Unearthing A Slave Community
2022-03-13 08:00 - 2022-11-19 17:00 (America/New_York) | PA, United States
Over the next several years, we will be examining a number of different archaeological sites. What makes Montpelier a wonderful property for surveys and excavations is its relative undisturbed condition. All of the sites we excavate have never been plowed–and most were abandoned in the 1840s, leaving the archaeological features in pristine condition.
This season we will be excavating the Blacksmith Shop complex at the Madison plantation. All of our current projects are part of a larger effort to interpret and reconstruct the lives of the enslaved community so it can be accessed by visitors.
The LEARN Archaeology Expedition program has been operating at Montpelier for a decade-and-a-half, with many of the same volunteers returning year after year. We are, however, keen to add new faces to the program. All of the scheduled programs are designed to give participants actual excavation experience on an archaeological site working side-by-side with trained professional archaeologists. We have a staff of six archaeologists who work with participants both in the lab and in the field, which means you have personal interaction with archaeological staff and this allows you to work on sensitive features, artifacts, and deposits that normally one would not get to handle. You are treated as a member of the research team and we step you through the entire excavation process. While you are here at Montpelier, you will be engaged in lectures, and take tours of various archaeological sites on the property.
You can learn about all of our LEARN Archaeology Expeditions at the following link.
We also host a month-long university archaeology field school. For more information on this, please see our field school web page.
For more information contact Melissa Kerrat dig@montpelier.org

Cochineal: How Mexico Made the World See Red (Online Exhibit Spotlight) / Cochinilla: Cómo México Hizo que el Mundo Viera el Rojo (Exposición en Línea)
2022-04-20 - 2022-12-31 | Harvard Museums of Science & Culture (Virtual), 26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, 02138, United States
Cochineal, a tiny insect found on certain species of Oaxacan cacti, was harvested for millennia by Indigenous peoples to dye fabrics a vibrant red color. But following the European invasion of the Americas in the sixteenth century, it became a widely coveted, globally traded commodity that transformed textiles and art, and made Mexico a center for technological innovation. Cochineal: How Mexico Made the World See Red explores how this Indigenous technology changed the world, becoming an international symbol of power, while simultaneously disenfranchising its discoverers.
La cochinilla, un diminuto insecto que se encuentra en ciertas especies de cactus oaxaqueños, fue cosechada durante milenios por los pueblos indígenas para teñir las telas de un vibrante color rojo. Pero tras la invasión europea de las Américas en el siglo XVI, se convirtió en un producto ampliamente codiciado y comercializado a nivel mundial que transformó los tejidos y el arte, y convirtió a México en un centro de innovación tecnológica. Cochinilla: Cómo México Hizo que el Mundo Viera el Rojo explora cómo esta tecnología indígena cambió el mundo, convirtiéndose en un símbolo internacional de poder, al tiempo que privaba de derechos a sus descubridores.

The Odyssey: A Retelling
2022-08-16 - 2023-01-08 | The Parthenon, 2500 West End Ave, Nashville, TN, 37203, United States
The Parthenon and Centennial Park Conservancy are proud to present The Odyssey: A Retelling, by Lisa Bachman Jones in the East Gallery of the Parthenon from June 23 through January 8.
Jones is a Nashville-based artist interested in entropy and interconnectivity. Working across disciplines, she investigates the everyday through a lens of care.
In preparation for A Retelling Jones read Emily Wilson’s 2017 translation of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. The exhibition highlights the hospitality of the overlooked identities that made Odysseus’ long journey home possible. The body of work incorporates a wide range of media and techniques, which echoes the number of communities, locations, actions and objects that paved the way for the classic homecoming.
Reflecting on the exhibit Jones notes the significance of the gallery’s location within the Parthenon, which prompted the concept for A Retelling. The Parthenon in Athens, Greece was a place for offering thanks to and soliciting help from Athena. The goddess is a constant in the poem; orchestrating events and guiding encounters. This body of work presents an opportunity to reflect upon those who we receive support from and those to whom we extend our support.
Thank you to the Sandra Schatten Foundation, Tennessee Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Humanities, Memorial Foundation, Jackson, Humanities Tennessee, Metro Parks, and Centennial Park Conservancy for underwriting the Parthenon’s exhibition and educational programming. The content of Parthenon exhibitions do not necessarily represent the views of our partners and underwriters.
