Ecological Aquaculture and Domesticated Waterscapes in Ancient Maya Society, Subsistence, and Art in Chiapas, Mexico

Title: Ecological Aquaculture and Domesticated Waterscapes in Ancient Maya Society, Subsistence, and Art in Chiapas, Mexico

Speaker: Dr. Joel Palka, Associate Professor, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University

When and Where: Saturday, October 15, 2022; Pueblo Grande Museum , 4619 E Washington St 
Phoenix, AZ 85034

More information:  https://www.phoenix.gov/parks/arts-culture-history/pueblo-grande and for International Archaeology Day https://www.archaeological.org/programs/public/archaeologyday/

Wilhelmina and Stanley Jashemski Lecture

Dr. Palka’s ongoing archaeological and anthropological project at Lake Mensabak in Chiapas explores past to present Maya use of modified waterscapes for fishing and managing plant communities. At this and other sites in the region, Maya people collectively dug canals and made reservoirs for large-scale, integrated ecological aquaculture. Like domesticated landscapes for agriculture, people in the Mesoamerican culture area engineered water works for harvesting fish, turtles, waterfowl, and aquatic plants for household consumption. This presentation covers insights from archaeology, Maya collaborations, art, and ethnohistory indicating that fisheries can be added to current research on raised fields, water control, subsistence ecology, and community organization in Mesoamerica.

Ancient Cypriote Sculpture in New York: Cesnola, the Metropolitan Museum, and 19th Century Spectacle

Title: Ancient Cypriote Sculpture in New York: Cesnola, the Metropolitan Museum, and 19th Century Spectacle

Speaker: Dr. Ann-Marie Knoblauch, Virginia Tech

When and Where: Thursday September 22, 2022, 6:00 pm AZ time, via Zoom

click this link for more information and to register: https://www.archaeological.org/event/ancient-cypriote-sculpture-in-new-york-cesnola-the-metropolitan-museum-and-19th-century-spectacle/

In the 1870s, two massive shipments of ancient Cypriote art arrived in New York, forming the foundational collection for the city’s new universal museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection had been acquired from Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the notorious antiquities collector working on Cyprus. The material led to public controversy fairly quickly. While most welcomed with enthusiasm the large collection of original ancient Mediterranean objects, New Yorkers familiar with the Greco-Roman past had a hard time making sense of the Cypriote material and its perceived “otherness.” Furthermore, a scandal (and eventual public trial) about alleged improper restorations to some of the Cypriote sculpture by Cesnola (by now the director of the Met) raised questions about archaeological ethics and authenticity.

In this presentation Dr. Knoblauch explores the public reception of (and reaction to) the ancient Cypriote material in 1880s New York. Unintentionally, Cesnola caused a spectacle for the newly-opened museum, and cynical New Yorkers–familiar with the antics of P.T. Barnum when it came to creating spectacles—enjoyed poking fun at the large and bewildering Cypriot collection and the arrogant Cesnola.

For questions about the event or registration, please email the program coordinator, Casey Gipson, at casey.gipson@asu.edu

Antiochia ad Cragum in Rough Cilicia: Pirates, Romans, and More Pirates

Title: Antiochia ad Cragum in Rough Cilicia: Pirates, Romans, and More Pirates

Speaker: Dr. Michael Hoff, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

When and Where: Thursday, March 31, 2022, 6pm AZ time via Zoom

click this link for information and to register: https://www.archaeological.org/event/antiochia-ad-cragnum-in-rough-cilicia-pirates-romans-and-more-pirates/

The Roman-era city of Antiochia ad Cragum lies on the south coast of Turkey in the region of ancient Rough Cilicia. Prior to the city’s foundation the site served as one of the major bases of the infamous Cilician Pirates who preyed on shipping along the coastal waterways of the Mediterranean in the late Hellenistic period. Following the resolution of the pirate threat in the first century BCE, the city was founded and eponymously named by Antiochus IV of Commagene. Since 2005 the city has been undergoing excavation which during the last 16 years has brought to light much of the urban fabric of a Roman city: Temples, Baths, Aqueducts, Colonnades. This lecture presents the highlights of the discoveries made over the years, particularly the many well-preserved mosaics.

For questions about the event or registration, please email the program coordinator, Casey Gipson, at casey.gipson@asu.edu.

Mosaics and the Antioch Recovery Project

Title: Mosaics and the Antioch Recovery Project

Speaker: Dr. Jennifer Stager, Johns Hopkins University

When and Where: Thursday, March 3, 2022, 6pm AZ time, via Zoom

click this link to register:

Please contact society program coordinator, Casey Gipson at casey.gipson@asu.edu, if you have any questions or trouble registering for the event.

