Since time immemorial, human societies have been using a variety of materials in a variety of ways to create art objects—whether in the form of minuscule items such as amulets and jewelry or as massive works of monumental architecture. Every region in every period had its own styles embedded in the local social context that was constantly shaped through contacts with neighboring regions.

In this course, we will focus on the visual art of the southern Levant from the Chalcolithic period through to the conquest of the region by Alexander the Great in its broadest context as it relates to the arts of neighboring regions (the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia). Case studies from various periods will be used to trace the characteristics of south Levantine visual art in its technical and material manifestations (e.g., figurines, pottery decoration, ivory and bone works, seals and amulets, wall painting, and architectural styles), and the on-going dialogues between neighboring regions.