steppe region of Şadılı-Uzun Rama along the valley of the Kurekçay, a creek affluent of the Kura river in the Goran-boy district, where the preliminary reconnaissance survey has identified ca. 205 kurgans dating back to the Kura-Araxes period as well as to a Late Bronze/Early Iron Age archaeological phase.
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Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Ancient Near East, Archaeology of Caucasus, and 7 moreKurgans, Azerbaijan, Ancient Near Eastern History, History of Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, South Caucasian Archaeology, and South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia), Near Eastern Archaeology, Empires, Achaemenid Archaeology, and Iron Age (Archaeology), Hellenistic Architecture
The conference will be held at the University of Catania May 30-31. Deadline for submitting abstracts (to be sent to Marco Mazzone, mazzonem@unict.it) is January 15th 2015.
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December 1st at 4 pm (Italian time) the authors of the volume, introduced by Stefano de Martino, will be presenting the volume at the University of Torino. You can access the presentation remotely using this link:... more
December 1st at 4 pm (Italian time) the authors of the volume, introduced by Stefano de Martino, will be presenting the volume at the University of Torino. You can access the presentation remotely using this link: https://unito.webex.com/meet/stefano.demartino
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The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans), usually consisting of a funerary chamber limited by stone or brick slabs and covered by dirt and gravel, started in the fourth millennium BCE in the northern Caucasus and then... more
The tradition of burying the dead in burial mounds (kurgans), usually consisting of a funerary chamber limited by stone or brick slabs and covered by dirt and gravel, started in the fourth millennium BCE in the northern Caucasus and then spread south to the rest of the Caucasus regions, eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran during the Bronze Age and Iron Age. The spread of the kurgan tradition, as well as the territorial, political, social, and cultural values embedded in their construction and their symbolic relation to the surrounding landscape are under debate. The workshop aims to examine chronological issues, cultural dynamics at interregional scale, rituals and burial patterns related to these funerary structures. The beliefs and ideologies that possibly connected the "kurgan people" over such a wide geographical area, as well as past and present theoretical frameworks, will also be discussed.
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INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP: CALL FOR PAPERS
camnes.org/constructing-kurgans
Firenze (ITALY) - 29/30 March 2018
Ex-Church of San Jacopo
Via Faenza 43
camnes.org/constructing-kurgans
Firenze (ITALY) - 29/30 March 2018
Ex-Church of San Jacopo
Via Faenza 43
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An international collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Catania.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxmIZ4nLaRc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxmIZ4nLaRc
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Drawing upon the notions of nature as a community of other-than-human persons and of relational cosmos, the overarching aim of the CAMNES webinar is to discuss and highlight different ways of understandings the relationships occurred... more
Drawing upon the notions of nature as a community of other-than-human persons and of relational cosmos, the overarching aim of the CAMNES webinar is to discuss and highlight different ways of understandings the relationships occurred between human beings, animals, plants and the land in the religious life of ancient societies. During the online conversation, scholars of different disciplines (archaeology, anthropology, iconography, philology, history of religions) will explore the perception of nature and its other-than-human inhabitants and readdress some notions about nature, personhood/agency, divinity/sacrality, and materiality/spirituality in religions and cosmologies of ancient communities inhabiting both the Old and the New World. Especially we wish to pinpoint those beliefs, representations and practices that express relational and non-binary ontologies, epistemologies, cosmologies, according to which nature is a place of agency, relationality and spirituality, and that challenge dualities such as immanent/transcendent, material/spiritual, body/soul, disclosing a multiplicity of relationships. In this line, the conference aims at promoting starkly inter-disciplinary and religious-anthropological approaches to definitions of ‘sacred nature’ that will take on the categories of animism, totemism, analogism and naturalism as analytical concepts that can enhance the investigation of human-environmental relations in the ancient religious conceptions, representations and practices. Finally, in order to uncover and further explain the connection between nature, the sacred, and the materiality of ancient religions interpreted as embodied experiences, particular emphasis will be devoted to those researches finalized at answering questions related to how nature materialized cosmological and spiritual essences.