Ten Fingers & Ten Toes: Disability and Infanticide in Ancient Greece

Title: Ten Fingers & Ten Toes: Disability and Infanticide in Ancient Greece

Speaker: Dr. Debby Sneed

When and Where: Thursday, October 28, 2021 6pm Arizona Time, via Zoom

click this link to register:

https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcrduGspjsuGtxezmFCrKBwuT5IYJf_eBvT

One of the most shocking “facts” about ancient Greece that people tend to remember is that the ancient Spartans killed infants who were born with any kind of physical impairment or deformity. This story is repeated in textbooks, in newspapers and magazines, online, and in classrooms; it even shows up in popular contexts like memes. What, though, is the evidence for the practice? In this talk, I confront the widespread assumption that disability, in any broad sense, constituted valid grounds for infanticide in ancient Greece. By looking at the literary, archaeological, and bioarchaeological evidence we have of people responding to or interacting with infants who were born with congenital impairments like cleft palate, clubfoot, and underdeveloped limb, we can see that infanticide was not the typical or expected response to infants born with congenital impairments in ancient Greece – not even Sparta. With this, we can begin to think about why such stories have been so persistent in the modern imagination.

Sneed is a Lecturer in the Department of Classics at California State University, Long Beach. She received her B.A. from the University of Wyoming, her M.A. from the University of Colorado, and her Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles. Her research interests are disability in ancient Greece, identity and marginalization in ancient Greece, and the archaeology of ancient Greece.  Her article “The architecture of Access: Ramps at Ancient Greek healing sanctuaries” was published in 2020 (Antiquity vol. 94 No. 376), and forthcoming works are “Disability and infanticide in ancient Greece” (Hesperia, 2021), “Digging While Impaired: Promoting the Accessibility of Archaeology as a Discipline” (under review), and Not Another Other: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Disability and Accommodations in Ancient Greece (monograph in preparation).

For questions about the event or registration, please email the program coordinator, Casey Gipson, at casey.gipson@asu.edu.

Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone (Deut 8:3): Daily Life in Biblical Times

Title: Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone (Deut 8:3): Daily Life in Biblical Times

Speaker: Dr. Oded Borowski, Emory University

When and Where: Thursday, September 23, 2021 at 6pm AZT, via Zoom

click this link to register:

https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdumsrzwjH9yX3rVgbbGXc2BS2NZaozhl

For a very long time, archaeologists were busily investigating major biblical sites trying to recover remains related to figures mentioned in biblical stories. Related to this, they were also establishing chronologies through the study of pottery. More recently, attention was diverted to the study of daily life of the average people who lived in small rather than large sites. In this presentation we will review some topics that generally are considered aspects of daily life in the period of the Hebrew Bible. After looking at sources of information for daily life, we will look at subjects such as the economy, diet, women’s role, settlement design, religion, and more.

For questions about the event or registration, please email the program coordinator, Casey Gipson, at casey.gipson@asu.edu.

Upcoming AIA Lecture September 28th

Good Afternoon All,

Provided below is information about our Central Arizona Archaeological Institute of America Chapter’s first fall lecture of the 2023-2024 academic year. This will be a zoom lecture and the link is at the bottom of this introductory email about our guest speaker. We hope to see all of you on the 28th!

Dr. Michael Kroot, PhD, Assistant Professor, Arizona State University

matthew.kroot@asu.edu

Lecture Date: Sept 28, Zoom/In-Person

Title: Making Stone Tools Across the Millennia: Results from the Bandafassi Regional Archaeological Project survey in southeastern Senegal

Description:

Stone tools in Africa are the earliest evidence we have of human material culture. Their shifting roles in societies over millions of years provide us with unparalleled insights into long-term human histories. As a part of a broader program of archaeological survey and excavation, the Bandafassi Regional Archaeological Project collected chipped stone artifacts from over 100 sites in southeastern Senegal. In this talk I will present our analysis of these stone tools. Results show dramatic changes through time in raw material use, production methods, and the roles of stone tool economies in society. Additionally, our work highlights the essential role of chipped stone technology well after the introduction of iron smelting and access global trade markets during the Atlantic Period. This research demonstrates that large-scale regional studies of stone tool economies and a focused interest on chipped stone after the Stone Age can provide significant insights into the structures and practices of local communities embedded in regional and global social networks.

