Corso di laurea in Beni Culturali

The basic knowledge about human evolution and the development of human cultures will be given, from the beginnings to the historical period, in an anthropological and global perspective, which is not strictly Eurocentric. The most important and ancient human cultures will be illustrated in order to permit the identification of prehistoric artefacts, from the early Palaeolithic to the Iron Age. The students will be offered the opportunity to understand the origins of certain phenomena, such as, sor instance, sedentism, symbolism, domestication and agriculture, metallurgy, specialized production, urbanism, which will be developed in historical times by ancient civilizations. The main research clues that represent the topic of the present international debate will be discussed together with the modern scientific methods according to the international standards. Concerning the Italian Peninsula the course will focus on the development of the main cultural aspects in the north-western sector, in particular the Piedmont region.

The students will acquire the basic methodological knowledge for the identification and classification of the main categories of the material culture, their specific terminology also in foreign language, in order to afford the reading of specialized literature. At the end of the module students will have acquired basic knowledge of the discipline in an anthropological and global perspective, which is not strictly Eurocentric, an approach which is unique within the Italian university cultural scenario. The students will be given the opportunity to acquire additional information to develop original lines of research. The module will provide students with the skills necessary to study important prehistoric and protohistoric contexts based on in-depth knowledge of important areas that students will have learned through classroom lessons and  training activities

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
basic knowledge of the methods for the recognition and study of the main categories of material culture and of the classification systems of artefacts.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
ability to use specific terminology, even in a foreign language, in order to be able to orientate and use the sector bibliography.

INDEPENDENT JUDGEMENT
The module will provide students with the necessary skills to deal with the study of prehistoric and protohistoric contexts with the capacity to develop original research lines, in-depth knowledge of the reference territories, learned during the lectures and all the educational activities foreseen by the teaching.

Lectures of the total duration of 36 hours with slides projections and the manipulation of objects; one  lesson will take place in the Museum of Antiquities in Turin and will be dedicated to illustrate the main prehistoric and protohistoric sites in the region and related materials.

Acquired knowledge and skills will be tested through an oral interview with questions, even with the help of images . The preparation will be considered adequate (with marks expressed out of thirty) if the student will reply the questions demonstrating presentation skills of the knowledge acquired and using the appropriate specialist terminology.

Students are offered the opportunity to participate in the excavation of sites in Italy and / or abroad.

-Origin and history of the discipline

-Origin and evolution of the genus Homo and the stone industry

-Neanderthal and anatomically modern human

-Cultures and environments between late Pleistocene and early Holocene in Europe

-The  Neolithicization: from the Near East to Europe

-Growth of social complexity: the metal ages  

-Prehistory and  Protohistory  of north-western Italy

- L.L. Cavalli Sforza, T. Pievani, 2011. Homo sapiens. La grande storia della diversità umana. Codice edizioni, Torino. € 25.00

- J. Guilaine, 2004. Guida alla Preistoria. Gremese editore, Roma. € 15.00

- M. Peresani, 2018. Come eravamo. Viaggio nell'Italia Paleolitica. Il Mulino, € 11.00

Besides the above mentioned texts and the slides of the lessons to be downloaded from the web site, the students that cannot attend the lessons must read the following text:

- L. Mercando, M. Venturino Gambari (a cura di), 1998. Archeologia in Piemonte. La preistoria. Umberto Allemandi &C., Torino.

Foreign students can use alternative English editions, for instance:

- C. Lockwood, 2007. The Human story. Edition of the Natural History Museum, London.

- M. Steven, 2003.  After the Ice: A Global Human History- 20,000-5,000 BC. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

- B. M. Fagan, 2007. World Prehistory: A Brief Introduction.New York, Prentice-Hall.

- S. Milisauskas (ed.), 2011. European Prehistory. A Survey. Springer.

The readings of the texts should be integrated with the presentations of the lessons downloaded from the University web page of the course. Foreign students can sustain the exam in English language.