News
A New Reality: The Cotsen Institute Goes Fully Online
March 25, 2020
The next few months the physical Cotsen Institute will be closed, but many of our activities will continue in a virtual, online environment. Fortunately, modern technology makes this eminently...
Examining Backdirt: Annual Review of the Cotsen Institute
March 18, 2020
“Backdirt” might be a great name for a rock band. But in archaeology, it refers to soil removed from excavation units and used to refill them once they are completed. What is found in backdirt...
Ofer Bar-Yosef (1937-2020): Celebration of Life
March 16, 2020
It is with great sadness that we received the news that Ofer Bar Yosef passed away. Bar Yosef was Professor Emeritus at Harvard and a celebrated archaeologist and mentor. He was the first recipient...
Success of the Graduate Archaeology Research Conference Reflects Teamwork and Growth
March 3, 2020
Liza Davis and Shobhna IyerAn international slate of speakers comprised the eighth Graduate Archaeology Research Conference, hosted February 7–8, 2020 by the Graduate Student Association of...
Latest in the Labs: The Zooarchaeology Laboratory
February 26, 2020
 “The Bone Lab” may sound like a new TV pilot, but it is actually how everyone at the Cotsen Institute refers to the Zooarchaeology Laboratory. Founded in 1989, it is one of the oldest research...
From the Field: Shire, Ethiopia
February 7, 2020
Since 2016, the Shire Archaeological Project directed by Willeke Wendrich has been excavating and conducting archaeological survey work in the western Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. This region...
John Papadopoulos Speaks at National Arts Club
February 7, 2020
On January 27 John Papadopoulos, core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute and professor of Classics, addressed a near-capacity crowd at the National Arts Club in New York. In his presentation on “...
Karime Castillo Awarded Corning Residency
February 4, 2020
Karime Castillo, PhD candidate at the Cotsen Institute, has been selected as one of two recipients of a 2020 David Whitehouse Research Residency for Scholars at the Corning Museum of Glass in New...
Latest in the Labs: The Experimental and Archaeological Sciences Laboratory
January 30, 2020
If you are interested in conducting research on ancient materials and technology, then welcome to the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences Laboratory (EASL), the newest addition to the research...
The Cotsen Institute Welcomes Sarah Beckmann
January 24, 2020
Sarah Beckmann, assistant professor in the Department of Classics, has recently been appointed core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute. Beckmann describes herself as a Roman archaeologist...
From the Field: Deir el-Ballas, Egypt
January 23, 2020
Amr Shahat, PhD candidate at the Cotsen Institute, and Nicholas Brown, PhD candidate in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, recently returned from fieldwork at the site of Deir el-...
Virtual Unwrapping of Ancient Texts Discussed During the First 50th Anniversary Lecture
January 21, 2020
Renowned scholar W. Brent Seales, University of Kentucky, was the first speaker in our 50th Anniversary Lecture Series. He explained and illustrated the promise of digitally unwrapping previously...
Jason De León Introduces Hostile Terrain 94 Exhibit at Santa Barbara Museum
January 21, 2020
January 10th, Jason De León was the featured guest at a UC Santa Barbara roundtable discussion focused on Hostile Terrain 94, the exhibition he organized to highlight the thousands of immigrants who...
From the Field: Turin, Italy
January 14, 2020
The collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in Museo Egizio is among the most important in the world. It includes the Old Kingdom Tomb of the Unknown, the New Kingdom Tomb of Kha and Merit, the...
Remembering James Sackett
January 2, 2020
On December 21, 2019, the Cotsen Institute lost one of its founding fathers, James Robert (Jim) Sackett. Jim was instrumental in founding the Institute of Archaeology at UCLA in 1973 and in its...
Robyn Price Interviewed in New York Times Article on "Head Cones"
January 2, 2020
Kara Cooney Awarded Popular Book Award by ASOR
December 9, 2019
Kara Cooney received the 2019 Nancy Lapp Popular Book Award, presented by the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR), for her book When Women Ruled the World: Six Queens of Egypt. The award...
UCLA/Getty Conservation Program for Increasing Diversity Receives $900,000 Grant
December 5, 2019
Georgi Kyorlenski Awarded Fulbright-Hays Research Fellowship
November 25, 2019
Georgi Kyorlenski, PhD Candidate at the Cotsen, is one of nine UCLA students to be awarded a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowship, which provides opportunities for doctoral...
Announcing the Cotsen Speaker Series
November 20, 2019
We are excited to announce the Cotsen Speaker Series, a new program beginning this quarter that will replace the Friday Seminars. The Cotsen Speaker Series is designed to promote meaningful dialogue...
Director of Cotsen Elected President of the International Association of Egyptologists
November 8, 2019
Willeke Wendrich, director of the Cotsen Institute, was elected president of the International Association of Egyptologists. This was announced on the first day of the twelfth International Congress...
Cotsen Hosts Booth at UCLA Science Fair
November 8, 2019
On Sunday November 3, the Cotsen Institute participated for the first time in the yearly science fair “Exploring Your Universe” held in and around the Court of Sciences on South Campus. In the Cotsen...
Cotsen Welcomes Back Jason De León as Professor and MacArthur Fellow
November 7, 2019
The basement corridors of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology (CIoA) don’t seem particularly enticing, but what happens in those offices and hallways was a major part of the draw for Prof. Jason De...
Call for Abstracts for the 8th UCLA Archaeological Research Conference
October 25, 2019
The Graduate Student Association of Archaeology, an affiliate of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, invites proposals for papers for its 8th Graduate Archaeology Research Conference. This...
Egypt in LA Brings Scholars to the Public
October 17, 2019
Fascinating insights into Ancient Egypt drew a large public audience as part of the Egypt in LA event, held recently by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Five international Egyptologists joined...