Classical Studies 275/Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World 401

February 7, 2003

Classical Studies 275/Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World 401 Introduction to Greek Archaeology D.G. Romano

Museum Exercise

Please go to the Ancient Greek World Exhibit in the Mediterranean Section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum. It is on the third floor of the Museum and because of the installation of three new galleries, The Italic, Etruscan and Roman Galleries, access until March 16 is only via the side staircase. The Ancient Greek World Exhibit is also a digital exhibit that you will find at the following URL: http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Greek_World/Index.html

I want you to spend some time walking around the exhibit, looking at each of the cases before you move on to the following exercise.

Please identify 6 objects that are of interest to you from anywhere in the exhibit. You should select one object from each of the following categories:

 A painted vase that depicts a god or goddess or hero  A coin  A piece of sculpture  A metal object (not a coin)  A terracotta object (not a vase)  An object totally of your choosing

Furthermore you should cover the following chronological time periods so that at least one of your objects is from each of the following categories. By the way you should select objects not only in the Introduction gallery but from all parts of the gallery.

 Geometric,  Sub-Mycenaean and Early Iron Age  Archaic (including Early Archaic)  Classical  Hellenistic.

For each of these objects write down the inventory number of each, a brief description of each piece and the date. I then want you to select one of these pieces as the piece that you would like to use as the subject of your research paper. Be sure that it is an object that is worthy of a term paper! You should send me as an e-mail your list of six objects with your descriptions and dates and the selection of the object that you wish to work on for your research paper.

Research Paper

The research paper should be 15 pages long and this length can include footnotes, bibliography and figures. The footnotes should be included at the bottom of each page and should be included as full footnotes. I would like you to consider the following topics in your paper. For consideration of bibliographic and footnote style see Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations, Sixth Edition, Chicago, 1996.

 Make a detailed description of the object, including discussion of shape, size, decoration and use. Are there other objects like it in the gallery? Which ones? Are there other examples from your books on reserve? Look for examples from the Perseus Digital Library, for example? http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/

 If there is a myth depicted, what is the myth? If there are other scenes depicted describe in detail what is going on? What does the scene mean?

 Who was the artist? Do we have a name?

 Is there information about the technique used in the manufacture of the object? Where was the object made?

 If for instance the object was made in Athens, what do we know about the history of Athens or the Greek world when the object was made? Is there a history of the object in the modern day?

 Any other interesting information about the piece.

 What is the importance of the object and why is it on display?

Include drawings, photographs (digital photographs are fine), maps of the object. Also include comparative pieces and explain how is your object similar or different from them? Remember to use the Reserve List at the U of P Museum Library as well as other library sources. Organization of your paper is extremely important. It may be useful for you to create headings for portions of your paper. You may also want to introduce subheadings into your text.

The research paper is due April 3