Archaeological Institute of America

CANCELED: The Global Economies of Late Antique Egypt
2023-04-25 20:00 (America/New_York) | IN
Dunwalke Lecture

Ruling Culture: Art Police, Tomb Robbers, and the Rise of Cultural Power in Italy
2023-04-26 17:00 (America/New_York) | Cornell University, G22 Goldwin Smith Hall, Ithaca, NY, United States
Eisenpreis Lecture

Living in ruins: Vibrancy and decay in the ancient Maya city
2023-04-26 19:00 (America/Chicago) | DePaul Center, Room 8206, 1 E Jackson Ave,, Chicago, IL, 60604
Stone Lecture

The Science of Storytelling
2023-04-27 14:00 (America/New_York) | IN
Virtual lecture which is part of the AIA Archaeology Abridged Series.

April 29, 2023: Toys, Burial Goods or Ritual Objects? - West African figurines and their archaeological traces presented by André Luiz Ruivo Ferreira Burmann, PhD candidate Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Pre- and Protohistory of Africa, Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
2023-04-29 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Denver) | IN
Abstract:
West African figurines are a notable part of the world heritage. Both legally and illegally, they were (and continue to be) collected and exhibited in museums and collections all over the world. Studies of these impressive 3D representations of humans, animals, and hybrid beings have focused mainly on formal, iconographic and stylistic aspects of the figurines. A supra-regional examination of their long history of human interaction and deposition is often absent. Contextual studies on the archaeology of figurines are rather rare, and, mostly, center on a small regional scale. However, in the last few decades, work taking place in some larger study areas, such as the Nigerian Nok Culture, have revealed new insights into the study of figurines. This presentation will share work in progress of a large-scale West African synthesis of archaeological sites and archaeological contexts that have yielded figurines. How were these objects disseminated over time and space? Which figurine traditions appeared when and where? What do we know about their (last) use respectively their way of deposition? Has the latter changed over time? And what role did the Nok Culture possibly play in this development?
Bio:
André Luiz R. F. Burmann is a Ph. D. candidate in Pre- and Protohistory of Africa at the Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Goethe-University in Frankfurt (Germany). He studied Prehistoric Archaeology and Archaeology of the Roman Provinces, in addition to Portuguese Philology at the Universities of Munich and Frankfurt/Main. His 2016 Master thesis focused on the archaeological context of terracotta sculptures from the Central Nigerian Nok Culture (1500 BC–1 AD). For the three following years, André Burmann was a research associate in the DFG Research Training Group “Value and Equivalence” at the University of Frankfurt. His Ph.D. research focuses specifically on West African figurines yielded from archaeological contexts, aiming to analyze and compare relevant sites and features through time and space to examine the development of depositional patterns of figurines. Moreover, André has worked in different museums and with curation teams since being a student. From 2019 to 2021, he was a Scientific Trainee at the LWL Museum for Archaeology, the Westphalian State Museum in Herne, followed by a working stay in the Museée d´Angoulême in France. Burmann is an active member of the Pan-African Archaeological Association (PanAf), the Society of Africanist Archaeologists (SAfA), the West-African Archaeological Association (WAAA), the ICOM Germany Young Professionals Network and the children’s development organization Enfants avec Espoir e.V. Since September 2022, he works at Engagement Global gGmbH in Bonn, being responsible for networking and public relations in the German-African Youth Office.

Stanford AIA Raubitschek Lecture with Ian Morris
2023-05-19 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | IN
“What Happened in History: 81 Years on from Gordon Childe”
This lecture borrows the title from Gordon Childe’s famous book and asks how his theory of the overall shape of prehistory and ancient history looks today.

