Listening to Nabataean Art: “Conversation” as a Framework of Inquiry

This lecture explores intersections of cultural identity in the kingdom of Nabataea, centered at Petra in southern Jordan.  The Nabataean kingdom was active from ca. 300 B.C.E. until Trajan annexed it in 106 C.E.; it saw the rise and fall of neighboring Hellenistic kingdoms and the inexorable expansion of Rome, witnessing the arrival of new religions, new forms of art, new languages, and new cultures.  Some degree of Hellenization and Romanization resulted, but the impact was inconsistent, both spatially and temporally, and certainly did not overwrite existing traditions.  Visual and material evidence demonstrates an active discourse between new and old, east and west, as different Nabataeans continuously negotiated new identities in rapidly shifting circumstances.

At its greatest extent, the Nabataean kingdom spread from southern Syria into the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, reaching westward into the Negev desert.  Its population was quite diverse; differences in ethnicity, religion, descent, social standing, and lifestyle (nomadic or sedentary) can be observed among those who claimed membership in Nabataea.  In some sense these were all ‘Nabataeans’, but this identity was fluid and inconsistent; no single factor determined how it was enacted and experienced. 

The lecture grapples with particularly troublesome aspects of Nabataean art and architecture, exploring instances where form and tradition appear to tell contradictory stories about Nabataean identity.  These present us with observable dialogues, particular episodes or choices that reflect Nabataeans negotiating diverse currents and priorities. As identity is necessarily fractured, variable, and constantly shifting, it cannot itself be defined in any static sense; the underlying conversations, however, reveal key threads running through its various expressions.

Björn Anderson is Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Art History at the University of Iowa. He received a BA in Humanities from the University of Oregon, an MA in Classical Archaeology from the University of British Columbia, and MA and PhD degrees in Classical Art & Archaeology from the University of Michigan. A specialist in the study of material, cultural, and visual interaction in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, he has taught a variety of courses in ancient art and archaeology. Dr. Anderson also is a trained archaeologist and has excavated in both Israel and Jordan. His current field project uses photogrammetry and 3D modeling to reconstruct a tomb façade in Petra, Jordan.