Cotsen Institute of Archaeology

The Gods of Urartu: The Religious beliefs of the Urartian Empire
2020-10-23 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Miqayel Badalyan Director of the “Erebuni” Historical & Archaeological Museum-Reserve, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia.Friday, October 23, 2020 – 12:00pm PT (contingent on the developing situation in Armenia)Register hereBased on archaeological data, as well as philological and visual art sources, the presentation focuses on the religious beliefs of the Urartian kingdom. In this regard, the role of religion in Urartian royal ideology, the cultic activities, symbols, and iconography of the gods of the Urartian pantheon will be discussed as well.

Panel 6: Pacific Histories
2020-10-21 19:00
Panelists: Tarcisius Kabutaulaka (University of Hawaii-Manoa), John Peterson (University of San Carlos, Cebu, Philippines); Britton Shepardson (Terevaka Archaeological Outreach 501(c)(3)); Beno Atan (Metropolitan Touring Ecuador)Moderator: Jason Throop (UCLA)Wednesday October 21, 7:00 PM (PDT) / Thurs October 22, 10:00 AM (TWN)Webinar Series: Indigenous Peoples, Heritage and Landscape in the Asia Pacific: Knowledge Co-Production, Policy Change, and EmpowermentThe histories and identities of Pacific Islanders have been drastically supplanted by Euro-centric narratives because of centuries of colonization. Archaeological work and community stories are helping to rethink these narratives through Pacific historiography. Using examples from the Solomon Islands, Easter Island, and Pohnpei, the panel discusses how community stories are helping to regain what was lost because of colonial imposition.For more information about the event and panelists, visit the event site.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: “The Will to Adorn”: A Black Feminist Archaeology of Sartorial Choice in Post-emancipation Texas
2020-10-21 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. Ayana Omilade Flewellen, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, UC RiversideWednesday, October 21st, 12:00pm – 1:00pm PTAmid racialized servitude, sexual exploitation, and economic disenfranchisement, that marked the post-emancipation era in the United States, African American women were styling their hair with combs, lacing glass beads around their necks, dyeing coarse-cotton fabric with indigo-berry and sweetgum bark, and fastening buttons to adorn their bodies and dress their social lives. Through an analysis of material culture and documentary data, Dr. Flewellen’s work examines the complex interplay between structural forms of oppression and agency by focusing on the ways African Diasporic women used dress to negotiate racism, sexual exploitation, and exploitive capitalism from slavery through freedom. This talk will outline the flesh and texture of Black Feminist Archaeology, as a theoretical and methodological framework that centers on the lived experiences of enslaved Africans and their descendants as a means for the production of knowledge. Focusing on Dr. Flewellen’s research on gendered African Diasporic sartorial practices, this presentation aims to articulate Black Feminist Archaeology at the interstices of digital humanities, historical archaeology, and Black feminism. Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

The Early Cycladic Site at Skarkos on the Island of Ios
2020-10-17 10:00
Marisa E. Marthari, Director Emerita Of Prehistoric & Classical Antiquities For The Cyclades And SamosSaturday, October 17th, 10:00am PST The site of Skarkos, the largest of all known Early Cycladic II sites, stands on a commanding hill overlooking a coastal plain and one of the largest sheltered harbors in the Cyclades. The excavations conducted by the author brought to light a multiperiod prehistoric site and, most significantly, a settlement of the mid-third millennium BC. More than one-third of the settlement has been excavated over the last fifteen years. The walls of the buildings are preserved to a maximum height of four meters. This unique preservation provides a clear idea of the layout, architecture of settlements in the Cyclades during the peak of the Early Cycladic world. Skarkos has a well-organised plan, with wide streets and squares, two-storey rectangular buildings (at least 55 have been uncovered) and a complicated drainage system. The inhabitants developed agricultural, craft, and trading activities, and especially prominent were masons, marble-carvers (two early marble workshops were excavated), and potters. Skarkos has also produced evidence of seals and sealing, including a large number of clay sealimpressed objects marking ownership or personal identity. Marisa Marthari is a graduate of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (MA and PhD in Aegean Archaeology: “Akrotiri, Thera: The Pottery of the Volcanic Destruction Level.” Dr. Marthari is Ephor of Antiquities (Emerita) of the Greek Archaeological Service, Director of the excavations at Skarkos on Ios, and Kastri on Syros. She was formerly Director of the Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities for the Cyclades and Samos, where she conducted numerous excavations and museum exhibitions. Her presentation on Skarkos was the winner of 2008 Grand Prize for the European Union Europa Nostra Award. This talk will be offered on Zoom. Please RSVP by clicking here to receive the link.

