From Layard to Lara Croft

Die Arbeit untersucht die Darstellung eurozentrischer Denkweisen in den Bildmedien der Archäologie Westasiens und ihren Einfluss auf die Darstellung der Vergangenheit sowie des Berufs der Archäologie in modernen Medien am Beispiel der Videospiele. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit werden im Speziellen Rekonstruktionszeichnungen früher Archäologie untersucht und mit ihren Entstehungsgeschichten, den Biografien der Autor*innen und ihrer Rezeption detailliert analytisch untersucht. Dabei reichen die behandelten Zeichnungen von der ersten innerhalb westasiatischer Archäologie erstellten perspektivischen Rekonstruktion durch den britischen Archäologen Henry Layard bis zu den einflussreichen Zeichnungen des deutschen Architekten und Archäologen Walter Andrae. Die Untersuchungen arbeiten drei gemeinsame Indikatoren als Ausdruck eurozentrischer Denkweisen heraus: 1. Romantisierung/Idealisierung antiker Kulturen Westasiens 2. Ideelle Aneignung antiker Kulturen Westasiens durch Europa 3. Kulturelle Abgrenzung antiker Kulturen Westasiens Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wird ein Blick auf die Entwicklung der archäologischen Wissenschaft bis heute geworfen und insbesondere, wie sich moderne Rekonstruktionsvisualisierungen darstellen. Anhand von drei Fallbeispielen kann gezeigt werden, dass die im vorherigen Teil herausgearbeiteten Indikatoren in abgeschwächter Form immer noch Teil wissenschaftlich produzierter Rekonstruktionen sind. Ein detaillierterer Blick wird aber auf die Entwicklung des Bilds der Vergangenheit und Archäologie in modernen Medien geworfen und dazu das Medium der Videospiele näher betrachtet. Die Untersuchung kultur- und subjektfokussierter Videospiele ergibt, dass stereotype Erwartungshaltungen das Bild von Vergangenheit und Archäologie in diesen Spielen prägen. Diese Erwartungshaltungen lassen sich in drei Gruppen (Imperialismus, Sozialdarwinismus und Orientalismus) aufteilen und finden ihren Ursprung in diversen Filmen und Figuren, die sich wiederum auf die in der frühen Archäologie etablierten Stereotype stützen. Das letzte Kapitel schließlich bringt die Ergebnisse des ersten Teils mit denen des zweiten Teils zusammen und argumentiert, dass sich die Leitmotive der Videospiele in den Indikatoren früher archäologischer Rekonstruktionszeichnungen wiederfinden. Somit findet eine Tradierung eurozentrischer Denkweisen in modernen Videospielen statt. Den Abschluss bildet die Problematisierung dieser Ergebnisse und ein Ausblick wie damit umzugehen ist.This dissertation focuses on the visual media of the Archaeology of West Asia and the depiction of a Eurocentric mindset in them as well as the influence these depictions had on the representations of the past and the profession of Archeology itself in modern-day media with a special focus on video games. The first part of this thesis analyses reconstruction drawings from the beginnings of Archaeology in West Asia and how these are dependent on their history of origin, the biographies of their authors and their reception up until today. The analysed drawings cover the first ever made perspective reconstructions of West Asian Archaeology published by the British archaeologist Henry Layard to the influential drawings made by the German architect and archaeologist Walter Andrae. The analysis concludes with three common indicators as expressions of a Eurocentric mindset: 1. Romanticisation/Idealisation of ancient cultures of West Asia 2. Intrinsic appropriation of ancient cultures of West Asia by Europe 3. Cultural delimitation of ancient cultures of West Asia The second part of this thesis describes the development of archaeology until today with a special focus on modern-day reconstructions and their visualisations. Based on three case studies, it can be shown, that the indicators developed in the first part are – although alleviated – still present in scientific produced reconstructions today. The second part focuses however more on the development of the image of the past and the profession of archaeology in modern media, especially in video games. The analysis of culture- and subject-focused video games show that stereotypical expectations are forming the way the past and archaeology as a profession is depicted in these games. These expectations can be divided into three groups (Imperialism, Social Darwinism and Orientalism) and find their roots in various movies and characters, which in turn are based on the stereotypes established by early archaeology. The last chapter finally combines the results of the first and the second part of this thesis and argues, that the stereotypes depicted in video games are rooted in the indicators found in early reconstruction drawings. Therefore, a depiction of a Eurocentric mindset is still present in modern-day media and especially in video games. Finally, I discuss the problems connected to these results and how we should treat them in the future

Auf den Spuren etruskischer Mythen. Eine Amphora im Archäologischen Institut

Description of the Structure-From-Motion Model of one of the objects within the collection of the Archaeological Institute of the University of Cologne

