All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World Graduate Student Symposium Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Bryn Mawr College October 17 - 18, 1997 Schedule of Events Friday, October 17 8:00 p.m. Keynote speaker: Lauren Talalay, Kelsey Museum, University of Michigan Reflections on Identity and Ethnicity in the Ancient World Reception following Saturday, October 18 9:00 - 9:05 a.m. Welcome from the organizers 9:05 - 10:30 Session #1: Individual Identity 9:05 - 9:25 William B. Hafford, University of Pennsylvania The Near Eastern Merchant: Identity in Common Objects? 9:30 - 9:50 Andrew Keetley, Department of Classics, University of Texas, Austin From Solitude to Solidarity: the Identity of the Individual in De Rerum Natura 9:55 - 10:15 W. Marshall Johnston, Jr., Department of Latin, Bryn Mawr College Cornelius Nepos' Place in the Literary Movements of the First Century B.C. All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World. 10:20 - 10:30 Commentary: Christina Salowey, Hollins College 10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break 10:45 - 12:10 p.m. Session #2: Group Identity 10:45 - 11:05 Yelena Rakic, Department of Art History, University of Pennsylvania Glyptic Art and Cultural Identity in Third Millennium B.C. Greater Mesopotamia 11:10 - 11:30 E. Kent Webb, Department of History, University of Washington The Athenian Tyrannicides: Icons of a Democratic Society 11:35 - 11:55 Sarah J. Kielt, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College The Syro-Mesopotamian Origins of Arslantepe's Administrative System 12:00 - 12:10 Commentary: Reinhard Bernbeck, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College 12:10 - 1:30 Lunch 1:30 - 3:20 Session #3: Negotiating Identities 1:30 - 1:50 Matthew Freeman Trundle, History Department, McMaster University The Greek Mercenary and his Relationship to the Polis 1:55 - 2:15 Anthony Leonardis, Indiana University The Individual in Sabellian Material Culture of Campania and Lucania: Attempts of "Half-Breeds" to Assert their Own Identity Against a Dominant Culture 2:20 - 2:40 Lauren Hackworth Petersen, Department of Art History, University of Texas Elite words and the "silenced" Roman libertinus: reading identity in the House of L. Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii (V 1.23) 2:45 - 2:55 Commentary: James C. Wright, Dean of Graduate Arts and Sciences and Professor, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College 2:55 - 3:25 Coffee Break 3:25 - 5:15 Session #4: Modern Identities 3:25 - 3:45 Sarah Lepinski, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College The Modern Construction of the Identity of Semiramis/Sammuramat 3:50 - 4:10 Diana Loren and Emily Stovel, Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University Approaching a Reconciliation for Ethnic Construction in Archaeology and Identity Politics 4:15 - 4:35 Katharine Woodhouse-Beyer, Department of Anthropology, Brown University Identity and Transcendence in Russian America: An Archaeological Approach to Identity in Colonial Contexts 4:40 - 5:00 Minna Canton Duchovnay, Department of Latin, Bryn Mawr College Framing the Scholar 5:05 - 5:15 Commentary: A.A. Donohue, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College 5:15 - 5:35 Closing Comments: Lauren Talalay, Kelsey Museum, University of Michigan 6:00 Dinner for symposium participants Copyright Statement All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World. Acknowledgments The Graduate Student Symposium Committee would like to express their special thanks to the following persons: Stella Miller-Collett, chair of the department, has offered her encouragement and support, financial and otherwise, as has Jim Wright, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Eileen Markson, Head Librarian of the beautiful new Rhys Carpenter Library, has likewise encouraged the project and graciously extended to us the use of these wonderful new facilities. Thanks also to Mary Campo and Pam Cohen, department secretaries, for their organization and patience. We especially thank Chris Dietrich, who generously donated his time and skill in the design of printed conference materials. Finally, we thank incoming Bryn Mawr College president Nancy Vickers for her enthusiasm and support. The Graduate Student Symposium Committee Mireille Lee Susan Allen Deborah Brown Margarita Gleba Marie Goodwin W. Marshall Johnston Sarah Kielt Sarah Lepinski Juliana Sanders Victoria Tsoukala For more information on the 1997 symposium, please send a message to Mireille Lee. For information on upcoming symposiums, please visit the University of Pennsylvania's website at http://www.sas.upenn.edu/anthro/grad/symposium/index.html. Please send suggestions