Sensing the Past
Detecting the Use of the Five Senses in Ancient Near Eastern Contexts. Proceedings of the Conference Held in Rome, Sapienza University June 4th, 2018
edited by Davide Nadali and Frances Pinnock
The Archaeology of Senses and the Archaeology of Emotions are two most interesting recent trends in the modern studies about the past, aiming at enlightening the human experience of the archaeological remains and artefacts, which are usually studied per se or in their (inter)connections. Scholars of the ancient Near East from different disciplines – archaeology, history and philology – try to understand how people were presumed to react, or how they reacted in reality, using spaces, and looking at or using artefacts. The volume presents the proceedings of a congress focusing mainly on the use of the five traditional senses, and trying to analyze how each of them might have played a role in specific ancient contexts: The use of sight was common in the rituals of kingship at Ebla and in the choice of specific places for settlements in the southern Levant. The use of hearing was an important aspect in the rites taking place in one of the main 3rd millennium BC temples of Ebla or in the open air sanctuaries of Anatolia, whereas specific words for the definition of sounds are detectable in Sumerian and Akkadian texts. Special foods and beverages were used during ceremonies involving taste and smell – at the same time smell affects both private and public spaces – and archaeological evidence (e.g. sewage systems) shows how this issue has been managed and controlled. Small every-day use objects might have had also tactile properties; senses convey emotions and this aspect can be reconstructed from Mesopotamian texts. A peculiar perspective is provided by the analysis of the relation between public and artefacts in museums.
- Edited by Davide Nadali
- Edited by Frances Pinnock
Similar Books
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
Telling Contexts
Archaeological and Textual Studies in Honor of Elizabeth Bloch-Smith and Mark S. Smith
The Body
Lived, Cultured, Adorned: Essays on Dress and the Body in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Nili S. Fox
Die Entwicklung erdbebensicherer Bautechniken in der Frühen und Mittleren Eisenzeit in Ostanatolien
Volume 11
Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur
Beiträge anlässlich der 66. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Frankfurt/Main und Mainz, 25.–29. Juli 2022
Volume 35
Sprachwissenschaftliche und kulturhistorische Reflexionen
Festschrift zu Ehren von Jörg Klinger
Volume 31
A Numismatic History of Barikot
Catalogue and Analysis of the Coin Finds from the Excavations at Bir-koṭ-ghwaṇḍai (Barikot), Swat, Pakistan (1984-2022) Pakistan (1984-2022). With a contribution by Luca M. Olivieri
Volume 69
Alexander the Great and the Campaign of Gaugamela
New Research on Topography and Chronology. IAMNI 1 (Italian Archaeological Mission to Northern Iraq)
Volume 53
Archaeology of Eastern Anatolia II: From Prehistoric Times to the End of the Iron Ages
Proceedings of the 2nd Archaeology of Eastern Anatolia Colloquium, 23-25 April 2021, Online (Arkeolojihaber Youtube Channel)
Volume 43
Ash-sharq: Bulletin of the Ancient Near East No 9 1-2 2025
Archaeological, Historical and Societal Studies
Assyria and the West
A Fresh Look at the Unshakeable Pillars of Late Bronze and Iron Age Chronology in the Eastern Mediterranean World
Autocratic Rule in Antiquity
Proceedings of the 14th Melammu Workshop, Krakow, 46 October 2021
Volume 12
Boğazköy Tablets in the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations (Bo 95–Bo 3993)
Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesinde Bulunan Boğazköy Tabletleri (Bo 95–Bo 3993)
Volume 3
Bridging the Gap: Disciplines, Times, and Spaces in Dialogue – Volume 2
Sessions 3, 7 and 8 from the Conference Broadening Horizons 6 Held at the Freie Universität Berlin, 24–28 June 2019
Ceramic Finds in Context (Roman to Early Islamic Times)
Final Publications from the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project VII
Volume 13