Dr. Levent Atici, Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas 

The revolutionary socioeconomic transformation of societies from foraging to farming in Southwest Asia shortly after 10,000 calibrated years BC and the subsequent spread of emergent agropastoral lifeways across Anatolia and into Southeast Europe (a.k.a., Neolithization) have been one of the most ruminated topics in archaeology. Recent archaeological research in Anatolia have greatly contributed to a better understanding of the origins and dispersal of agricultural economies. Körtik Tepe is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA; 10th millennium B.C.) complex forager site in the Upper Tigris Valley with a well-dated stratigraphy, hundreds of human burials, hundreds of round architectural structures, and a highly sophisticated symbolism. Uğurlu Höyük is a Neolithic settlement on Gökçeada, the largest Turkish island situated between Anatolia and the European continent in the Aegean Sea, and currently the only site with an early Neolithic component (ca. 7000 cal BC) in the eastern Aegean. This talk combines the results of zooarchaeological research at two Anatolian sites, representing two distinct points on the animal exploitation continuum, and offers new insights into the origins and dispersal of domesticated animals in SW Asia and adjacent areas.

Dr. Austin Nevin
CNR Researcher, Politecnico Milano

Binding media, metals and pigments in works of art are material history - and are evidence of technology, artist practice, exchange and trade. Through the study and identification of materials, crucial data can be collected regarding physical and chemical stability thus informing conservation decisions. Three case studies of works of art and archaeological materials will draw on current research using portable instrumentation and cutting-edge analytical methods. Investigations on wall painting fragments from the ancient Canannite capital Tel Kabri allowed the identification of degraded binding media from the Aegean style wall paintings that date to the 18th C. B.C.E. The discovery of traces of organic media in the characteristic blue paint is significant for the conservation and treatment of the paintings, for understanding of the sophistication of painting practise and the use of egg-based binding media in the Eastern Mediterranean, and more broadly also questions the presence of domestic animals in the region. The second case study focuses on Tutenkhamun’s dagger that was analyzed using portable instrumentation at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. New data established conclusively that the well-conserved ornamental blade was fashioned from finely worked meteoritic iron. The identification was possible though the comparison of data acquired from the dagger with known meteor samples, and the calculation of ratios of Nickel and Cobalt. Organic red lake pigments are the focus of the third case study. Analysis demonstrates how deep crimson pigments from European insects were adopted by Leonardo in the Last Supper, and how, by contrast, Veronese adopted newly introduced Mexican pigments from cochineal insects. The molecular characterization of cross-sections demonstrate the use of similar kermes-based lakes in paintings by Leonardo and Masolino, and carmine-based reds in paintings by Tintoretto and Veronese, while also revealing soluble uncomplexed dyes in samples that has direct implications for conservation, cleaning and lighting. Research will ultimately demonstrate the benefits of synergistic collaborative studies across disciplines.

Dr. Henner von Hesberg, Visiting Scholar, Getty Villa

Fragments of the imitations of smaller buildings are known from different sites in archaic Selinunte: the agora, the sanctuary of Demeter and from the acropolis. They can be reconstructed in three different types, or as a sort of open or closed box, or as a small temple with columns. The dating is possible in one part from the context, f.i. in the agora, where there are mainly strata from the archaic period until the end of the 5th century (destruction by the Carthagians). The main problem is the function. There is no doubt they are votives, but what kind do we have to consider? Interesting in the configuration of the models is the use of elements of the Doric order to express a special sort of monumentality.

Speaker: Dr. Travis Stanton, Professor, Department of Anthropology, UC Riverside