13766

Stories of Life and Death. Archaeological and Textual Sources on Funerary Traditions in Ancient Western Asia

Elisa Roßberger, Marta Pallavidini

Information for students

The main language of readings and discussions will be English. Student contributions (oral and written) can be given in English as well as in German.

Additional information / Pre-requisites

Knowledge of cuneiform and ancient Near Eastern languages (Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite), or the history and culture of the ancient Near East are useful but not compulsory. Transliterations and translations will be provided for texts; equally, introductions to the cultural background of the objects and sites will be provided when needed. We encourage students from neighboring fields of ancient studies to participate in this course. close

Comments

The seminar integrates archaeological and textual sources to gain insight into concepts of life and death in ancient Western Asia. We will focus on the Bronze Age cultures (3rd and 2nd millennium BCE) of today’s Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. The first part of the seminar will be dedicated to readings and discussion about the nature of sources available, fundamental attitudes towards life and death, and how to frame these issues theoretically and methodologically. The second part will tackle case studies on ancient sites and practices, e.g. food provision for the dead, grave-related sculpture, use of textiles in burial contexts, or burning/heat-treatment of corpses. Students will approach these topics through presentations and term papers, engaging with archaeological and textual sources simultaneously. close

Suggested reading

Cognetti, C. (2021) Totenkult und Ahnenverehrung im hethitischen Anatolien: Vorstellungen, Rituale und Institutionen. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter (Texte der Hethiter 32). Felli, C. (ed.) (2016) How to Cope with Death: Mourning and Funerary Practices in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the International Workshop, Firenze, 5th-6th December 2013. Pisa: Edizioni ETS (Ricerche di archeologia del Vicino Oriente, 5). Laneri, N. (ed.) (2007) Performing death. Social analyses of funerary traditions in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Chicago: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Available at: https://isac.uchicago.edu/research/publications/ois/ois-3-performing-death-social-analysesfunerary- traditions-ancient-near. Katz, D. (2014) ‘Tod (death). A. In Mesopotamien’, in M.P. Streck (ed.) Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie. Boston; Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 70–75. Available at: https://publikationen.badw.de/de/rla/index#11713 Sibbing-Plantholt, I. (2021) ‘Coping with time and death in the Ancient Near East’, Religion Compass, 15(11), p. e2420. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/rec3.12420. Steinert, U. (2012) Aspekte des Menschseins im Alten Mesopotamien: eine Studie zu Person und Identitat im 2. und 1. Jt. v. Chr. Leiden; Boston: Brill (Cuneiform monographs 44). close

13 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Wed, 10:00 - 12:00 13 Class schedule

Wed, 2024-04-17 10:00 - 12:00

Lecturers:
Prof. Dr. Elisa Roßberger
Dr. Marta Pallavidini