Past Events
Interested in Cotsen events? Sign up for our mailing list.Speaker: Dr. Barbara Horejs, Director of the Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences
The excavations of Çukuriçi Höyük at the Aegean coast of Turkey revealed intensive metallurgical activities dating to the Early Bronze Age I period in early 3rd millennium BC. Beyond a high number of metal artefacts, the complete chaîne opératoire of metal production can also be reconstructed based on raw materials, slags, crucibles, a variety of tools and half-finished products. These finds and metallurgical remains have been analysed by using various analytical methods to describe the "geochemical fingerprint" of the metals used, mainly arsenical copper. The data will be discussed in relation to the known copper ore deposits in Turkey and the Aegean in order to identify the provenance of the metals. The second focus of this paper is set on the intensity of metal production at Çukuriçi Höyük and its further socio-cultural interpretation. The evidence of around 50 metal workshops embedded within several settlement districts give clear hints for the impact of this specialized production to the local community. Further archaeological indicators like faunal remains and textile technology will be discussed in relation to the potential division of labour, specialization and off-site activities, supported by aspects of spatial analyses of Çukuriçi Höyük settlements IV and III (2900–2750 calBC).
Fig.: Visualization of the EBA 1 settlement at Çukuriçi Höyük based on excavation results and geophysical surveys (©ERC Prehistoric Anatolia/7 reasons).
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Speaker: Dr. Mary Louise Hart, Getty Museum
The last several years have seen extensive research and conservation of the Getty Villa’s collection of Romano-Egyptian panel paintings, which contain a good collection of mummy portraits dating from around AD 50 to about AD 220, the in situ portrait of a red-shroud mummy, and a “group” of Isis and Serapis flanking a square portrait of a mortal man (above). Recently this group – cataloged as a triptych by the museum upon its acquisition in 1974 – underwent an analytical update [published in “A Portrait of a Bearded Man Flanked by Isis and Serapis” published in Icon, Cult and Context (Cotsen, 2016), 79-89]. Past analytical work focused on understanding the materials and authenticity of the panels but had not presented new information about their ancient context or function. More recent organic analysis has revealed a number of different components assuring the ancient integrity and commonality of the panels but has also uncovered evidence of modern restoration in need of clarification. The complex story of origin, restoration, conservation and display inspired the organization of an international exhibition of Romano-Egyptian mummy portraits, shrouds, and associated artifacts (including mummies) for the Getty Villa in the fall of 2019.
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Speaker: Alessia Amenta, Vatican Museums
The Vatican Coffin Project gathers an international team of scholars who are divided into three groups with three different areas of expertise: Egyptology, Diagnostic and Conservation. The project has three objectives: the study of the construction and painting techniques of coffins, the identification of workshop patterns and the understanding of the 'packaging' of a coffin. Our work is also aimed at elaborating a protocol for the conservation of the artifacts. The last frontier is the study of paleography of the painted scenes and of the texts. Since new technologies applied to the study of ancient Egyptian coffins undergo constant improvement, this talk will provide an overview of the latest developments.
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Speaker: Willeke Wendrich, Director of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
UCLA has started a close collaboration with the Museo Egizio in Turin, which holds the most important collection of material culture from ancient Egypt after the museum in Cairo. This pizza talk will highlight the research that has been started in the summer of 2016.
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Speaker: Dr. Caroline Cartwright, Department of Scientific Research, The British Museum
Dr Caroline Cartwright is the Senior Scientist and Wood Anatomist in the Department of Scientific Research at the British Museum. Her primary areas of scientific expertise cover the identification and interpretation of organics such as wood, charcoal, fibres, macro plant remains, shell, ivory and bone from all areas and time periods in the British Museum’s collections, including for CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). She has led many teams of archaeobotanists, archaeozoologists and human osteologists on archaeological projects in various parts of the world including the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. Reconstructing past environments, charting vegetation and climate changes, and investigating bioarchaeological evidence from sites and data, all form an important part of her research. Prior to joining the British Museum, Caroline was a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London.