Free Online webinar ... limited spot available .. You can enroll at the following link: https://camnes.it/sacred-nature-workshop
Free Online webinar ... limited spot available .. You can enroll at the following link: https://camnes.it/sacred-nature-workshop
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For more information please visit: https://camnes.org/icas-1
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Homo Ars Sacrum "Material culture and religion" Since the dawn of civilization, the symbiotic connection between objects and religious beliefs has been a fundamental element of humanity. The most ancient known temples of human kind,... more
Homo Ars Sacrum
"Material culture and religion"
Since the dawn of civilization, the symbiotic connection between objects and religious beliefs has been a fundamental element of humanity. The most ancient known temples of human kind, brought to light by archaeologists at the Turkish site of Gobekli Tepe (datable to about 12,000 years ago), are believed to represent the first evidence of this inseparable entanglement of the three elements (humans, art and divine), which from that moment onward shapes the relationship of human beings with the divine. Thus, religion cannot be imagined only through an inner analysis of human spirituality; rather, it is the product of a symbiotic relationship between human beings and objects that become the media for the ideal ascent to the supernatural world.
This inseparable relationship continues today to shape the relationship between religious devotees and the divine world. The destruction of religious icons prior to the advent of Islam by the DAESH terrorists further confirms this indispensable link and the need for us to understand the reasons behind this inseparable connection, which is clearly evident in popular religious traditions (such as in the case of the feast of St. Agatha in Catania) as well as in contemporary artistic productions (think of the television series 'The Young Pope' or the works of artists such as Maurizio Cattelan).
It is for this reason that the primary objective of our society is to proceed to the identification of analytical tools that involve not only the analysis of religious phenomena, but also their transformation through artistic phenomena that enter into symbiosis with religious popular traditions.
The project HAS (Homo-Ars-Sacrum) organized by Nicola Laneri (Director of the School of Religious Studies, CAMNES, Florence, and Professor of Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Catania) thus becomes a tool to further investigate the concept of material religion, but also to understand the 'ambivalence of the sacred' (as initially noted by the father of modern sociology, Emile Durkheim, and more recently by the Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben), which intermingles sacred elements with secular aspects in the affirmation of the divine dimension by society.
The HAS project thus becomes a visual testimony of this essential link between the spiritual and material dimensions of the sacred through three thematic interviews with internationally renowned scholars and artists (i.e., Ian Hodder, Paolo Matthiae and Alfredo Pirri) and, finally, a documentary / journey dedicated to the feast of S. Agata and the role played by women in creating the religious spirituality of ancient and contemporary societies.
https://www.fondazioneoelle.com/en/has-project_en/
"Material culture and religion"
Since the dawn of civilization, the symbiotic connection between objects and religious beliefs has been a fundamental element of humanity. The most ancient known temples of human kind, brought to light by archaeologists at the Turkish site of Gobekli Tepe (datable to about 12,000 years ago), are believed to represent the first evidence of this inseparable entanglement of the three elements (humans, art and divine), which from that moment onward shapes the relationship of human beings with the divine. Thus, religion cannot be imagined only through an inner analysis of human spirituality; rather, it is the product of a symbiotic relationship between human beings and objects that become the media for the ideal ascent to the supernatural world.
This inseparable relationship continues today to shape the relationship between religious devotees and the divine world. The destruction of religious icons prior to the advent of Islam by the DAESH terrorists further confirms this indispensable link and the need for us to understand the reasons behind this inseparable connection, which is clearly evident in popular religious traditions (such as in the case of the feast of St. Agatha in Catania) as well as in contemporary artistic productions (think of the television series 'The Young Pope' or the works of artists such as Maurizio Cattelan).
It is for this reason that the primary objective of our society is to proceed to the identification of analytical tools that involve not only the analysis of religious phenomena, but also their transformation through artistic phenomena that enter into symbiosis with religious popular traditions.
The project HAS (Homo-Ars-Sacrum) organized by Nicola Laneri (Director of the School of Religious Studies, CAMNES, Florence, and Professor of Near Eastern archaeology at the University of Catania) thus becomes a tool to further investigate the concept of material religion, but also to understand the 'ambivalence of the sacred' (as initially noted by the father of modern sociology, Emile Durkheim, and more recently by the Italian philosopher, Giorgio Agamben), which intermingles sacred elements with secular aspects in the affirmation of the divine dimension by society.
The HAS project thus becomes a visual testimony of this essential link between the spiritual and material dimensions of the sacred through three thematic interviews with internationally renowned scholars and artists (i.e., Ian Hodder, Paolo Matthiae and Alfredo Pirri) and, finally, a documentary / journey dedicated to the feast of S. Agata and the role played by women in creating the religious spirituality of ancient and contemporary societies.
https://www.fondazioneoelle.com/en/has-project_en/