Research in Monumental Constructions in Antiquity

Ancient civilizations have passed down to us a vast range of monumental structures. Monumentality is a complex phenomenon that we address here as ‘XXL’. It encompasses a large range of different aspects, such as sophisticated technical and logistical skills and the vast economic resources required. This contribution takes a closer look at the special interdependence of space and knowledge represented by such XXL projects. We develop a set of objective criteria for determining whether an object qualifies as ‘XXL’, in order to permit a broadly framed study comparing manifestations of the XXL phenomenon in different cultures and describing the functional and conceptional role of the phenomenon in antiquity. Finally, we illustrate how these criteria are being applied in the study of large construction projects in ancient civilizations through six case studies

Königliche Gärten als konstitutives Element altorientalischer Residenzstädte

This paper discusses the importance of kingly gardens in Ancient Mesopotamia and how its constitutional function still survived into the era of Saddam Hussein.<br><br> <div> <div>Hageneuer, Sebastian. “Konigliche Garten als konstitutive Elemente altorientalischer Stadte.” In <i>Orte des Geschehens. Interaktionsräume als konstitutive Elemente der antiken Stadt.</i>, edited by Caroline Rödel-Braune and Catharina Waschke, 110:155–72. Geschichte. Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2012.</div> </div

Le Temple blanc d'Uruk sur sa haute terrasse

This short article describes the basis of the reconstruction of the White Temple in Uruk.<br><br> <div> <div>Hageneuer, Sebastian. “Le Temple blanc d’Uruk sur sa haute terrasse.” In <i>Ana ziqquratim. Sur la piste de Babel</i>, edited by Philippe Quenet, 112–13. Strasbourg: Presses Universitaires de Strasbourg, 2016.</div> </div

From the Nile Delta to Karlsruhe: or how to present mud bricks in an exhibition

This article describes in short the site of Qantir and the process of reconstruction that was undertaken in order to create an animation about the bronze-age site of Qantir: Pi-Ramesses

The influence of Early Architectural Reconstruction Drawings in Near Eastern Archaeology

This paper looks at the influences that shaped early architectural reconstruction drawings in Near Eastern Archaeology, starting with the 1867 visualisation of Khorsabad by Victor Place. The reconstruction of the ziggurat and the two domes flanking the principal entranceway to the palace at Khorsabad are of special interest.<br><br> <div> <div>Hageneuer, Sebastian. “The Influence of Early Architectural Reconstruction Drawings in Near Eastern Archaeology.” In <i>Proceedings of the 9rh International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East</i>, 1:359–70. Wiesbaden: Harrossowitz, 2016.</div> </div

Bilder vergangener Kulturen - Architektur-Rekonstruktionen in der Vorderasiatischen Archaologie des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts

This article discusses in short the influence of archaeological reconstructions in Near Eastern Archaeology.<br><br> <div> <div>Hageneuer, Sebastian. “Bilder vergangener Kulturen - Architektur-Rekonstruktionen in der Vorderasiatischen Archäologie des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts.” <i>Alter Orient aktuell</i> 13 (2015): 4–9.</div> </div

The visualisation of Uruk - First impressions of the first metropolis in the world

Since 2008, a collaboration between the Oriental Department of the German Archaeological Institute under the supervision of Dr. Margarete van Ess and the Berlin-based conceptual design agency Artefacts has been carried out to visualise major parts of one of the oldest cities in the world. A mixture of archaeological data, textual sources, ethnographic parallels and structural considerations were used to reconstruct an ancient city, that is in some places preserved only to a height of a couple of centimetres. The<br>scarce archaeological evidence required a multidisciplinary approach in reconstructing the site. During our work, we developed three modes of presentation: Basic Models, Technical Reconstructions and Extended Reconstructions, each building up on each other. This paper will show their characteristics, advantages and field of usability and present my own concept of Visualised Theories.<br><br> <div> <div>Hageneuer, Sebastian. “The Visualisation of Uruk - First Impressions of the First Metropolis in the World.” In <i>Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies 2013 (CHNT 18, 2013)</i>, edited by Wolfgang Börner and Susanne Uhlirz, 1–12. Wien: Museen der Stadt Wien - Stadtarchäologie, 2014. http://www.chnt.at/proceedings-chnt-18/.</div> </div

The DISAPALE Project: A New Digital Repository of Lithic and Bone Artefacts

As for every aspect in our daily lives, in the past two decades a digital turn has stormed Archaeology. More specifically, in the field of Palaeolithic research, 3D recording methods are currently starting to become an established standard in the documentation, study and analysis of lithic artefacts. Once made available to public, the DISAPALE project will represent one of the largest 3D-models repository of lithic artefact: after introducing the project, its goals and main characteristics, the paper first contextualizes the specific nature of the blank material in relation to the 3D recording techniques, and then presents a significant example of the workflow that has been implemented during the DISAPALE project and a comparison between 3D models of three objects realized with two different methods, briefly discussing their relative pros and cons