Dragon Stones of Armenia: Recent Research and Protection Works
2020-10-16 12:00
Arsen BobokhyanPhD, Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences Republic of ArmeniaFriday, October 16th, 12:00pm PT (contingent on the developing situation in Armenia)Register hereIn the high mountains of Armenia, exist unique monuments called by the people “vishapakar” – dragon-stone. Although vishapakars were discovered more than a century ago, their secrets are far from being deciphered. Much like the khachkars (cross-stones) of Medieval times, vishapakars are typical for the prehistoric landscapes of the Armenian Highland. The centres of their distribution are Mount Aragats and the Geghama mountains. Today we know approximately 150 examples of these monuments. Vishapakars are 150-550 cm high and made, as a rule, of grayish basalt. They had been widely used during the Bronze Age, especially within the 2nd millennium BC. Among the many questions vishapakars raise, one of the most important is the problem of their protection. Two kinds of dangers exist – destruction and dilapidation in their original places, and removal to the lowland. Both destruction and removal took place as early as the beginning of the 1st millennium BC, in the Urartian period, increased during Middle Ages and unfortunately continues today. The lecture will present recent works to investigate and protect these monuments. Arsen Bobokhyan is the Vice Director, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Armenian Academy, where he has worked since 1998. He received his Pd.D. from the Institute of Prehistory, University of Tubingen, Germany, with the topic ”Communication and Barter in the Highland between the Taurus and the Caucasus, ca. 2500-1500 BC.” His areas of research include Early Archaeology of the Caucasus, the Near East and Asia Minor, Cultural Relations, Ancient Barter and Weight Systems, History of Urbanism, Identity Problems, Ancient Religion and Cult, Sacred Landscape. He has taught at Yerevan State University since 2007.

Panel 5: History and Heritage
2020-10-14 19:00
Panelists: Peter Lape (University of Washington); JB Chevance (Archaeology and Development Foundation, Phnom Kulen Program, Cambodia); Wiwik Dharmiasih (Universitas Udayana, Bali, Indonesia); Rasmi Shoocongdej (Silpakorn University, Thailand)Moderator: Grace Barretto-Tesoro (University of the Philippines-Diliman-Archaeological Studies Program)Wednesday October 14, 7:00 PM (PDT) / Thurs October 15, 10:00 AM (TWN)Webinar Series: Indigenous Peoples, Heritage and Landscape in the Asia Pacific: Knowledge Co-Production, Policy Change, and EmpowermentArchaeological practice in Southeast Asia has recently shifted to active engagement with local stakeholders. A growing number of investigations are actively seeking the involvement of communitiesas both contributorsand as active and involved research participants. This undertaking humanizes our community partners and counters the exclusivity often associated with the authority of scholarship. In this panel, we forefront examples from Southeast Asia where heritage conservation and management involved community inputs. Works by colleagues in Indonesia, Cambodia, Bali, Indonesia, and Thailand underscores the importance of involving communities in heritage issues. REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK:https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7WeK98dKQEmQa9PpLRLMHQFor more information about the event and panelists, visit the event site.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: Makers’ Space/Making Space: An Interdisciplinary Imagining of the Lived Experiences of Ancient Athenian Potters and Painters
2020-10-14 12:00 - 13:00
Sanchita Balachandran, Senior Lecturer in Near Eastern Studies & Associate Director, Johns Hopkins University & MuseumWednesday, October 14th, 12:00pm – 1:00pm PT What can we know about the lived experiences of the ancient artisans who were making the now-iconic red and black ceramics in Athens between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE? Given that the potters and painters of Athens comprised a diverse group of practitioners that included Athenian citizens, immigrants and migrant workers, women and children, freed people and enslaved people, can the pots they made tell us about the conditions of their lives? Interdisciplinary approaches incorporating experimental archaeology, sensory experience, conservation documentation and digital imaging techniques may offer us new ways to “excavate” the surfaces of extant ceramics in museums, most of which were collected without archaeological context. This talk looks at how examining ancient ceramics from the perspective of production—from “preparatory” drawings on the surfaces, to the painted images, to the fired colors of the vessels—allows us to approach ancient people at work, in the moment of production, and raises questions about who they really were.Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

