Near Eastern Art and Archaeology offers programs in the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East and in the Archaeology of the Islamic Middle East. Students in the ancient program receive a broad training in Near Eastern archaeology and also specialize in a particular region: Anatolia, Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Mesopotamia, or the Levant.
Archaeological research is fundamental to the investigation of the origins and development of the world’s earliest civilizations. The University of Chicago has long played a major role in this enterprise, both in fielding archaeological expeditions in the Near East and in developing new approaches to the interpretation of what has been found. Students of archaeology in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations participate in archaeological fieldwork and in a rigorous program of academic study that equips them to become skilled recorders and interpreters of the immense cultural heritage of the Near East.
