Life and Death along the Nile: Tales from the Tombs of Tombos
2025-02-27 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | University of Louisville Center for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (CACHe), 1606 Rowan Street, Louisville, KY, 40203, United States
Beginning around 1500BC, the New Kingdom Egyptian Empire expanded its reach into the territory of its southern neighbor, Nubia, in search of resources such as gold and cattle. Over the next few hundred years, interactions between the ancient Egyptians and Nubians would include violent encounters, trade and exchange, political relationships, and the establishment of interethnic communities. One Egyptian colonial community established in Nubia, Tombos, spans the period from Egyptian expansion through the empire’s decline, allowing for rare perspective on this time of sociopolitical transition. In her talk, Professor Michele Buzon will explore the processes of change and consequences of contact for the people who once lived at Tombos. Evidence for disease stress, nutritional deficiencies, immigration from Egypt to Nubia, and biological relatedness between inhabitants will be presented. Osteobiographies of specific individuals from Tombos will be described to highlight how the rich archaeological record can be used to understand past societies.

From Ancient Quarries to New Inquiries: Exhibiting the ISAC Museum’s Roman Sculpture Collection in an Age of Greater Transparency
2025-02-27 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York) | Willamette University Law School, Paulus Lecture Hall, 245 Winter St SE, Salem, OR, 97301, United States
Kershaw Lectures in Near East Archaeology

Shaping Roman Landscape: Ecocritical Approaches to Architecture and Wall Painting in Early Imperial Italy
2025-02-28 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York) | UC Santa Barbara, Arts 1341, Art Museum, Isla Vista, Santa Barbara, CA, United States

Stones of the Butterfly: Archaeological Investigation of Yapese Stone Money Quarries in Palau, Micronesia
2025-03-06 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Doe Library 308 A, UC Berkeley Campus, Berkeley, California, United States

Rural Matters: Studying the Countryside of Ancient Cyprus
2025-03-07 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Spurlock Museum, European Gallery (2nd Floor), 600 S Gregory St., Urbana, IL, 61801, United States
Cesnola Lecture on Cyprus

Monumental Queens in the Hellenistic World
2025-03-07 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Brock University, Rankin Family Pavillon (RFP) 214/215, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St Catharines, Ontario, L2S 3A1, Canada
Oscar Broneer Memorial Lecture

Merchants and Mercenaries: Greeks in Egypt in the Late Period
2025-03-08 12:30 - 13:30 (America/Denver) | Mead Community Room at the Virginia Village Branch Library, 1500 S Dahlia St, Denver, CO, 80222, United States
The Frederick R. and Margaret B. Matson Lectureship for Near Eastern Archaeology and Archaeological Technology

Far from Home: Diaspora Networks, Religion, and Identity Abroad on the Ancient Indian Ocean
2025-03-10 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Education Building, Room 173, California State University, Fresno, CA, 93740, United States
The George F. Bass Lectures
Zoom Link: https://fresnostate.zoom.us/j/87222241660

Normalizing Loot: A Case Study of a Plundered Imperial Shrine
2025-03-12 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | Eaton Humanities Room 250, Pleasant Street 1610, Boulder, CO, 80302, United States
Martha Sharp Joukowsky Lectureships

Dying as a Macedonian in Egypt: Styling Social Identity through Hellenistic Burial Practices
2025-03-17 18:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Institute of Fine Arts–NYU, Lecture Hall, 1 East 78th Street, New York, NY, 10075, United States
Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lectureship
Co-Sponsored by the New York University, Institute of Fine Arts

Sailing in the Wake of Hatshepsut: How to build a Punt Ship
2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | IL
Anna Marguerite McCann and Robert D. Taggart Lectureship in Underwater Archaeology

Archaeology and the Tibetan/Himalayan Afterlife
2025-03-18 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Denver) | Pecos Trail Café, 2239 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM, 87505, United States

Dying as a Macedonian in Egypt: Styling Social Identity through Hellenistic Burial Practices
2025-03-20 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | Nebraska Wesleyan University, Smith Curtis, Room 103, 5111 Madison Ave, Lincoln, NE, 68504
Charles Eliot Norton Memorial Lectureship

Collecting the Ancient World: Early Explorations, Encyclopedic Museums, and World's Exhibitions
2025-03-20 17:30 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | University of Missouri, Swallow Hall Auditorium, 507 S. 9th St., Columbia, MO, 65201

