Download Article (PDF) The Lower Pecos Canyonlands of southwest Texas and northern Mexico house some of the most complex and compositionally intricate prehistoric rock art in the world (Figure 1 & Figure 2). First efforts to document the rock art began in the 1930s. In some cases, this early documentation is the only surviving record of paintings destroyed by vandals, lost to weathering, or inundated by Amistad Reservoir. The unique nature and incomparable richness of…
The undersigned cultural heritage and archaeological organizations express their concern over the loss of life and injury to humans during the protests in Egypt this week. We support the desire of the Egyptian people to exercise their basic civil rights. We also share their concern about the losses to cultural heritage that Egypt has already sustained and the threat of further such losses over the coming days. Brave actions taken by the citizens of Cairo…
On January 5th, a group of AIA Site Preservation Committee members, trustees, and staff ventured 2.5 hours north of San Antonio to visit the Gault archaeological site prior to the start of the 112th AIA Annual Meeting. The Gault archaeological site, a premier location for studying the peopling of the Americas, was the recipient of a 2010 AIA Site Preservation Grant that was administered by the Gault School of Archaeological Research (GSAR). GSAR Executive Director,…
Download as PDF Early Americans in Texas In April 2010, the AIA awarded its fifth Site Preservation Grant to the Gault School of Archaeological Research (GSAR) in central Texas to support the expansion of educational and outreach programming at the Gault Site – GSAR’s largest and best-known project. The Gault Site is widely regarded as one of the most significant archaeological sites for understanding the initial arrival and settlement of people in the Americas. Continuously…
Download Article (PDF) The discipline of archaeological conservation has developed in recent decades as the fruit of a lively debate and continuous and meaningful experiences. Although daily reality seems to contradict the statement above—given that most sites suffer from neglect, deterioration, poor or absent management, misguided treatments, vandalism, abuse and abandonment—we can still claim that conservation has made great strides forward; it has become ever more a part of archaeology and works in tandem with…
After four weeks in the trenches braving bipolar weather systems bent on eroding our findings or the top layers of our skin, carrying sand upon my body as a constant companion to my daily activities, preventing the local canids from making off with what they could only reasonably assume were the equivalents of the bones fed to them by their owners, uncovering a Drawsko vampire, and acquiring the mark of any dedicated archaeologist whose work…
On the third day of the drive out to the Mongol-American Khovd Archaeology Project site, I realized that Mongolia was very different than I had envisioned. I was expecting windswept sands of the Gobi desert, but instead, we passed through terrain marked by rocky, lumpy boulders, endless flat steppe with a purple sky, and were currently wending our way higher up some velvety green mountains, with goats and sheep grazing in every direction. On the…
My experience in Turkey was a remarkable one where I learned about the history of human civilization, was immersed in a different culture with another language and gained valuable experience by being part of an excavation team. The highlight of my research at Troy was assembling three skeletons to determine which bones remained, their gender and sex and any pathology, fracture or stress/use markings on the bones that would tell us something about their life…
In late 2009 Heritage Watch, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Southeast Asia’s cultural heritage, was awarded the AIA Site Preservation Grant for a project at a remote temple site in Cambodia. The overall aims of this two year project are to ensure the long-term protection and preservation of the Banteay Chhmar archaeological site by providing education and training in English Language, Guide Training, and Heritage Protection to local community members.Background Banteay Chhmar…
In honor of World Heritage Day this weekend, the Archaeological Institute of America announced that its fifth Site Preservation Grant will be awarded to the Gault School of Archaeological Research in central Texas. The Gault Site is regarded as one of the premier archaeological sites for helping us to understand the arrival of native peoples in the Americas. Continuously occupied by humans for 14,000 years, the site has yielded over 2.6 million archaeologically excavated artifacts…
Thousands Attend Archaeology Fair Organized by AIA-Milwaukee Society and Milwaukee Public Museum On March 5 and 6, 2010, the Milwaukee Society, in partnership with the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM), became the first AIA Local Society to organize and host an Archaeology Fair. The event, funded in part by an AIA Society Outreach Grant, was a resounding success—more than 2,000 students, teachers, and families attended the Fair over the two-day period. Visitors were treated to a…
Download as PDF Dive into Archaeology! For more than 20 years, the Joukowsky Lectureship has presented preeminent scholars to audiences throughout North America. Named after past AIA president Martha Sharp Joukowsky, the lectureship is offered to archaeologists of every speciality. This season's lecturer is Shelley Wachsmann, the Meadows Professor of Biblical Archaeology with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology and the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University. Few places on earth are farther from…
Download as pdf Start the New Year by Attending An AIA Lecture Near You! More than 100 years after it was founded in honor of the AIA's first President, Charles Eliot Norton, the Norton Lectureship continues to bring distinguished scholars to audiences throughout the country. This season's Norton lecturer is Dr. Nancy Wilkie, the William H. Laird Professor of Classics at Carleton College in Minnesota, and past president of the AIA. Dr. Wilkie will…
Quartz Crystal In Room 15, we found many quartz crystals. It is probable that this room, among others, was used for processing this rar e and valuable material, which in antiquity was believed to have magical properties. Quartz crystals and offerings made of this material have been discovered in the Idaean Cave and at some peak sanctuaries, indicating that they may have been used in various Minoan rituals. [caption id="attachment_32525" align="alignright" width="300"] Rock crystal (room…
Roatán Island, the site of my first archaeological field experience, is the largest of the three Bay Islands of Honduras, nestled between Utila and Guanaja. Though less than 40 miles long and only five miles wide, Roatán has a rich and complicated history; one that is more vast than its landmass would suggest. According to many locals, pirates inhabited the island at different points in time, hiding their stolen treasure in the cool, dark caves…
The Exhibit Hall offered books on archaeology and the classics, as well as archaeological gear. The 2009 AIA and APA Joint Annual Meeting exceeded attendance expectations on every level! We welcomed more than 2,800 attendees to the Philadelphia Downtown Marriott making it the second largest in overall attendance after the Chicago in 2008. Throughout the meeting, the bustling exhibit hall offered for sale hundreds of archaeology and classics books. Vendors who offered excavation equipment were…
Download article (PDF) A report on the restoration and new presentation of the site Introduction Towering impressively over the sea, the temple of Athena at Assos is a magnet for tourists from all over the world. Its design and construction, which date to ca. 530 B.C., also make it a key monument for our understanding of Greek temple architecture. The ruins of the temple were made even more prominent, however, in the 1980s, when missing…
During the 2008 season, we excavated rooms 15 and 19. Room 15 had an opening on the east side, a window on the west, and two niches on the south wall. In one of the niches, we found three chalices with floral motifs and high stems, each of which has a hole at its base, meaning they were used as rhyta. [caption id="attachment_224" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Rhyta in Situ (Room 15)"][/caption] The presence of these vessels…
Director of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute, James Adovasio specializes in prehistory, technology and material analysis, as well as the archaeology of North America, Mesoamerica, and the former Soviet Union. Adovasio recently discussed his research, including his excavation of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter, with AIA Programs Assistant Deanna Baker. How did you become interested in archaeology? Archaeology is the only career in which I ever had any interest. I was essentially "programmed" to be an archaeologist by…
2007-2008 AIA Lecturer David Bush talks about his excavations at Johnson's Island Civil War POW Camp. How have you been able to combine the first-hand accounts of the prisoners with the archaeological evidence from the site? Do you think you would have the same view of the site without both sources of information? One of the unique aspects of the Johnson's Island Civil War military prison site is its tremendous historical and archaeological record. I…
