Planet Project

🌿 𝑰𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒑𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒂 : 𝒍’𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒗𝒆𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒂 𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒂 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂

I’m very pleased to announce that I will be giving a doctoral seminar at the 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐢 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢 𝐝𝐢 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨 on the agency of plants in the magical and medical traditions of ancient Mesopotamia.

5 October 2026, 3:30 PM
Aula PF11 – Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo

I’m particularly happy to be returning to Sicily, for this occasion and to share some of my current research on the role of plant in Mesopotamian therapeuutic traditions.

Everyone interested is very welcome!

After two intense and unforgettable years, my time at the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐬𝐲𝐥𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚 as part of my Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action project, 𝐏𝐥𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐓, has come to an end.

It is difficult to put into words how grateful I am for these two years, both professionally and personally.

Above all, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐉. 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐲, for his constant support and generosity. He was always there to help, ready to find a solution to every problem I encountered, and his guidance has been invaluable throughout these two years.

My deepest thanks go to the 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 (MELC) for hosting me and making Penn such an important part of my academic journey.

A special thank you to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦), where I had the privilege of working alongside wonderful colleagues and friends. My heartfelt thanks also go to everyone in the Babylonian Section: Dr. 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬, Dr. 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐮𝐚 𝐉𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬, Prof. 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞, Dr. 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐆𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧, 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥, and 𝐄𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐢𝐦. Thank you for your generosity, conversations, and friendship.

Thanks to the 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 (CAAM), which gave me invaluable training and helped me develop my knowledge and skills in archaeobotany. I am especially grateful to Dr. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞 for introducing me more deeply to the world of archaeobotany and to Dr. 𝐍𝐚𝐨𝐦𝐢 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 for sharing her knowledge and expertise with me.

A very special thank you to Dr. 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 and 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧, who have always been there for me and has been, not only professionally but also on a human level, a constant point of reference throughout my time at Penn.

I also wish to thank for their kindness and support Prof. 𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐧, Prof. 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫, Prof. 𝐑𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐨 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨 and 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐚 𝐃𝐨𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐨, 𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐳, Dr. 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚 𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐨, Dr. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐢 and 𝐊𝐨𝐞𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐢 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐳𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐡 and 𝐒𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐥 𝐊𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐦𝐢.

Leaving Penn was not easy. I leave with an enormous amount of gratitude, many memories, new skills, new ideas, and, most importantly, friendships that I hope will continue far beyond these two years.

And now, the next step. I am heading back to the 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐞 𝐞 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨 (SARAS) at 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐚 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐞, ready to meet again my supervisor, Prof. 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞, and the wonderful team of the Department.

A new chapter begins and I could not be more excited.

Thank you, Penn. 💙

It has been a real pleasure to organise, together with Ellie Bennett, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬: 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚, a workshop bringing together scholars from different backgrounds to explore masculinities in the ancient world.

A huge thank you to all our speakers for their brilliant and thought-provoking papers, and to everyone who attended, participated in the discussions, and contributed to making these two days so stimulating and memorable.

A huge thank you to our keynote speaker, Prof. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐭𝐢 𝐍𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧, for his magnificent lecture and for opening the workshop with such an inspiring and intellectually rich contribution.

We are deeply grateful to Prof. Saana Svärd and to the 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬 (ANEE) for their generous support in making this workshop possible.

And thank you to all the friends and colleagues who stopped by during these days — it was wonderful to see so many familiar faces, including Dr. Emanuel Pfoh, Prof. Jason M Silverman, and Filippo Pedron.

A very special thank you to 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭 for involving me in this project and, above all, for the incredible work she put into making the workshop happen. Her organisation, care, energy, and attention to every detail were truly exceptional. It has been a privilege to work together, and I hope this is only the beginning of many more projects to come. ❤️ These are days that I will carry in my heart for a very long time.

And I could not think of a better way to conclude than with Ellie’s words from her closing remarks:
“Everything we do is political, including the creation of historical inquiry, and I believe right now we have a responsibility to engage in politics to help minimise future harm. So I guess this is also my answer for what’s next in the field: be brave and embrace political activism. I truly believe that those same ancient gendered dynamics have the potential to continue to shape modern men, which in turn can shape our modern world.”

So be brave. And keep shaping worlds!

📌 **Plants and Humans in the Ancient Near East. Roots of Multispecies Connections** 📌

❓ Cosa cambia quando le piante non sono più considerate semplicemente come risorse, ma come soggetti attivi nella relazione tra esseri umani e ambiente?

