Marcella Frangipane (born 10 October 1948) is a professor of archaeology at the Sapienza University of Rome. She works on the prehistory and protohistory of the Near East and Middle East. ^[1] She was elected a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 2013. ^[2]

Early life and education

Frangipane was born in Palermo. ^[2] She studied humanities with honours in archaeology at the Sapienza University of Rome, and graduated cum laude in 1972. ^[2] Early in her career she spent three years in the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia in Mexico, where she learned new techniques in anthropology. ^{[2] [3]} She has been involved with several excavations, in Europe, Mexico, Turkey and Egypt. ^[3] She was involved the excavation of Cunalan village in the Teotihuacan valley. ^[4] She has been involved with the excavation team of the Arslantepe since 1976. ^[5]

Research and career

Frangipane returned to the Sapienza University of Rome in 1981, where she eventually became a Professor in 1990. ^[3] She led the School of Archaeology from 2000 to 2003, and was made Vice Director of the Late Predynastic site of Maadi. ^{[3] [6]} Frangipane studies the formation of bureaucratic and hierarchical structures in urban societies. ^[5] She is mainly interested in the near and Middle East. ^[5]

Frangipane was made Director of the Italian Archaeological Mission in Eastern Anatolia in 1990. ^{[7] [8]} She was involved with the excavation of Arslantepe, where she reconstructed their early administrative systems. ^[2] This work was supported by the National Geographic. ^[9] The settlement is west of the banks of the Euphrates and is well known for its architecture. ^[10] Frangipane identified the most ancient secular public structure worldwide. ^[10] Arslantepe was included in the UNESCO cultural heritage list in 2014 owing to the significance of Frangipane's findings. ^[11] She investigated the site of Zeytinli Bahçe Höyük, a village in the Urfa district. ^[12] Within Arslantepe, Frangipane led the team who discovered the word's oldest royal palace. ^[13] She was also involved with excavations of

She was the first Italian woman to be elected a foreign associate to the National Academy of Sciences in 2013. ^[14]

Awards and honours

Her awards and honours include;

• 1994 Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana ^[15]
• 2005 Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà ^[16]
• 2005 Honorary Citizenship of Eski Malatya ^[14]
• 2011 İnönü University Honorary Doctorate ^[5]
• 2013 Elected to the National Academy of Sciences ^[2]
• 2015 Shanghai Archaeology Forum Discovery Award ^[17]
• 2015 Vittorio De Sica Prize for Science ^[5]
• 2017 Rotondi Award for the Saviours of Art ^[5]
• 2018 University of Sydney Anthony McNicoll Lecture ^[18]
• 2021 Corresponding fellow of the British Academy ^[19]

Frangipane s a member of the German Archaeological Institute and the Shanghai Archeology Forum. ^[20]

Books

• Frangipane, Marcella (2001). Uruk Mesopotamia & Its Neighbors: Cross-Cultural Interactions in the Era of State Formation (School Leadership Library). School of American Research Press. ISBN  978-1930618022.
• Frangipane, Marcela (2007). Arslantepe Cretulae: An Early Centralised Administrative System Before Writing. L'Erma Di Bretschneider. ISBN  978-8890170171.
• Frangipane, Marcella (2017). The Origin of Inequality. Gangemi Editore. ISBN  978-8849247961.

References