Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology
Pyramids of Giza: Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology
Course Length
8 weeks
2-4 hours per week
Featuring faculty from:
Harvard Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Enroll as Individual
Certificate Price:
$ 219
On demand
Enroll on edXEnroll as Individual
Certificate Price:
$ 219
On demand
Enroll on edXExplore the archaeology, history, art, and hieroglyphs surrounding the famous Egyptian Pyramids at Giza.
Where is Giza? How were the Pyramids built? How did the cemeteries and hundreds of decorated tombs around them develop? What was Giza’s contribution to this first great age of ancient Egyptian civilization, the Old Kingdom?
The Giza Plateau and its cemeteries — including the majestic Pyramids and the Great Sphinx — are stirring examples of ancient Egyptian architecture and culture. They provide windows into ancient Egyptian society, but also contain mysteries waiting to be solved. The Egyptian Pyramids at Giza provide an opportunity to explore the history of archaeology and to learn about some of the modern methods shaping the discipline today.
This introductory course will explore the art, archaeology, and history surrounding the Giza Pyramids. We will learn about Egyptian pharaohs and high officials of the Pyramid Age, follow in the footsteps of the great 20th-century expeditions, and discover how cutting-edge digital tools like 3D-modeling are reshaping the discipline of Egyptology.
Join us on this online journey to ancient Egypt’s most famous archaeological site as we uncover the history and significance of Giza, and use new digital techniques to unravel the mysteries of its ancient tombs and temples.
Self-Guided
edX
- Learning Outcome
The history and significance of the Giza Pyramids and surrounding cemeteries
- Learning Outcome
The cultural and religious significance of the Giza Pyramids, tombs, and temples
- Learning Outcome
How digital technologies allow us to visualize ancient monuments in new ways
- Learn from Harvard faculty
- Do it on your own time
- Get a certificate, add it to your resume
- Be part of the Harvard Community
Ways to take this course
Audit or Pursue a Verified Certificate
A Verified Certificate costs $219 and provides unlimited access to full course materials, activities, tests, and forums. At the end of the course, learners who earn a passing grade can receive a certificate.
Faculty
Your Instructor
Peter Der Manuelian
Barbara Bell Professor of Egyptology at Harvard University
Peter Der Manuelian received his Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1990. In 2009, he was appointed the “Philip J. King Professor of Egyptology” at Harvard University (Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and Department of Anthropology). This is the first Egyptology chair at Harvard since the time of George Reisner (1867-1942), more than 75 years ago. He is director of the Harvard Semitic Museum, and also directs the Giza Project at Harvard, and the MA Program in Museum Studies at the Harvard Extension School. He joined the curatorial staff at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1987, and was Giza Archives Project Director there from 2000–2011, in addition to teaching at Tufts University for ten years. His primary research interests include ancient Egyptian history, archaeology, digital epigraphy and visualization, the development of mortuary architecture, and the (icono)graphic nature of Egyptian language and culture in general.
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