📚 Il volume *Plants and Humans in the Ancient Near East. Roots of Multispecies Connections* nasce dall'incontro e dalla condivisione di prospettive di ricerca tra il progetto BioANE (*Biodiversity in the Ancient Near East*), diretto da Silvana Di Paolo e Gioele Zisa Sapienza Università di Roma, e il progetto MSCA PLANET (*Plants in the Ancient Near Eastern Texts*), coordinato da Gioele Zisa. L'obiettivo è intercettare e incrementare le ricerche in corso sul tema della biodiversità nel Vicino Oriente antico, considerando prospettive di breve e lungo periodo.

🌿 Il volume riunisce studiose e studiosi provenienti da archeologia e storia dell'arte, assiriologia, archeobotanica e paleoecologia, storia delle religioni ed Environmental Humanities, mettendo in dialogo diverse prospettive per esplorare le molteplici relazioni tra piante e società del Vicino Oriente antico.

📖 Edito da Silvana Di Paolo e Gioele Zisa e pubblicato da Zaphon (Münster) come volume 6 della serie wEdge, il volume è articolato in tre sezioni:

➡️ *Ecological Knowledge: Near and Distant Plant Geographies*
➡️ *Arboreal Imaginaries: Plants as Relational Beings*
➡️ *Vegetality in Art: The Metonymic Imagery*

🔎 Attraverso la diversità e la densità dei saggi proposti, il volume offre nuovi spunti interpretativi sull'interazione tra esseri umani e piante, affrontando le implicazioni ontologiche, ecologiche ed etiche della prospettiva antropocentrica e contribuendo al crescente dialogo tra Ancient Near Eastern Studies, Environmental Humanities e Critical Plant Studies.

🌱 Le piante non sono considerate esclusivamente come parte delle strategie umane di sussistenza, addomesticamento e controllo delle specie, ma soprattutto come esseri “agentivi”, con un ruolo fondamentale nella costruzione dell'esperienza dell'ambiente circostante attraverso le loro capacità rigenerative e la loro versatilità riproduttiva, nella costruzione di significati sociali e culturali e nella rappresentazione simbolica e magica del mondo attraverso fenomeni di feticizzazione e metonimia.

🔗 Per conoscere "Paesaggi e biodiversità | Gruppo di ricerca"
👉 https://www.ispc.cnr.it/it_it/2022/12/15/paesaggi-culturali-e-biodiversita/

🔎 Per approfondire il progetto MSCA PLANET
👉 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101148482

📚 Per maggiori dettagli sulla pubblicazione
👉 https://www.zaphon.de/epages/83179382.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/83179382/Products/%22ISBN%20978-3-96327-320-9%22
🔗 Serie wEdge
👉 https://www.zaphon.de/wEdge

CNR Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
CNR DSU

𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐞𝐧, 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬: 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚

Next week, on 𝟐𝟕–𝟐𝟖 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭, the 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢 will host Shaping Men, Shaping Worlds: Masculinities in Ancient Western Asia, a two-day workshop exploring how masculinities were imagined, constructed, performed, negotiated, and contested across ancient Western Asia and Egypt.

Bringing together scholars working across Assyriology, Egyptology, Biblical Studies, and related fields, the workshop will explore a wide range of themes, including:

🔹 Economics and etiquette
🔹 Blurring binaries
🔹 Lineage and virility
🔹 Rituals and magic
🔹 Emotions
🔹 Sexualities
🔹 Masculine bodies and performance

We are especially delighted to welcome Prof. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐭𝐢 𝐍𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧 for the opening keynote: “He-Prophets and Q***r Performers: Prophetic Masculinities in Antiquity.”

📍 27 August: University of Helsinki, Siltavuorenpenger 3, Athena room 348
📍 28 August: University of Helsinki, Fabianinkatu 24, room 532

The workshop is organised within the framework of the 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬, University of Helsinki, and 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 A𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐬 (PlANET), Sapienza University of Rome and University of Pennsylvania.

We warmly welcome colleagues, students, and anyone interested in the study of gender and masculinities in the ancient world!

Ellie Bennett & Gioele Zisa

Two unforgettable years are coming to an end, and I would like to share this last photo with my supervisor, Professor 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐲, in front of the statue of Benjamin Franklin on the beautiful University of Pennsylvania campus.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Steve for his constant guidance, generosity, encouragement, and support throughout these years. His knowledge and enthusiasm to share his time and experience have had a profound impact on both my research and my personal growth.

Thank you, Steve, for every conversation, every piece of advice, every thoughtful comment, and for creating such a welcoming environment. It has been a privilege to work with you, and I will always be grateful for everything you have done for me during this journey.

🌿 Spotlight: Sacred Plants in Mesopotamia 🌿

I'm thrilled to share that PlANET's little exhibit 𝐒𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐚 is now on view in the Spotlight Gallery at the 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐧 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦!

