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Blog Post #70: Deconstructing Orientalization with Jessica Nowlin

For the first blog post in our month-long exploration of “east” and “west,” Jessica Nowlin explores the history of the term “orientalization” in Italy, and how abandoning the term could change how we conceive of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole.

Image of the Month

Gameboard and gaming pieces from an 18th Dynasty tomb in Abydos, Egypt (Cemetery D, Tomb D99). The gameboard and pieces are made of wood and blue faience, a glass-like material made of ground quartz. The board can be laid out to play two different games, Senet (shown in the image) and 20 Squares (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. 01.4.1a).

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In the final #PeoplingBlog of our series on modern constructions of east and west, Dr. Carolina López-Ruiz talks to us about the marginalisation of the Phoenicians, and the struggle to push-back against the Hellenocentric framework of much ancient scholarship and focus on the under-represented peoples of the ancient Mediterranean: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/12/02/blog-post-73-carolina-lopez-ruiz/ In today’s #PeoplingBlog, Thierry Petit is helping us solve the riddle of the Sphinx! Read on, as he discusses the origins and significance of the Sphinx in the ancient Mediterranean, as well as his research on the pictorial representations of this elusive figure: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/11/25/blog-post-72-thierry-petit/ On this week’s #PeoplingBlog, as we continue to explore modern constructions of east and west, Adam DiBattista reflects on the relationship between humans, animals, and things. Read on to discover insights into the creation and use of objects made from durable animal remains in ancient Greece: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/11/18/blog-post-71-adam-dibattista/ In today’s #PeoplingBlog, Jessica Nowlin contributes to our month-long exploration of the modern constructs of “east” and “west”. Read on, as she explores the history of the term “orientalization” in Italy, and how abandoning it could change how we conceive of the ancient Mediterranean as a whole: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/11/11/blog-post-70-jessica-nowlin/ Today’s #PeoplingBlog marks the beginning of our November blog series exploring the modern constructions of “East” and “West”! Read on, as our blog editor Megan Daniels discusses the ancient city of Naukratis, situated in the Nile Delta, and its role in 19th-century western European imaginations: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/11/07/blog-post-69-megan-daniels-naukratis/ Today’s #PeoplingBlog is the final post in our Halloween month series on the presence of the Undead within ancient cultures. Read on, as Assyriologist JoAnn Scurlock discusses attitudes surrounding death, funerary practices, the afterlife, and GHOSTS in ancient Mesopotamia: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/10/28/blog-post-68-joann-scurlock/ For today’s #PeoplingBlog, we continue our Halloween series exploring the undead in the classical world. Read on, as archaeologist and Badè Museum curator Melissa Cradic guides us through the complexities of excavating ancient graves, and relationships between the living and the disembodied dead in the ancient Near East: https://peoplingthepast.com/2022/10/21/blog-post-67-melissa-s-cradic/ In today’s #PeoplingBlog, Sandra Garvie-Lok and Hector Williams continue our Halloween exploration of the undead in the classical world by taking us on a journey through vampire folklore and the story of The Mytiline Vampire: It’s *competition time* here at Peopling the Past, and we want to see your pumpkin-carving skills! Tag us in your Classics-inspired creations during this Halloween month using @peoplingthepast and the hashtag #PeoplingThePumpkins, and the best effort will receive some special branded swag from our team.

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