Excavations At The Victory Monument Of Octavian Augustus At Nikopolis, Epiros: A Monument That Marks A Turning Point In The History Of The Ancient World
2020-10-10 10:00
Konstantinos Zachos Director Emeritus Of Antiquities For EpirosSaturday, October 10th, 10:00am PT On September 2, 31 BC, Octavian’s forces defeated those of Mark Antony and the queen of Egypt Cleopatra off the west coast of Greece. Known as the Battle of Actium, from the peninsula of the same name, at the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf, on which was located an ancient sanctuary of Apollo. Few episodes from ancient history have been commented on more than the battle of Actium. It marked the beginning of a new world order and, above all, the beginning of Octavian’s “monarchy,” at which time he became Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome. After his victory, Augustus undertook a series of actions aimed at the economic and social reorganization of northwestern Greece, at the same time incorporating elements of political and religious propaganda. He founded a city which he named Nikopolis— Victory City—he renovated the sanctuary of Apollo at Actium and on a hill sacred to the god and, where he had encamped, he erected a Victory Monument. Excavations at this imposing, extravagant monument over the past few decades, have revealed a wealth of finds, some of astonishing artistic rendering. Konstantinos Zachos is Ephor of Antiquities (Emeritus) of the Greek Ministry of Culture. He holds a B.A. from the University of Thessaloniki and an MA and Ph.D. from Boston University. Following his graduate work, he entered the Greek Archaeological Service, worked in several Ephorates of Antiquities and was promoted to Ephor of Antiquities. He has excavated widely in Epirus, the Peloponnese, the Cyclades, and in Albania. He was also responsible for conservation work at Dodona and Nikopolis. He established three new museums (at Leukas, Nikopolis, and Arta) and supervised the renovation of the Archaeological Museum of Ioannina. This talk will be offered on Zoom. Please RSVP by clicking here to receive the link.

Panel 4: Weaving and Empowerment
2020-10-07 19:00
Panelists: Analyn Salvador-Amores (University of the Philippines-Baguio); Ping Nga Ong (National Cheng-chi University, Taiwan); Paulette Crespillo-Cuison (Kiyyangan Weavers Association)Moderator: Marlon Martin (SITMo, Philippines)Wednesday October 7, 7:00 PM (PDT) / Thurs October 8, 10:00 AM (TWN)Webinar Series: Indigenous Peoples, Heritage and Landscape in the Asia Pacific: Knowledge Co-Production, Policy Change, and EmpowermentTraditional weaving in Southeast Asia is tied to cultural identity and cultural expressions. However, the assimilation of Indigenous communities to the larger societies meant that the cultural context of weaving has changed. The demands to produce textiles for monetary gain have also impacted the way weaving communities produced their crafts. In some instances, the cultural context of weaving has been lost. This panel provides examples of communities attempting – and succeeding – in situating their textiles to their cultural contexts. Panelists will also discuss how they are fighting against appropriations of their traditional designs by entrepreneurs through the establishment of locally-managed textile commerce. REGISTER FOR ZOOM LINK:https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_S4IVWZ09S0S0JWtS1Ohd_QFor more information about the event and panelists, visit the event site.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: Archaeology and Conservation: Aphrodisias, Troy, and Gordion, 1980-2020
2020-10-07 12:00 - 13:00
Dr. C. Brian Rose, Professor of Archaeology & Curator in Charge, Mediterranean Section, University of Pennsylvania & MuseumWednesday, October 7th, 12:00pm – 1:00pm PTDrawing on personal experience, this lecture explores the relationship between archaeology and conservation at three sites in Turkey, focusing on both object and architectural conservation. The speaker was co-director at Troy for 25 years (1988-2012), and director of Gordion since 2013.Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