Spring 2025 National Lecture by Dr. Kiersten Neumann: Collecting the Ancient World: Early Explorations, Encyclopedic Museums, and World’s Exhibitions
2025-03-20 17:30 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | IL
Where is this artifact from? Who does it belong to? How did it get here? Who’s telling its story? Critical inquiry into the practice and politics of museums has reached a new zenith in contemporary discourse. From discussions of acquisition and repatriation to provenience (archaeological findspot) and provenance (an object’s ownership history) and the ethics of curation and modes of display, museum and art professionals—and the general public alike—are deliberating on the concept of museums and the responsibilities of such institutions towards the collections in their care. This talk will explore the early history of museums and collecting practices with a focus on cultural heritage collections from West Asia—beginning with the archaeological explorations of “the Orient” and colonial collecting practices dating back to the nineteenth century, followed by the creation of the “encyclopedic museum,” the popularity of world’s exhibitions, and the politics of representation and reception.
Short bibliography and/or website on lecture topic:
Kevin McGeough. 2015. The Ancient Near East in the Nineteenth Century: I. Claiming and Conquering; II. Collection, Constructing, Curating; III. Fantasy and Alternative Histories. 3 Volumes. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press.
Edward P. Alexander, Mary Alexander, and Juilee Decker. 2017. Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums. Third Edition. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield.
James Cuno. 2008. Who Owns Antiquity? Museums and the Battle Over Our Ancient Heritage. Princeton; Oxford: Princeton University Press.
Kershaw Lectures in Near East Archaeology

Archaeology, its Colonial Past, and its Collaborative Future: A Community Project in El-Kurru, Northern Sudan
2025-03-20 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Jepson Hall, Room 118, Richmond Way 221, Richmond, VA, 23226, United States
Martha Sharp Joukowsky Lecture

Looking for Lucy: Revisiting the Foundation of Race & Gender in Historical Archaeology
2025-03-23 11:30 - 12:30 (America/New_York) | IL

“Barbarians” and Bronzes: The Origins of Civilization in Ancient Vietnam
2025-03-23 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | AIA-LA, 1201 9th St., Manhattan Beach, United States
Two thousand years ago, China’s Han Empire stretched its imperial grasp beyond the mountains far to the south of the Central Plains, reaching into the domains of “barbarians”. Along its southernmost periphery lay the Red River Valley (RRV) of present-day Vietnam. In their chronicles, the Han claimed that they “civilized” the RRV’s “barbarians”. In contrast, many Vietnamese believe this time and location represents the birthplace of an indigenous, Vietnamese civilization that predates Han arrival. This view has been traditionally based on colorful tales and legends. One of the most enduring accounts tells of the Au Lac Kingdom and its capital city, known as Co Loa. Thus, at the heart of ongoing, intense, and sometimes nationalistic debates are two contrasting views. One sees “civilization” as a byproduct of Han arrival, while the other sees it as the outcome of local, indigenous cultural traditions. This lecture presents new and ongoing archaeological research that addresses these themes and questions. Specifically, it highlights recent investigations at the Co Loa site, considered to be the first capital and earliest city of ancient Vietnam.
Dr. Nam C. Kim
Professor, Dept. of Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
This talk will be hybrid: in-person with a Zoom streaming component.

Drunken Women with Spears? Funerary Practices and Female Identity in Pre-Roman Apulia
2025-03-24 18:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | College of the Holy Cross, Rehm Library, 1 College Street, Worcester, MA, 01610, United States

Egyptian Conceptions and Manifestations of Borders and Cultural Hegemony in the Late Bronze Age Southern Levant
2025-03-24 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | University of Georgia, Park Hall, Room 265, 200 Baldwin St., Athens, GA, 30602, United States

Rituals of Death : The Tombs of Tibet’s First Kings
2025-03-25 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Anthropology Building AP130, University of Toronto St. George Campus, 19 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2S2, Canada

Eldorado on the Nile: The Art of Luxury in Ptolemaic Alexandria
2025-03-26 19:00 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
Charles Elliot Norton Memorial Lectureship
In collaboration with the University of Maryland, College Park Departments of Classics and Art History Archaeology

The Impact of Roman Military Presence on the Arid Landscapes of Southern Jordan and Israel
2025-03-27 16:30 - 17:30 (America/New_York) | IL

Archaeology of the Ọyọ Empire (West Africa): Chivalry, Colonies, and Household Politics in the Early Modern Period
2025-03-27 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Florida State University, Carraway 315, Carraway Bldg, Tallahassee, FL, 32304

Dying as a Macedonian in Egypt: Styling Social Identity through Hellenistic Burial Practices
2025-03-27 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | University of Virginia, Campbell Hall 158 (Architecture School), Bayly Dr, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, United States

The deep prehistory of the human presence in the world’s high mountains and plateaus
2025-03-27 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Ave, Rochester, NY, 14607

New Light on King Herod's Harbor
2025-04-02 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | Nashville Parthenon, 2500 West End Ave, Nashville, TN, 37203, United States

The Past in the Past: Traditionalism in Archaic Crete
2025-04-06 08:00 - 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Santa Rosa Junior College Campus, Petaluma, CA
The Barbara Tsakirgis Memorial Lecture
Time and venue TBA

Archive Archaeology: The Invisible Hands of Colonial-Era Excavations in the Middle East
2025-04-07 16:30 - 17:30 (America/New_York) | Princeton University, East Pyne Building 010, East Pyne Hall, Princeton, NJ, 08544
The Elizabeth S. Ettinghausen Lecture

Augustus’ war against Antony and Cleopatra as Seen through the Coins
2025-04-08 17:30 - 18:30 (America/New_York) | University of Akron, Folk Hall 165, 150 E. Exchange St, Akron, OH, 44304
William E. Metcalf Lectures in Numismatics