The Archaeological Technicians of Quft and the Art of Excavation as Cultural Heritage in Egypt
2023-05-27 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Denver) | IN
Abstract:
The small town of Quft in southern Upper Egypt is unique in the history of archaeology for having developed a specialized craft industry of highly skilled archaeological excavators, whose skills and networks in the field have been passed down through several generations of family “guilds” from the late nineteenth century to today. This talk traces the historical origins of the Qufti excavation system, as well as the economic trajectory of its rise and decline as an archaeological “commodity;” describes the documentation and historical record it has left behind; and makes the case for conceptualizing the Quftis’ work as a kind of intangible cultural heritage in Egypt.
Bio:
Wendy is an historian of archaeology and modern Egypt. She is currently writing a history of archaeology and the Egyptian economy under the khedives (c.1850-1914), based on her doctoral research at the University of Pennsylvania. She has written several articles on the history of archaeological labor and fieldwork and is also a member of the Institute of Fine Arts, NYU excavations at Abydos, Egypt, and the Arabic Diaries Project of the Harvard University-MFA, Boston Expedition to Egypt and Sudan Archive. She holds a PhD in History from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Museology from the University of Washington, and a BA in Linguistics and Anthropology from the University of Washington.

Coins and the Colosseum: How Numismatic Evidence Illuminates the Greatest Amphitheater
2023-09-17 15:00 (America/New_York) | STH (Academic South) 215, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada

Poseidon in the Saronic Gulf: Seascapes and Regional Cult in a Maritime Community
2023-09-19 18:00 (America/New_York) | Knowlton Hall 250, Ohio State University Campus, 275 West Woodruff Ave, Columbus, OH, 43210, United States
Bass Lecture
AIA Poster Poseidon Sanctuaries Dunn

Poseidon in the Saronic Gulf: Seascapes and Regional Cult in a Maritime Community
2023-09-20 18:00 (America/New_York) | University of Cincinnati, Blegen Library building, RM 308., 2600 Clifton Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, United States
Bass Lecture

Horses and the Sea in Ancient Greek Thought
2023-09-21 18:30 (America/New_York) | William T. Young Library Auditorium, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506, United States

Rural Matters: Studying the Countrysides of Ancient Cyprus
2023-09-25 17:00 (America/New_York) | WEBINAR (Montreal), United States

Desert Kites – The Enigmatic Traps from the Air and on the Ground
2023-09-26 19:30 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Jordan Hall 141, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Ave, Indianapolis, IN, 46208
Kershaw Lecture

Currents and Commodities: How Oceanographic Effects Influenced the Prehistoric Colonization of Islands
2023-09-27 18:00 (America/Chicago) | ART 1.110, UT Austin Campus, 2301 SAN JACINTO BLVD, Au, TX, 78712

AIA Archaeology Hour with Elise A. Friedland
2023-09-27 20:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | IN
Join the AIA for a fascinating evening as Elise A. Friedland (George Washington University) presents Classical Washington: Greece & Rome in the Art & Architecture of D.C.
This presentation will be given at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific.
Washington, D.C., is a city like no other in the United States. A Greek Doric temple (the Lincoln Memorial) sits at one end of the city’s central forum (The Mall), housing a colossal cult statue (Abraham Lincoln). A Roman triumphal arch monumentalizes the front of the main train depot (Union Station). Roman equestrian statues stand amidst circular plazas, celebrating victorious American generals (Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Plaza). This talk explores the role of Greek and Roman art and architecture in the planning, building and decorating of America’s capital city.

Magellan’s Pacific Crossing: New Discoveries in One of the World’s Greatest Voyages
2023-09-28 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Trinity University, Dickie Hall Room 104, One Trinity Place, San Antonio, TX, 78212, United States
Archaeology of Portugal lecture

Ruling Culture: Art Police, Tomb Robbers, and the Rise of Cultural Power in Italy
2023-10-02 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Bryant Hall 209, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, United States

Rome: "Urbs Pensilis": A Hanging City and its Hanging Gardens
2023-10-03 17:00 (America/New_York) | Goldwin Smith Hall, G22, Cornell University, 232 East Ave, Ithaca, NY, 14850, United States
Norton Lecture