Cylinder seals and cuneiform tablets tell the deep bond between trees, gods, and humans in Mesopotamian mythology — from the wilderness where Gilgamesh battles lions, to the mahaleb cherry tree in Inanna's garden.

A small space, but full of arboreal stories: for the ancient Mesopotamians, trees were bridges between earth and sky, between humans and gods.

A heartfelt thank you to the Penn Museum staff, Jess Bicknell and Lauren Harrison, for their support in bringing this exhibit to life. Thanks as well to the curators of the Near East Section, Prof. Holly Pittman and Prof. Richard Zettler, to Dr. Katherine Blanchard and Dr. Philip Jones, keepers of the Near East and Babylonian Sections respectively.

And finally, a special thank you to Prof. 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐲, my supervisor, without whose costant support this project would never have seen the light of day.

Thank you to everyone who stops by to see it in person at the Penn Museum! 🌳

Today marked my final meeting with Dr. 𝗡𝗮𝗼𝗺𝗶 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 after nearly two years of regular discussions and collaboration at the Penn Museum as part of the PlANET project. 🌱

As one of the world's leading archaeobotanists, Naomi has taught me so much—from the study and interpretation of plant macroremains to reading and understanding pollen diagrams, and from the ecology of the Zagros Mountains and the Iranian Plateau to discussing hypotheses on the identification of plants mentioned in cuneiform texts.
These conversations have greatly enriched both my research and my perspective, reminding me how valuable the exchange of ideas is in science.

Thank you, Naomi, for your time, your generosity, and for sharing your extraordinary knowledge. I hope this is not the end, but the beginning of many more discussions and collaborations.

🌿 What can plants tell us about the ancient Mesopotamian world?

🎙️ In the new episode of the 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝑬𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒅𝒈𝒆 podcast, I had the pleasure of discussing this question with 𝐉𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐫 (British Museum) and 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭 (University of Helsinki).

In this conversation, we explore the world of 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗠𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗮: their economic roles, their symbolic meanings, and the challenges of identifying and studying them through both texts and archaeobotanical remains.

I had the opportunity to discuss my Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action 𝗣𝗹𝗔𝗡𝗘𝗧 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 (Plants in the Ancient Near East Texts), its goals, and how it brings together different disciplines to investigate the role of plants in ancient Mesopotamia.

A big thank you to Jon and Ellie for the invitation and for such an engaging and enjoyable discussion!

🎧 The episode is now available on the Thin End of the Wedge website and on Spotify: https://www.wedgepod.org/episode-list/

Give it a listen and let me know what you think.

Member Spotlight from Marie Curie Alumni Association United States of America Chapter.

For Dr. Gioele Zisa, attending the Marie Curie Alumni Association United States of America Chapter Regional Meeting in Chicago was an opportunity not only to present his Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Global Fellowship project, PLANET (Plants in Ancient Near Eastern Texts), but also to finally meet in person many members of the Marie Curie community he had previously only known online.
Currently a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Global Research Fellow at Sapienza University of Rome and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, Gioele studies the role of plants in ancient Near Eastern texts, bringing together perspectives from history, anthropology, religion, and cultural studies.
The Chicago meeting offered a unique environment to exchange ideas, explore career paths, and connect with researchers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds.
While the scientific sessions, lightning talks, and discussions on funding opportunities were highly valuable, what resonated most were the informal conversations between sessions.
"It was a reminder that these moments can genuinely shape the way we think about our work and our future paths. What I appreciated most was feeling part of a real community, not just a network."
Celebrating Marie Skłodowska-Curie’s birthday together added a meaningful moment of reflection on the enduring legacy of one of science’s most influential pioneers.
Beyond the academic program, Chicago provided memorable experiences—from exploring the Field Museum and seeing Sue, the world-famous Tyrannosaurus rex fossil, to enjoying a classic slice of Chicago-style pizza with fellow attendees.
Experiences like the Chicago Regional Meeting demonstrate the value of bringing researchers together in person, transforming professional connections into lasting relationships and fostering collaborations that extend far beyond the event itself.
A sincere thank you to Sabina Cveček, the MCAA USA Chapter Board, and all volunteers whose dedication made this inspiring gathering possible.

#mcaa #mariecuriealumni #msca #mariecurieactions #researchcommunity #scientificnetworking #globalresearch #internationalcollaboration #academiccommunity #researchexcellence #humanitiesresearch… | Marie Curie Alumni Association United States of... 🌟 Member Spotlight: Dr. Gioele Zisa from Marie Curie Alumni Association United States of America Chapter For Dr. Gioele Zisa, attending the Marie Curie Alumni Association United States of America Chapter Regional Meeting in Chicago was an opportunity not only to present his Marie Skłodowska-Curi...