Good knowledge of English language.

The course will provide the students with the basics on the development of prehistoric art, both European and non-European (in particular Chinese), with special regard to the multidisciplinary approach.

The lessons aim to equip the student with the theoretical-practical bases in order to evaluate the prehistoric art on the bases of the archaeological evidence through a modern methodology of investigation of ancient materials.

We will be examining the methodological concepts for the study of prehistoric artistic problems, from the first realizations in Paleolithic up to the Iron Age, as well as the history of the discipline and the theoretical aspects, in a European and extra-European context.

We will discuss and examine in depth the main elements of the prehistoric methodology, since their origin in the 19th century.

A seminar will be held during the course. The active participation of students is strongly required; during the seminars the students carry out their researches in which they will be able to realize - under the guidance of the teacher - the direct study of artistic subjects.

The course aims to provide a basic knowledge of the ancient materials in order to analyze the operating chains of production. The lectures will also exam the main methods of analysis for the study of ancient materials (X-Ray Fluorescence, X-Ray Diffraction, Optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Dating methods).

The use of stone, at first only chipped, then polished, characterized a long span of human history. Cave paintings/engravings (such as the Chauvet Cave, France, 28,000 BCE) and statuettes (such as the Venus of Dolni Vestonice, Czech Republic, 24,000 BCE) are the first artistic expressions of Palaeolithic period.

The lectures will examine the idea of "art" in its evolution during the prehistoric times, as well as the development of the concept of prehistory between anthropology and archeology.

The course will consist of lectures on the history of prehistoric art, developed in different periods from the Paleolithic to Neolithic and the Copper Age, the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. It will put a special emphasis on European and Asian art (particularly on China).

The students will develop and carry out the study of a specific subject as part of the seminar, applying the methods of the chrono-typological and artistic research.

- The learning is gained through face-to-face classes. 

- The course includes an individual (or group) seminar work with the active participation of the student, who will carry out research on subjects of  prehistoric art.

Written test, that is based on the lecture subjects and on the study of the recommended texts; the exam is aimed to verify the knowledge of the topics developed during the course.

The exam wants to evaluate how the student  achieved the objectives indicated in the course. Elements of complementary evaluation will be the critical capacity to connect other areas of knowledge. Full attendance at the courses will be an element of appreciation of the student's evaluation, also in terms of increasing the average grade.

Special relevance will be given to the presentation by the students of their works carried out during the seminar, that are part of the exam.

- Renfrew C., Bahn P., Archaeology. Theories, methods and practice (7th edition), Thames & Hudson, London 2016, chapters 4, 8, 10.

- Bahn P., The Cambridge Illustrated History of Prehistoric Art, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1998

- White R., Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind, H. N. Abram publisher, New York 2003.

- Torbrügge W., Prehistoric European art, H. N. Abrams, New York 1968.

- de Laet S. J. (ed.), History of Humanity, Vol. I, Prehistory and the Beginnings of Civilization, UNESCO 1996.

- Giardino C., Gigante G.E., Guida G., Mazzeo R., 念屬文物的能量色散 X 射線火光和 金相結構的實地分析 (Analysis of archaeological metal artefacts with metallography and EDXRF), in Sciences of conservation and archaeology, 10 (1), Shanghai 1998, pp. 58-64.

- Loewe M., Shaughnessy E. L. (eds), The Cambridge history of ancient China. From the Origins of Civilization to 221 B.C., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1999, chapters 1, 3,4.