ZOOM LINK:

https://asu.zoom.us/j/9249119066

Great Excavation Opportunity at the American School for Classical Studies

EXCAVATIONS IN THE ATHENIAN AGORA
VOLUNTEER PROGRAM
SUMMER SEASON 2024
Deadline: December 9, 2023

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens conducts a program for volunteers wishing to participate in the archaeological excavations of the Athenian Agora during the summer. Approximately fifteen to twenty-five volunteers are chosen on the basis of academic qualifications and previous archaeological field experience. Both advanced undergraduate students and graduate students are eligible, although priority is given to graduate students preparing for careers in classical archaeology. Open to all nationalities.

Work of the Volunteer Staff
The Volunteer Staff will participate in all aspects of the archaeological fieldwork under the supervision of a staff of field archaeologists and technical experts, all of whom have extensive field experience and advanced academic training in classical archaeology. Volunteers will be trained in the basic techniques of excavation: working with various tools; cleaning and investigating stratigraphy; delicate cleaning of artifacts in the ground; sifting of excavated earth and techniques of flotation; washing and basic conservation of pottery and other objects; clerical work involved in the keeping of excavation records, among other duties. Students will also receive training in various scientific methods and techniques. Tasks will be assigned in rotation, and volunteers are expected to participate in all of them. Room and a modest allowance for board are provided for the time volunteers are working at the excavations. Travel arrangements to and from Greece are the responsibility of each volunteer.

The Summer Season
The excavations are planned for eight weeks, June 10 to August 2, 2024. Fieldwork is in progress five days a week, Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a 30-minute break at midmorning, and some post-excavation duties will run until 5 p.m. Volunteers are expected to be on the site during these hours and to work at the excavations for a minimum of six weeks.

More detailed information about the program and the application for the Agora Volunteer Program are located on the ASCSA web site at https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/programs/summer-volunteer-program__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!cRhRKWJGe1cWH8cbpDZGgE_G1201btVMHZ2_rHOff7Kr-Z5dJ-V5GVUFsdlEDPYITObYkgC0eWLQQwmpvskAYUjv$  <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ascsa.edu.gr/programs/summer-volunteer-program__;!!IKRxdwAv5BmarQ!cRhRKWJGe1cWH8cbpDZGgE_G1201btVMHZ2_rHOff7Kr-Z5dJ-V5GVUFsdlEDPYITObYkgC0eWLQQwmpvskAYUjv$ >.

Applicants can expect to receive notification after March 1, 2024.

The American School of Classical Studies at Athens does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national or ethnic origin, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation when considering admission to any form of membership or application for employment.
—
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
321 Wall Street
Princeton, NJ 08540-1515
Email: programs@ascsa.org <mailto:programs@ascsa.org>
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The Archaic Smile: It’s No Laughing Matter

Title: The Archaic Smile: It’s No Laughing Matter

Speaker: Jeffrey M. Hurwit, University of Oregon

When and Where: Wednesday, March 31, 2021, 6pm AZT, via zoom

Click this link to register: https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYscu6sqz0tHNU1tPigARdq4Q5FS8eCe4wK

Undoubtedly the most familiar and recognizable feature on the faces of figures carved in the round or in relief during the Greek Archaic period (c. 750-480 BCE) is a shallow, inscrutable smile that, like the Mona Lisa’s, has defied explanation. The lecture surveys the origin and history of the “Archaic Smile” as well as the history of its interpretation. It is often thought a stylistic “import” from the sculpture of Egypt or the Near East, and it has been variously considered a sign of life, or happiness, or status, or divinity, or even an “optical refinement.” But although certain theories can be eliminated from the discussion and others added, there may in fact be no single, universal explanation for the Smile at all.

Jeffrey Hurwit is the Philip H. Knight Professor, Emeritus, of History of Art and Architecture, and Classics, at the University of Oregon. He holds his degrees from Yale University (Ph.D.) and Brown University, has published widely and conducts research in Greece and Italy. He has received many awards and accolades for his work, and is considered one of the country’s leading scholars in ancient Greek art; several of his volumes, including The Athenian Acropolis: History, Mythology and Archaeology from the Neolithic Era to the Present (Cambridge University Press, 1999), and The Acropolis in the Age of Pericles (Cambridge University Press, 2004) are considered standards in the field. His recent publications include Artists and Signatures in Ancient Greece (Cambridge University Press, 2015), and he has several works in progress, including The Archaic Smile, The Representation of the Sea in Early Greek Art, and The Hands and Horses of Pech Merle. Professor Hurwit is the AIA Norton Lecturer for 2020/2021.