Exploring Sacred Landscapes in the Mountains of Arcadia
2020-10-03 10:00
Mary E. Voyatzis, Professor, University of Arizona, TucsonSaturday, October 3rd, 10:00am PSTThe mountainous region of Arcadia, situated in the heart of the Peloponnese, has attracted considerable interest and attention since antiquity. Many ancient authors described Arcadia in detail, discussing its rich mythology, many sites, unusual gods, numerous sanctuaries, engaging history, diverse geography, and the important fact that its inhabitants were indigenous, living there even before the moon (Proselenoi), and the original inhabitants of Greece (Pelasgoi). During the Renaissance, Arcadia was depicted in art as a beautiful, pristine, and magical place with unspoiled wilderness. By the 19th century European travelers were exploring the region, and later in the century archaeologists began excavating its various sites. For over 140 years Arcadia has been investigated by archaeologists from Greece and many other countries in Europe and North America. Today we consider some of the sites recently excavated in Arcadia, and focus on two where the speaker has been involved, the Sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea, and the Sanctuary of Zeus on Mt. Lykaion. We shall see how archaeological discoveries have contributed significantly to our understanding of the history of Arcadia and enhanced our appreciation of this enchanting mountainous region.Mary E. Voyatzis received her BA in Classical Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, a post-graduate diploma in Classical Archaeology from Girton College, Cambridge, and her Ph.D. from University College, London, with a dissertation entitled “The Sanctuary of Athena Alea at Tegea, 800-600 BC, and its Relation to Other Arcadian Sanctuaries.” She began teaching at the University of Arizona, Tucson in the Department of Classics in 1986, and is currently Professor in the School of Anthropology and the Department of Religious Studies and Classics. This talk will be offered on Zoom. Please RSVP to hellenic@humnet.ucla.edu to receive the link.

History, Memory And Conservation: Preserving The Past For Future Generations
2020-09-30 11:00 - 12:00
Dr. Glenn WhartonChair, UCLA/Getty Program in the Conservation ofArchaeological and Ethnographic Materialsinvites you to attendUCLA/Getty Program’s Distinguished Speaker SeriesfeaturingDr. Spencer CrewActing Director of the National Museum of African AmericanHistory and Culture speaking onHistory, Memory and Conservation:Preserving the Past for Future Generationswith opening remarks byDr. Darnell HuntDean, UCLA Division of Social SciencesProfessor of Sociology and African American StudiesWednesday, September 30, 202011:00 a.m. – Noon PDTOnline Webinar Instructions to join the webinar will be provided once your registration has been confirmed.About the speaker: Dr. Spencer R. Crew has worked in public history institutions for more than thirty years.  He is currently the Acting Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Click here to read more.

4Liz Symposium
2020-09-25 12:00 - 2020-09-26 15:00
Download the full event program here.

Virtual Pizza Talk: The Earliest Farmers of the Caucasus: A View from Masis Blur
2020-09-16 13:00 - 14:00
Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky, Postdoctoral Scholar, CIoA, UCLAAlan Farahani, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, UNLVSeptember 16, 2020, 1:00pm – 2:00pm PSTVirtual Pizza Talk Series This talk is a summary of research conducted at the archaeological site of Masis Blur, an early farming community located in the Ararat plain of Armenia and occupied continuously for nearly a millennium from ca. 6200 cal. BC – 5200 cal. BC. While much is known about how communities in west Asia adopted a farming way of life, much less is known about the Caucasus. The Masis Blur Archaeological Project explores the rhythms of everyday life at the Neolithic village in this understudied region using high resolution techniques to recover, record, and analyse the material remains of day-to-day activities. The talk highlights recent fieldwork and preliminary results from Masis Blur with specific focus on enhanced photographic techniques (photogrammetry), archaeological plant remains , animal husbandry, obsidian procurement, and a few key discoveries such as calcified basket remains, evidence of thatched roofs, and pigment processing workshops which, to date, are singular for the region.Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology where she is directing the Research Program for Armenian Archaeology and Ethnography. She earned her PhD in Archaeology from UCLA in 2018 and she has been directing the Masis Blur Archaeological Research Project since 2012. As an anthropological archaeologist she uses geochemical characterization of materials to study past human behavior. In particular, she looks at how early farming communities of the Southern Caucasus made use of the available natural resources and how these behaviors influenced the spread of technological innovation and social change. Alan Farahani is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is an anthropological archaeologist whose research focuses on how ancient agriculture was embedded in and influenced the social, political, and cultural practices of people in the past. His methodological expertise is paleoethnobotany, or the analysis of archaeological plant remains, as well as in the use of contemporary computational tools such as Python and R to effectively manage archaeological data. He has conducted fieldwork throughout the world, and has been working on the Masis Blur project since 2018.Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