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Speakers: Richard Ehrich, PhD Candidate, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Dr. Hans Barnard, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
In June 2016, Cotsen affiliates Hans Barnard and Richard Ehrich briefly visited a number of archaeological sites and museums in Wuhan, Jingzhou, Xiangyang and Suizhou in the Hubei Province in Central China. Richard is a graduate student who lived in Wuhan to conduct research for his dissertation. He will provide some background information on the sites and collections that they were able to see. He will also give a bit of insight into how it was like doing research in this region. Hans is an archaeologist who has worked in different regions of the world, but this was his first trip to China. He will discuss his first impressions of archaeological practices in China as an informed outsider.
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Speaker: Dr. Stephen Acabado, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology
Recent trends in the practice of archaeology have seen the emergence of the active involvement of descendant communities in the research process. This is an important development since the relationship of archaeologists and communities that they work with has been tenuous, particularly, when archaeological findings have the potential to contest ethnic identities. As a case in point, the findings of the Ifugao Archaeological Project (IAP) (Ifugao, Philippines) force the rethinking of history and question the bases of Ifugao identity, particularly on how they have been presented in Philippine historical narratives. Ifugao identity is based on wet-rice production and the historical narrative that the Spanish never conquered them. Previously, the dating of the inception of the Ifugao rice terraces was placed at 2,000-3,000 years ago. The findings of the IAP however, suggest a later inception of the terraces, which coincided with the arrival of the Spanish in the northern Philippines. Initially, this finding did not sit well the larger Ifugao descendant communities, but as experience exemplifies, the pursuit to actively involve the communities and stakeholders in the research process resolved this issue. We further argue that the inclusion of the voices of different stakeholders in the interpretation of the past is inadequate since it denotes that indigenous stakeholders are simply contributors to, and not codevelopers or co-investigators of, research projects. Doing so empowers indigenous stakeholders to take control of their heritage.
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Speaker: Ben Nigra, PhD Candidate, UCLA
'Paracas’ refers to a polychromatic fine-ware tradition, a canon of architectural elements, a set of specific mortuary practices, and a rich textile tradition associated with Peru's southern coast during the first millennium BCE. Despite decades of research dedicated to Paracas 'art', craft goods and iconography, south coast archaeologists struggle to understand the basic sociopolitical character of Paracas and the social and material conditions that drove its development through time. Excavations at Huaca Soto (2014-2015) re-calibrate this narrative by examining the evolution of monumental ceremonial architecture in the Chincha Valley. Our investigation further suggests that Paracas platform mounds became widely recognized as huacas, or sacred spaces, that garnered attention from later Wari, Chincha and Inca groups. Huaca Soto thus provides a case study on the appearance and evolution of coastal monuments in the long-term - spanning the first millennium BCE to today.
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Speaker: Rachel Moy, PhD Candidate, UCLA
This talk will summarize the preliminary results of the first season of excavation and research of the UCLA Shire Project at the site of Mai Adrasha in the northwestern Ethiopian highlands. I will discuss how Mai Adrasha fits into what we know of a larger pre-Aksumite to Early Aksumite cultural and political context. Due to how few excavated sites date to these periods, research needs to start with basic descriptions before we can make any firm broader conclusions. My dissertation will focus on the ceramic data from Mai Adrasha. I plan to start with the raw data to create four typologies each with a different method. I will then compare the four typologies taking into account the strengths and weakness of each. From these results, I will develop a more robust method to describe the ceramic data, and from this base, we can begin to describe more broadly the site of Mai Adrasha, its surroundings, and its broader cultural and political context.
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Speaker: Dr. Marriana Nikolaidou, UCLA
Marianna Nikolaidou holds a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and is a research associate at the Cotsen Institute since 1994. Her research and fieldwork focus on the Neolithic and Bronze Ages of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. She has published extensively on gender issues, symbolism and ritual, ceramic iconography and technology, adornment, and the history of archaeology. Projects with the Cotsen include: the publication of ornaments and ceramics from Sitagroi, study of ceramic technology at Tell Mozan in Syria, and currently the analysis and study of prehistoric pottery at the excavations at Ancient Methone.
The pottery from Methone is the topic of her talk. Dating to the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, the material illuminates three millennia of prehistoric occupation at this key site on the Northern Aegean coast, and provides insights to the prehistory of the region."
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