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Performing Death: Social Analyses of Funerary Traditions in the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean

"This volume represents a collection of contributions presented by the authors during the Second Annual University of Chicago Oriental Institute Seminar “Performing Death. Social Analyses of Funerary Traditions in the Ancient Mediterranean,” held at the Oriental Institute, February 17–18, 2006. The principal aim of the two-day seminar was to interpret the social relevance resulting from the enactment of funerary rituals within the broad-reaching Mediterranean basin from prehistoric periods to the Roman age. Efforts were concentrated on creating a panel composed of scholars with diverse backgrounds – anthropologists, historians, archaeologists, art historians, and philologists – and the knowledge and expertise to enrich the discussion through the presentation of case-studies linked to both textual and archaeological evidences from the Mediterranean region. Fundamental to the successful realization of this research process was the active dialogue between scholars of different backgrounds. These communicative exchanges provided the opportunity to integrate different approaches and interpretations concerning the role played by the performance of ancient funerary rituals within a given society and, as a result, helped in defining a coherent outcome towards the interpretation of ancient communities’ behaviors."

Author(s):  Laneri, Nicola [editor], with contributions by Nicola Laneri, Ellen F. Morris, Glenn M. Schwartz, Robert Chapman, Massimo Cultraro, Meredith S. Chesson, Alessandro Naso, Adam T. Smith, Dina Katz, Seth Richardson, Susan Pollock, Ian Rutherford, John Pollini, John Robb, and James A. Brown
Format:  Book
Publisher:  The University of Chicago Press
Publication City:  Chicago
Date:  2005
ISSN:  1-885923-50-3
Series:  Oriental Institute Seminars 3