PAPVB_34 The transformations of the burial ritus in the ancient Near East

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2018
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Lucia Miškolciová (lecturer), Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Inna Mateiciucová, Ph.D.
Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Jitka Erlebachová
Supplier department: Department of Classical Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 16:00–17:40 B2.33
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of the lectures is to give students a basic overview of the   development and changes in burial rite during prehistory and antiquity of the Near East. Students will become familiar with the terminology     within the themes of death archeology, archeology of burials and cemeteries. Basic introduction to the development of archaeological     discipline in connection with the examination of burial customs and rituals. Evolution of burial rite will be captured overall from the Paleolithic period, through the Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age to the Iron age period, especially in the Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Levant, with regard to neighboring regions.
Syllabus
  • 1. Definition of the topic, explaining basic concepts and an introduction to the archaeology of death and burials.
  • 2. Historical overview of the development within the discipline, overview of archaeological and anthropological theories in the context of the investigation of funerary practices.
  • 3. The importance of examining the burials as a source of knowledge of social development of the society. The nature of the information contained in the sepulchral context and their possible interpretations.
  • 4. Burial practices, their diversity and the development in the area of Mesopotamia, Levant and Anatolia, on the basis of archaeological contexts:
  • - In the Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic period
  • - In the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period
  • - In the Pottery Neolithic period
  • - In the Chalcolithic period and during the Early Bronze Age
  • - In the period of the Middle and Late Bronze Age
  • - In the period of the Iron Age
  • 5. Developments and changes in the burial customs and traditions of the ancient Near East, based on the examples from the most famous necropolis: e.g. Royal cemetery of Ur, tombs of Mari, Kish, Uruk, Ashur.
  • 6. Funeral customs and practices, a view of the afterlife in ancient Mesopotamia based on the written sources.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Pollock, S. (1991) Of Priestesses, princes and poor relations: The dead in the royal cemetery of Ur, Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 1(02)
  • LANERI, N. (2007). Performing death: social analyses of funerary traditions in the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. Chicago, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.
  • Akkermans, P.M.M.G. and Schwartz, G. M. (2003) The archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c. 16,000-300 B.C.). Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
  • Remembering the dead in the ancient Near East : recent contributions from bioarchaeology and mortuary archaeology. Edited by Benjamin W. Porter - Alexis T. Boutin. Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2014, xv, 261. ISBN 9781607323242. info
  • The Oxford handbook of the archaeology of death and burial. Edited by Sarah Tarlow - Liv Nilsson Stutz. 1st pub. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013, xix, 849. ISBN 9780199569069. info
  • The Oxford handbook of the archaeology of ritual and religion. Edited by Timothy Insoll. First published. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, xxvi, 1108. ISBN 9780198858058. info
  • POLLOCK, Susan. Ancient Mesopotamia : the eden that never was. 1st pub. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1999, xii, 259. ISBN 9780521575683. info
  • The archaeology of death in the ancient Near East. Edited by Stuart Campbell - Anthony Green. Oxford: Oxbow Books, 1985, x, 297. ISBN 094689793X. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, with the discussions.
Assessment methods
written test, essay and the discussions in the class
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2012, Autumn 2016.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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