Von Layard bis Lara Croft. Eurozentrische Denkweisen in den Bildmedien der Archäologie Westasiens

This dissertation focuses on the visual media of the Archaeology of West Asia and the depiction of a Eurocentric mindset in them as well as the influence these depictions had on the representations of the past and the profession of Archeology itself in modern-day media with a special focus on video games.

The first part of this thesis analyses reconstruction drawings from the beginnings of Archaeology in West Asia and how these are dependent on their history of origin, the biographies of their authors and their reception up until today. The analysed drawings cover the first ever made perspective reconstructions of West Asian Archaeology published by the British archaeologist Henry Layard to the influential drawings made by the German architect and archaeologist Walter Andrae. The analysis concludes with three common indicators as expressions of a Eurocentric mindset: 1. Romanticisation/Idealisation of ancient cultures of West Asia 2. Intrinsic appropriation of ancient cultures of West Asia by Europe 3. Cultural delimitation of ancient cultures of West Asia

The second part of this thesis describes the development of archaeology until today with a special focus on modern-day reconstructions and their visualisations. Based on three case studies, it can be shown, that the indicators developed in the first part are – although alleviated – still present in scientific produced reconstructions today.

The second part focuses however more on the development of the image of the past and the profession of archaeology in modern media, especially in video games. The analysis of culture- and subject-focused video games show that stereotypical expectations are forming the way the past and archaeology as a profession is depicted in these games. These expectations can be divided into three groups (Imperialism, Social Darwinism and Orientalism) and find their roots in various movies and characters, which in turn are based on the stereotypes established by early archaeology.

The last chapter finally combines the results of the first and the second part of this thesis and argues, that the stereotypes depicted in video games are rooted in the indicators found in early reconstruction drawings. Therefore, a depiction of a Eurocentric mindset is still present in modern-day media and especially in video games. Finally, I discuss the problems connected to these results and how we should treat them in the future.