Final Take-home Essay Questions
Please write two essays of 1,5 to 2 pages (12 font double-spaced) on two of the following questions. The total product should not exceed 4 pages. You are encouraged to use all class notes, readings, wiki website content, and especially the articles and book chapters read for the class during the semester. Further research is not expected, but you are recommended to use reference books placed on reserve for our class if necessary. When writing your essay, please make careful use of appropriate referencing to the sources you have used.
- Discuss various socio-cultural and historical aspects of the transition from the Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age in the Near East (particularly Northern Mesopotamia, Syria, Anatolia). What sorts of related changes are observed in the archaeological record and the material culture in the context of such transformations? Use examples diachronically.
- Discuss the concepts of technology, technique and facture in the light of our discussions and readings of the current literature on the interpretation of artifacts and buildings. Use at least two case studies from Mesopotamian history to illustrate how these concepts contribute to the contemporary understanding of the making, the meaning and the use of ancient artifacts.
- What is the role of pictorial representations in monumental scale in the construction of public spaces in the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian cities? How do they relate to royal ideology and social memory? Discuss using comparative examples from different Iron Age cities.
Due: Monday December 18th, 2006, 5 pm, Ömür’s Mailbox at Joukowsky Institute.
Sketch by Arthur Bullard.
Mid-term Take-home Essay Questions
