Noteworthy

JUSTIN DUNNAVANT featured in Underground Railroad episode

Justin Dunnavant, assistant professor of anthropology and a core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, will be featured in an upcoming episode  of “Underground Railroad: The Secret History” on the Discovery+ channel.

KARA COONEY publishes two articles in Sapiens

Kara Cooney, chair in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and a core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute, has two articles in the February issue of the online journal Sapiens. The first is an excerpt from her book “The Good Kings: Absolute Power in Ancient Egypt and the Modern World” (National Geographic, 2021), and the second is an op-ed on responses to her book.

JUSTIN DUNNAVANT featured in National Geographic

Justin Dunnavant, assistant professor of anthropology and a core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, is the subject of an article in the February issue of National Geographic magazine. Dunnavant is a National Geographic Explorer, one of a group of individuals who“seek to build a community reflecting the diversity of our world,” chosen from around the globe. National Geographic Explorers are “exceptional individuals in their fields who receive funding and support from the Society to illuminate and protect our world through their work in science, exploration, education, and storytelling.” 

In conjunction with the article, National Geographic is releasing a weekly six-part podcast series - Into the Depths.

Cotsen affiliates share research at AIA Annual Meeting 2022

Students, faculty, and recent alumni from the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology shared their research at the annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America, which was held online January 5-8, 2022.
  • "Shifting Landscapes: Mosaics in Late Antique North Africa" by Taylor Carr-Howard, graduate student in archaeology.
  • "Archaeological Materials and Ancient Technologies Inspire the Design of Novel Materials Applications" by Ioanna Kakoulli, professor, Materials Science and Engineering Department and Co-Director Molecular and Nano Archaeology Laboratory.
  • "Urban Appropriations: The Villa in the Late Antiquity" by Sarah Beckmann, assistant professor of classics and core faculty at Cotsen Institute.
  • "Decorated Pottery and the Intercommunity Intra-actions in the Late Neolithic Balkans: A Perspective from Southeastern Albania" by Gazmend Elezi, 2021 alum and postdoctoral researcher in the Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory at UCLA.
  • "The Creation of Worked Animal Objects at Ancient Methone" by Adam DiBattista, 2021 alum and visiting scholar at The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, New York University.
  • "An Experiment in Design: An Archaic Cross-draft Kiln at Ancient Methone (Pieria)" by Debby Sneed, 2018 graduate of the Cotsen Institute and lecturer in classics at California State University, Long Beach.

ELAINE A. SULLIVAN recognized with the AIA Award for Outstanding Work in Digital Archaeology

Elaine A. Sullivan, associate professor at University of California, Santa Cruz and former postdoctoral scholar at UCLA, has been recognized for her scholarship and innovative use of digital technology in her publication, Constructing the Sacred: Visibility and Ritual Landscape at the Egyptian Necropolis of Saqqara, by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). Sullivan will formally receive the Award for Outstanding Work in Digital Archaeology during the AIA Awards Ceremony on Thursday, January 6, 2022 during the 123rd Annual Meeting. 

JUSTIN DUNNAVANT named to National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Board

Justin Dunnavant, assistant professor of anthropology and core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, has been named to the Board of Trustees of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Read the announcement here. 


Dunnavant will be the inaugural speaker in our new lecture series Breaking Ground on February 8 at 6pm. The lecture will be live-streamed. Learn more about Dunnavant here.

STEPHEN ACABADO featured on Philippine online news website

Stephen Acabado, associate professor of anthropology and core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute, wrote an opinion piece in the November 22 edition of “Rappler,” a Philippine online news website. The article, “Beyond Indiana Jones: An inclusive Philippine archaeology,” is part of the Thought Leaders section of the website. Acabado was recently appointed director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at UCLA.

JUSTIN DUNNAVANT featured in UC Newsroom article

Justin Dunnavant, assistant professor of anthropology and core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute, was featured in the UCLA Newsroom for his research on shipwrecks and the relationship between ecology and enslavement in the former Danish West Indies. The article by Jonathan Riggs of UCLA was also picked up by the UC-wide news agency. Read the piece here.

Dunnavant will be the inaugural speaker in our new lecture series Breaking Ground on February 8 at 6pm. The lecture will be live-streamed. Learn more about Dunnavant here.

STEPHEN ACABADO’s research profiled by UCLA International Institute

The extensive work and research of Stephen Acabado was featured in an October 22 article of the UCLA International Institute. Acabado, who is the new director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, is associate professor of anthropology and core faculty member of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.

Read the article here.

Remembering alumnus TOM PARKER

S. Thomas (Tom) Parker, one of the first alumni of the UCLA Archaeology Program (before it became the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology) passed away on September 12. He received his PhD in history from UCLA in 1979, under supervision of Ron Mellor and Susan Downey, to develop into a well-known archaeologist of Roman Jordan. Since 1980, Tom was a faculty member of the Department of History at North Carolina State University, where he became an Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor and a member of the Research Leadership Academy. In 2021 he received the Michael Dickey Outstanding Research Mentor Award for his excellence in mentoring and supporting undergraduate researchers. More details on his many contributions to the fields of history and archaeology can be found on the websites of the American Society of Overseas Research and North Carolina State University.
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