Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons^™

Archaic Burials In The Necropolis Of Aigai And The Manufacturing Of Significance In Archaeology, Abigail Chapman

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

The excavation of Ancient Aigai, modern Vergina in Greece, has unearthed a wealth of archaeological treasures, including Macedonian tombs attributed to Philip II and Alexander the Great. However, the manufactured significance imposed on these excavations has shaped the contemporary understanding of Archaic burial practices in Aigai. This paper aims to understand how the constructed narratives surrounding these excavations influence current ideas on burial customs in Aigai during the Archaic period. By analyzing the layout of the city and its necropolis, scholarship can gain valuable insights into the social structure of Archaic Macedonia. This can help to develop a more complete …

Anthropomorphism In Architecture: An Investigation Into Anthropomorphism Through Ancient Greco-Roman Religious Structures, Emily Wilcox

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper will outline and detail an investigation into religious Greco-Roman structures of antiquity through the lens of anthropomorphism. Through defining anthropomorphism, three lenses of thought have presented themselves as means of inquiry: metaphor, scale and proportion, and ergonomics. Previous research into these structures and cultures has shown that there was indeed consideration for the human body in designing in construction; this project hopes to solidify these claims and present new supporting information regarding specific relationships to the body using anthropomorphism. Many contemporary buildings approach the relationship to the human body as a mask or an afterthought, disregarding what reflecting …

Fine Roman Dining At Affordable Pompeian Prices: Reevaluating The Commercial Gardens Of Pompeii, Claire Campbell, Rhodora G. Vennarucci

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

Previous scholarship has designated Roman gardens into binary otium or negotium designations; however, this research on Roman gardens suggests that these concepts often exist in spaces simultaneously. The reevaluation of commercial gardens in Pompeii presented in this article allows for an integrative analysis of garden spaces, which reveals that commercial gardens have coinciding qualities and functions with private elite gardens and that various trades were actively integrating these features into commercial settings to promote and financially supplement their businesses. This research challenges the assumption that non-domestic, commercial gardens only have qualities indicative of negotium and that garden spaces were not …

Designing Digital Antiquity: Classical Archaeology In New Virtual Applications, William Loder

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I argue that the combination of existing archaeological theory with game design theory offers an innovative avenue for creating serious 3D applications of archaeological sites in virtual reality that can be productively used for pedagogical, research, and outreach solutions. In this thesis, I engage with the archaeological theories of phenomenology and sensory studies, briefly touching on structure and agency as well as discussion of some current digital applications in use in the field. For this project, I am interested in game design theory as it relates to education and I view Virtual Reality as an important tool …

Fine Roman Dining At Affordable Pompeian Prices: A New Evaluation Of The Non-Domestic Gardens Of Pompeii, Claire Campbell

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

Previous scholarship has designated Roman gardens into otium or negotium designations; however, this research on Roman gardens suggests that these concepts often exist in the spaces simultaneously. To address this issue, I compiled catalogs of garden spaces identified at Regio I and Regio VI of Pompeii. This methodology cuts across traditional public and private or productive and aesthetic designations, which will allow me to draw connections between the gardens found in different types of settings. This new catalog methodology of Roman gardens presented in this thesis allows for an integrative analysis of garden spaces, which reveals that these commercial gardens …

Exploring The Contemporary Use And Understanding Of Precedent In Architectural Design Via A Comparative Analysis Of Brunelleschi And Le Corbusier, Shaelyn J. Vinson

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

As a student of architecture, conducting precedent research before diving into the design phase of a project is something that I am very familiar with. But, following each project’s precedent research, is often an overwhelming feeling of uselessness for the material found. For each project, assignments call for students to find a certain number of buildings on which to base their project. While historically this step makes sense, 21^st-century architecture students are taught that there is no “new” architecture, and that copying and collaging together existing buildings is the best way to achieve a successful design. This …

A Soldier In The Dark: Navigating Gaul Through The Eyes Of Caesar And His Men, Thomas Christian Mcmahon

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures Undergraduate Honors Theses

An investigation into the veracity of Caesar's account of the Battle of Alesia as told in Commentarii de Bello Gallico.

