Events

Across a Narrow Sea: Ancient Greeks and Roman in the Adriatic Sea

Often neglected by Classical scholars, the coastal region of Dalmatia in southern Croatia held significant appeal to the ancient Greeks and Romans for over a thousand years. Positioned on a major trade route from central Europe into the Mediterranean, the archaeology of Dalmatia from the 6th c. B.C. to the 3rd c. A.D. reveals how […]

An Embarrassment of Riches: Tree-Ring Dating and the History of Archaeology in the American Southwest

Tree-ring dating burst into Southwestern archaeology on June 22, 1929, when Andrew Ellicott Douglass of the University of Arizona and his colleagues discovered specimen HH-39, the piece of charcoal that “bridged the gap” in his tree-ring chronology and allowed him to date, for the first time in history, archaeological sites at Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, […]

U2 Spy Plane Photos and Archaeology in the Middle East (Matson Lecture)

Dr. Emily Hammer discussed how declassified military imagery from planes and satellites have played an important role in landscape and environmental archaeology. The identification of ancient sites, fortifications, road networks, and irrigation networks in modern satellite images, like those viewable in Google Earth, is limited by the degree to which these features have survived the […]

Materiality for the Archaeological Enthusiast: Case Studies in Human-Thing Assemblages from Ancient Mesoamerica

Jeffrey S. Brzezinski, Ph.D. (University of Colorado Boulder) Recent developments in archaeological theory have demonstrated that the relationships between humans and things are far more complicated and instructive than previously thought. Of course, humans make things, but things also make us human. In this lecture, Dr. Brzezinski discusses the application of contemporary theories of material […]

Accumulating Identities in “Trash”: Examining Depositional Patterns within Ancestral Pueblo Villages

Dr. Samantha Fladd (University of Colorado Boulder, Museum of Natural History) While often overlooked as “trash,” the materials that accumulate in archaeological sites can signify intentional decisions demarcating relationships within a community and ties to architectural settings. In particular, the ways in which architectural spaces were prepared, altered, and decommissioned or closed through the placement […]

U2 Spy Plane Photos and The Archaeology of the Middle East

Declassified military imagery from planes and satellites plays an important role in landscape and environmental archaeology. Historic imagery sources, especially the large archives generated by the US during the Cold War, are far better than Google Earth for providing archaeologists with a window into the past, before development and intensive agriculture took hold in many […]

Ancient Roads of the Chaco World: Monumentality, Religion, and Power

CU Museum of Natural History Broadway, Boulder, CO, United States

In this talk, Rob Weiner will discuss his recent fieldwork throughout the Chaco World, which combines LiDAR, drone aerial photography, and on-the-ground documentation to investigate the history, use, and meaning of monumental roads in Chacoan society. He will focus on new insights regarding the destinations of roads and ritual practices carried out on them, with […]

Community Archaeology at Amache, Colorado’s Japanese American Confinement Camp

Prof. Bonnie. J. Clark (University of Denver, Department of Anthropology) The forced removal and subsequent incarceration of over 120,000 people of American of Japanese descent during World War II is a pivotal incident in world history. The sites of this confinement are significant resources for both research about and re-engagement with this critical, yet shadowed […]

Tales from Under the Mediterranean Sea: Reminiscences of a Maritime Archaeologist

Hale Science Building, Rm. 270 1350 Pleasant Street, Boulder, CO, United States

The lecture presented by Dr. Robert Hohlfelder (Emeritus Professor, CU Boulder), will cover some of the most amazing discoveries of his long career including: A Treasure Trove of 4th Century CE Glass Panels Found in the Sea, Pixie Dust and Roman Imperial Maritime Infrastructure, The Amazing Levitating Roman Amphoras, Two Harrowing Episodes 1,000 feet Below […]

Street Theater: A Pompeian Neighborhood in Five Acts by Dr. Jeremy Hartnett

When we think of Roman cities, it is tempting to conjure images of temples, baths, and amphitheaters. This talk storms into the narrow streets of Pompeii to make the case that, for most Romans, the real action happened on the neighborhood level. As told through five different stories, we will see how ancient historians repopulate […]