or comments about this page to Deborah Brown. Thank you. Latest posting: 15 March 1998 All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World. All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World Graduate Student Symposium Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology Bryn Mawr College October 17 - 18, 1997 Abstracts Session #1: Individual Identity William B. Hafford, University of Pennsylvania The Near Eastern Merchant: Identity in Common Objects? Andrew Keetley, Department of Classics, University of Texas, Austin From Solitude to Solidarity: the Identity of the Individual in De Rerum Natura W. Marshall Johnston, Jr., Department of Latin, Bryn Mawr College Cornelius Nepos' Place in the Literary Movements of the First Century B.C. Session #2: Group Identity Yelena Rakic, Department of Art History, University of Pennsylvania Glyptic Art and Cultural Identity in Third Millennium B.C. Greater Mesopotamia E. Kent Webb, Department of History, University of Washington The Athenian Tyrannicides: Icons of a Democratic Society Sarah J. Kielt, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College The Syro-Mesopotamian Origins of Arslantepe's Administrative System Session #3: Negotiating Identities Matthew Freeman Trundle, History Department, McMaster University The Greek Mercenary and his Relationship to the Polis Anthony Leonardis, Indiana University The Individual in Sabellian Material Culture of Campania and Lucania: Attempts of "Half-Breeds" to Assert their Own Identity Against a Dominant Culture Lauren Hackworth Petersen, Department of Art History, University of Texas Elite words and the "silenced" Roman libertinus: reading identity in the House of L. Caecilius Iucundus in Pompeii (V 1.23) All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World. Session #4: Modern Identities Sarah Lepinski, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, Bryn Mawr College The Modern Construction of the Identity of Semiramis/Sammuramat Diana Loren and Emily Stovel, Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University Approaching a Reconciliation for Ethnic Construction in Archaeology and Identity Politics Katharine Woodhouse-Beyer, Department of Anthropology, Brown University Identity and Transcendence in Russian America: An Archaeological Approach to Identity in Colonial Contexts Minna Canton Duchovnay, Department of Latin, Bryn Mawr College Framing the Scholar Note: The texts of the abstracts appear as submitted except for the editing of minor spelling and punctuation errors. William B. Hafford University of Pennsylvania The Near Eastern Merchant: Identity in Common Objects? This paper is an initial attempt to identify the people conducting international trade in the Bronze Age Near East via the preserved material remains of the profession. A good deal of work has been done on the textual analysis of Near Eastern merchants yet little, if any, has been dedicated to the archaeological reconstruction of their activities and identity. Weights seem to be the best starting point as they were used extensively by merchants in the conduct of their daily business and are common in archaeological excavations. They are often found in groups with many other items expected to be in use by merchants. These include: balance pans, bullae, economic texts, scrap metal (possibly present for the value of the metal by weight), and cylinder seals. This last is of great interest as seals were often used to identify people and/or things in the ancient world. At least one seal is very frequently found with potential merchant assemblages, and these can reveal a great deal about the status, allegiance, and position of the owner. A brief comparison of several seals found with 'merchant equipment' shows that the 'presentation scene' is most common, and this scene may be associated with the higher echelon of society. A tentative conclusion is that the type of merchant being uncovered here is the high-profile one; that is, the one conducting high-value, large- volume, long-distance trade and therefore, is more likely to be wealthy and/or well-connected in order to amass the capital necessary for such business. Go to Symposium Home Page Go to the Paper Andrew Keetley University of Texas at Austin From Solitude to Solidarity: The Identity of the Individual in De Rerum Natura This paper will attempt to describe the version of identity represented by Lucretius in the De Rerum Natura in terms of the philosophy of the Absurd described by the humanist, Albert Camus. This identity will be centered on Lucretius' account of the human condition through which, I argue, he anticipates Camus in seeking to expose the All for One or One for All? (Re)constructing Identity in the Ancient World.