The Responses Of The Roman Imperial Government To Natural Disasters 29 Bce-180 Ce, Michael Timothy Mccoy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the practice of imperial disaster relief between 29 BCE and 180 CE. It focuses upon both the process of disaster aid delineating how Roman emperors were petitioned for assistance, the forms disaster relief took, and the political motives individual emperors had for dispensing disaster aid. Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction to the topic. Chapter 2 outlines the scope of the study as well as the examples used to establish disaster relief in context. Chapter 3 gives an overview of euergetism and also discusses two cases of disaster assistance that pre-date the reign of Augustus. Chapter 4 …

Re-Examining Late Chalcolithic Cultural Collapse In South-East Europe, Harvey Benjamin Smith

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Research into the Balkan Chalcolithic often overlooks the dramatic changes in society that occurred beginning in the late Fifth Millennium BCE. Most settlements were abandoned along with changes in mortuary customs, ceramic and decorative traditions, domestic rituals, crafts, housing styles, mining, and metallurgy. These changes happened at a time when these Chalcolithic societies seemed to be at their peak. Theories as to what caused these changes include migrations/invasions, anthropogenic environmental degradation, gradual internal changes through innovation and outside contacts, and climate change. This thesis attempts to synthesize, and critique material relating to this topic, and ultimately provide my own opinions …

Domus, Villa And Insula: A Neo-Rationalist Taxonomy Of Housing Types Along The Via Consolare-Pompeii, Joseph Weishaar

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

In the early letters of Cicero, the guide on agriculture by Varro, and the complete works of Vitruvius, there is a foundation laid for the governance of domestic architecture which can only be glimpsed through the moment frozen in time at Pompeii. This thesis is directed at a critical analysis of the residential architecture situated along the Via Consolare in Pompeii. The question posed at the onset was how do dwellings change and adapt based on the localized context. The context in this case can be as simple as neighbor to neighbor spatial relationships and as complex as urban to …

Turning The Cup: Thematic Balance In The Greek Symposium, Matthew Naglak

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

The concept of “nothing in excess” was an important one in ancient Greek life. The guiding principle of moderation and/or balance appears in poetry from the 7th to the 5th centuries BCE and has been extensively explored by scholars. My research project adds to this scholarly work by considering for the first time the relationship between moderation and the visual. That is, I explore whether and how this key Greek notion was expressed in the images that appear on pottery of the time period. More specifically, I focus on pottery used in thesymposium, a politically-charged aristocratic male drinking party, and …

Is Jove A Rock Or Leaner? Interpreting The Central Paintings Of Pompeii's House Of The Tragic Poet, Rachel Newberry

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

When confronting a piece of ancient Roman artwork, the modern viewer faces the question, "How do we see like the Romans did?" Geographical, temporal, and cultural differences combine to make the process of understanding ancient art particularly complex. This piece attempts to bridge the gap between ancient Rome and the present through an analysis of the central mythological paintings located in region VI, insula 8 of Pompeii. A three-dimensional model of the insula, created in the honors research colloquium "Digital Pompeii" at the University of Arkansas, is essential to the examination of the complex interaction between the paintings and their …

Roman Isis And The Pendulum Of Tolerance In The Empire, D. Jasmine Merced-Ownbey

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper examines the evolution of Isis, ostensibly the "sacred mother," as a political tool in Egypt and (especially) in Rome. Through an analysis of primary and secondary source materials, it is established that Isis' treatment by Roman politicians represented a running discourse on the contemporary political relationship between Rome and Egypt, and, at times, on Rome's complex negotiation of foreign influences on its own society. Following the deaths of the first two Roman emperors, Isis was gradually elevated from the status of pariah to an acclaimed goddess within the Roman pantheon who was deemed worthy of beneficence and protection …

Projecting The Passion: The Invention Of The 'Judeo-Christian Tradition' In The Roman/Biblical Genre Of Postwar American Film, Don Michael Burrows

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper traces the changes in the American view of the relationship between Jews and Christians from the First World War to the present as reflected in motion pictures from the earliest of the biblical epics to Mel Gibson's The Passion of Christ. It demonstrates that the "Judea-Christian tradition " as it has developed since the Second World War is a political theme that functioned first as anti-fascist propaganda and then as anticommunist propaganda that portrayed Jews and Christians as good and free in contrast to Nazis and communists; and it shows what an effective medium the movies were in …

Roman Depiction Of The Aethiops Type In Literature And Artwork, Evin Demirel

Inquiry: The University of Arkansas Undergraduate Research Journal

No abstract provided.