A lunchtime seminar by Dr Anna Perdibon from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This event is organised by The Baron Thyssen Centre for the Study of Ancient Material Religion at The Open University.

Abstract:

The religious world of the ancient Mesopotamians is rich and multifaceted, with a dense network of entangled meanings. Nature, landscape, cosmos, divinity and personhood are all intertwined threads of ancient Mesopotamian material religion. This paper will offer some insights into the ancient emic relationships between humans and arboreal entities in Mesopotamia. Trees were conceptualized and related to as “other-than-human” persons – sacred and cosmic entities connected to deities and other visible and invisible inhabitants of the ancient Mesopotamian world, kin to deities and humans, and approached with respect in the cult. Moreover, trees and other vegetal entities played significant roles in healing and purifying rituals. It was in ritual and magical performances that the agency, materiality and spirituality of arboreal persons became fully manifest, indicating a relational cosmos and the animate nature of ancient cuneiform cultures. This evidence forces us to question the western dichotomies of nature/culture, subject/object, animate/inanimate, natural/supernatural in order to reassess ancient religious experiences from an emic perspective.

This is a free event but spaces are limited, so please book your place via EventBrite.

For more information about the event and organiser, please visit The Baron Thyssen Centre for the Study of Ancient Material Religion website.