Keywords

Mesopotamia, History, Ancient, Medicine, Healing, Smell

Abstract

My thesis interrogates the role that the sense of smell plays in the experience of place, arguing that scent has been virtually ignored in public history contexts. The thesis will review the foundational scholarship on the history of the senses and relate the findings of interdisciplinary research that demonstrates how the senses alter one's understanding of the environment and even the formation of memories. This work is relevant to the field of public history since smell can be used to captivate the public in a memorable—and potentially more authentic—engagement with the Mesopotamian past. To address gaps in the present scholarship, I will create a blueprint for an exhibit space that will center around the olfactory experience of place. The reconstructions involved in the design will focus upon medicinal recipes used to treat a variety of ailments in northern Mesopotamia during the Neo-Assyrian period (ca. 9th to 7th centuries BCE). My historical investigations of the medical texts from Mesopotamia will focus upon the identification of ingredients, primarily botanical, with the goal being to recreate ancient remedies for the public to discover through scentscapes. The historical reconstructions will consider modern conceptualizations of socially constructed places, showing how embodied experiences can be better represented by historians and cultural heritage professionals.

Completion Date

2023

Semester

Fall

Committee Chair

Earley-Spadoni, Tiffany

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

History

Degree Program

Public History

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028053

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028053

Language

English

Release Date

December 2023

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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