Human-Animal-Divine Relationships in Cyprus: a Social Zooarchaeology of Sacrifice
2023-10-05 17:00 (America/New_York) | Boswell Hall 220, The College of William and Mary, 100 Ukrop Way, Williamsburg, VA, 23185, United States

Managing and Curating Yale University’s Numismatic Collection
2023-10-05 17:30 (America/New_York) | Herter Hall Room 601, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 300 Massachusetts Ave, Amherst, MA, 01003, United States
Metcalf lecture

Fighting Processes of Historical Erasure in Louisiana: Climate change, Industrial Development, and Cultural Heritage
2023-10-05 19:00 (America/New_York) | Pinnacle Room, Baldwin Hall, University of Georgia, 355 S. Jackson St, Athens, GA, 30602, United States

Shadows of Time: The Science and Art of the Ancient Sundial
2023-10-05 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | DePaul University, McGowan South 107, 1110 W. Belden Ave, Chicago, IL, 60614, United States
Dr. Nick Winters presents the AIA Chicago Society Annual Webster Lecture
Mechanically simple and mathematically sophisticated, the sundial was a triumph of ancient astronomy and technology. In this lecture and workshop, we will explore the diverse forms and functions of ancient sundials, as well as their social uses and political meanings. From rudimentary wall-dials to complex and highly precise instruments, and from the portable devices of soldiers to the great monuments of emperors, these artefacts illuminate much more than ancient methods of reckoning time: they are works of art, signs of power, and a record of one of humanity’s earliest searches for order in the universe. Each attendee will receive their own simple sundial making kit.
Admission is free of charge and open to all.
Lewis Center, Room 1003
25 E Jackson Blvd
Chicago, IL 60604

Taxes and Tyranny: The Significance of Liberty on the Coinage of the Early Roman Empire
2023-10-11 17:30 (America/New_York) | Classics Library, Angell Hall rm 2175, University of Michigan,, 435 S State Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, United States

Desert Kites – The Enigmatic Traps From The Air And On The Ground
2023-10-12 16:00 (America/Edmonton) | Humanities Centre HC1-L3, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2R3, Canada

Human-Animal-Divine Relationships in Cyprus: a Social Zooarchaeology of Sacrifice
2023-10-12 18:00 (America/New_York) | Campbell Hall 160, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22904, United States

Let’s Talk About Ancient Apocalypse: It’s Inaccurate, Harmful, And The Real Story Of Ice Age Peopling Of The Americas Is Far More Interesting Anyway
2023-10-13 18:30 (America/New_York) | Toledo Museum of Art, 2445 Monroe St, Toledo, OH, 43620, United States
Joukowsky lecture

AIA Archaeology Hour with Anne Austin
2023-10-18 20:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | IN
Join the AIA for a fascinating evening as Anne Austin (University of Missouri, St. Louis) presents Ancient Ink: Discovering the Tattooed Women of Ancient Egypt.
This presentation will be given at 8pm Eastern/7pm Central/6pm Mountain/5pm Pacific.
Until recently, the practice of tattooing in ancient Egypt was rarely attested with only scant evidence from a handful of mummified individuals spanning Pharaonic Egypt’s more than 3,000-year history. However, recent discoveries—including those from Deir el-Medina— have rewritten what was once thought about the practice. This talk coalesces physical and art historical evidence to offer some of the most comprehensive interpretations to date on the practice of tattooing in ancient Egypt.
CONTENT WARNING: This talk will include images of human remains.

The First Kings of Europe: An International Exhibition about the Prehistoric Balkans
2023-10-23 16:30 (America/New_York) | Green Hall 3-S-15, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 08542, United States
Thompson lecture

Protecting Cultural Heritage During Armed Conflict
2023-10-23 17:30 (America/Chicago) | 116 Art Building West, University of Iowa, Iowa City, 52246, United States

Death and Rebirth: Religious Change and Reincarnation during the Copper Age
2023-10-24 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Hanson Hall of Science, Room 102, Augustana College, Monmouth, IL, 61201, United States
