Department of Classics Graduate Projects
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Item Challenging the Use of Ancient Greek and Roman Medical Information in Paul of Aegina's 'Epitome of Medicine'(2023-10-12) Katrina JohnstonPaul of Aegina (c. 625-690 CE) was one of the foremost Byzantine medical authorities. His only surviving text, Epitome of Medicine, was written in seven books and instructed physicians on both surgical and non-surgical treatments. The Epitome addressed the remedy of ailments ranging from medical treatments for “persons bitten by a man” to surgical procedures to fix aneurisms. Indeed, Paul identifies nearly 600 plants and 200 animal products as helpful ingredients in recipes for pharmacological interventions. Paul’s medical ideas were extremely influential. His encyclopedia was originally published in Greek before being translated into several different languages. His techniques may be traced in the methodologies of later physicians including Rhazes (864-925 CE ) Albucasis (936-1013 CE) and Avicenna (980-1037 CE). It is also apparent that Paul relied heavily upon the works of ancient medical writers such as Galen (129- 216 CE) and Hippocrates (460-375 BCE) when he was compiling his Epitome. In this study I explore classical influences on the surgical portion of Paul’s encyclopedia. I observe the techniques that remained the same, those that show an evolved medical understanding, and new procedures that appear in the text. This research strategy will elucidate how the growing compendium of medical knowledge effected the evolution of surgical techniques between antiquity and early Byzantium.Item Male Homosexuality under the Julio-Claudian Dynasty(2023-10-12) William Mills VanstoneThis paper explores the nature of Roman attitudes, both elite and non-elite, regarding male homosexuality under the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Through examining Roman laws, art, and literature from the period, these attitudes will be revealed and understood to the extent in which one can understand a past society through its history and artifacts. When exploring attitudes through art, special attention is paid to the Warren Cup, an intriguing artifact of uncertain provenance whose authenticity has been debated vigorously by contemporary scholars. The nature of Roman attitudes towards homosexuality is highly related to Roman social hierarchy and where one fell within that hierarchy. Depending on one’s status and the status of their partner, desires for emotional or sexual connections with members of the same sex and gender could be viewed as either perfectly normal and legitimate, or unusual and unmanly.Item Detecting Change in High Temporal Resolution UAV Photogrammetry at Active Archaeological Excavations: International Field School Excavations at NI Stobi 2018(2023) Marie McMenaminPhotogrammetry is a common technique used in the documentation of archaeological excavations; it has been integrated into several sites since the early 20th century. Photogrammetry allows researchers to analyze and document important finds and structures. The cost of photogrammetry today has declined significantly since the early 20th century making it possible to perform daily RPAS photogrammetry over an active archaeological site. Most researchers today use photogrammetry to create orthophotos that can be traced with 2D line work, but the 3D data is essentially thrown out. This 3D data can provide valuable information using change detection. Photogrammetric change detection analysis is common when it comes to the protection of cultural heritage sites but is not commonly used on active archaeological sites. Using 3D data, we can compare Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) and Point Clouds, resulting in defined locus boundaries that can enhance the archaeological documentation. This study utilizes RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems) data gathered during an international field school at Stobi, an archaeological site in the Republic of North Macedonia, in 2018. Using two different programs, 3DM Analyst and CloudCompare, this project shows the subtle changes that occur on an active archaeological excavation. These programs have special features that allow the user to compare the data to calculate and visualize these differences. Information gathered from field journals and locus sheets assists in the analysis of the changes that occur within the locus boundaries. The 3D information gathered can provide important information in understanding how the excavation is proceeding and what the next steps are.Item Reassessing the Presence of Women at Humayma in a Regional Context Across the Nabataean and Roman Cultures(2023-03) Bouchard, LaurenceFirst recognized by scholars as an important area of study in the 1970s, research on the female presence and experience in antiquity has grown to become a major area of scholarship in classical studies and archaeology. However, notwithstanding this important rise in popularity, delving into questions of gender and inquiries pertaining to the life of ancient women remains to this day a laborious enterprise due to the androcentric nature of the field. Academics have indeed long slighted the subject of antique females altogether, limiting their mention of a feminine presence to heavily stereotyped mythological or literary characters and to a few, often controversial, historical figures. Moreover, as the surviving written accounts mostly recall the point of view of the Greek and Roman elite, the study of gender and women’s presence in antiquity also remained for the longest time confined to the Greek and Roman states, thus leaving aside any other ancient civilization. Over the last two decades, this prejudiced literary-based view started to be challenged by members of the scholarly community who turned to the analysis of material culture to fill in those historical and regional lacunae. In an attempt to further this line of inquiry, this research paper will address how the presence of ancient women can be substantiated by the material evidence uncovered in archaeological contexts using examples from the site of Humayma, an antique desert settlement in southern Jordan that witnessed and thrived through a large spectrum of occupation. Focusing on the material record associated with the Nabataean and Roman cultures uncovered at the site while also taking into account relevant finds from other similar contexts, this research paper will offer an overview of the ways in which inscriptional, skeletal and artefactual evidence can attest to the presence of ancient females in an antique Near Eastern settlement. More specifically, several types of written documents, inscriptions, epitaphs, graffiti, skeletal remains, grave goods, as well as different categories of artefacts associated with a feminine presence will be discussed in order to offer a more holistic approach to the analysis of women’s presence at the site of Humayma, thereby shining a light on the female experience in the ancient Near East.Item The Case for Archaeogaming and Affectiveness: Olympia as a Case Study in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey(2022-10) Sommerfeldt, JamesThis research utilizes a twofold approach: the general framework of archaeogaming; and the theoretical position of affective history. Using the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey as a case study, this research paper provides a critique of the current literature as it relates to the topics of archaeogaming and affective history. Documented archaeological findings of Olympia are examined in known literature, as well as in the designed environment of the video game. The study provides further understanding of how archaeogaming is defined as the “archaeology both in and of digital games” (Reinhard 2) and how the application of affective history theory, the study of the past with emotional and human experience through re-enactment, holds the potential to open new avenues of study in classical archaeology. This research demonstrates how video games and classical archaeology merge together, providing an alternative form of study that can be applied to classical studies.
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