Academic Publishing in Archaeology
2020-09-03 10:00 - 12:00
Aaron Burke (CIoA Press Editor in Chief) and Randi Danforth (Publications Director)Thursday, September 3rd 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT)CIoA Press Editor in Chief Aaron Burke and Publications Director Randi Danforth will present a session on academic publishing in two parts. First, “how do I decide where to publish something? Who should I publish it with? Should it be an article or a book?” This presentation will provide an overview of the publication process with advice concerning how to approach publishers, select journals, prepare proposals and manuscripts, respond to and address peer review, and promote your work once published. Part Two will present an inside look at the process, from book proposal to board review to acceptance and production (copyediting, author review, design, printing, and distribution). Deidre Whitmore will give an overview of electronic publishing possibilities, both those linked to a book in print, and those in independent digital forms. Register here (Registration limited to Cotsen affiliates)

What's possible with the Lux Lab? 3D scanning, printing, LiDAR and more!
2020-08-27 10:00 - 12:00
Doug Daniels, Emerging Technologies LibrarianThursday, August 27th 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT) Doug Daniels is the Emerging Technologies Librarian at the UCLA Library and director of the Library’s Lux Lab. The Lux Lab is a suite of emerging technology services, including 3D printing, 3D scanning, laser cutting and etching, large format printing, 3D mapping, and a developing VR service. This workshop will highlight some past work that the Lux Lab has done. These past projects reflect the diverse use-cases of these technologies in an archaeological context. Immediately following the presentation, a live demonstration of the Lux Lab’s 3D scanner(s) will take place, with plenty of time for questions and answers.Register here

Virtual Pizza Talk: Shimásání Dóó Shicheii Bi’ólta’ - My Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s School: The Old Leupp Boarding School, a Historic Archaeological Site on the Navajo Reservation
2020-08-19 13:00 - 14:00
Davina Two Bears’ research documents the history of the Old Leupp Boarding School (OLBS), a Federal Indian boarding school on the Navajo Reservation, from 1909 to 1942, as it explores Diné (Navajo) survivance within the context of this school. Two Bears employs decolonizing research methods framed by postcolonial theory to investigate the OLBS, which currently exists as a historic archaeological site. She explores how Diné children forced to attend the OLBS utilized their cultural foundations to meet the challenges imposed upon them by a settler society and relates the positive stories of Native survivance and resistance to assimilation achieved within the OLBS. Utilizing oral history interviews she conducted with Navajo elders and a critical review of archival records and historic photographs, Two Bears explores the history of the OLBS and the memories of Navajo students who attended the OLBS. Her research contributes to postcolonial anthropology as a study of culture change, decolonizing research, and Native American and Indigenous studies.Davina R. Two Bears is Navajo from northern Arizona. She recently graduated from Indiana University (2019) with a PhD in anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology, and a PhD minor in Native American Indigenous Studies. Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.Photo courtesy of the Old Trails Museum/Winslow Historical Society. The photo is of the front entrance of the OLBS, which later became the girls and boys dormitory. This picture was taken around 1915.

Managing References and Citations with Zotero
2020-08-13 10:00 - 11:00
Deidre Whitmore, Digital Archaeology LabThursday, August 13th 2020 10:00 – 11:00am (PT)This workshop will prevent headaches and save hours of work. The open-source tool Zotero not only makes gathering and organizing references fast and easy but also simplifies the process of adding citations and bibliographies to your publications. This workshop will cover how to add articles, books, chapters, periodicals, and web resources with a single click. Participants will also learn how to add in-text citations directly in Word and LibreOffice as well as adding and formatting a reference cited and bibliography to publications. Lastly, we will cover how to collaborate with colleagues and easily share research materials using Zotero libraries. Register here (Registration limited to Cotsen affiliates)

Data Cleaning with OpenRefine
2020-08-06 10:00 - 12:00
Deidre Whitmore, Digital Archaeology LabThursday, August 6th 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT)Data are messy. Nearly all datasets require cleaning and processing before they can be analyzed and interpreted. This workshop will cover how to use the free, open-source tool OpenRefine to more quickly and easily understand and clean your data. Participants will learn how to correct typos and misspellings, standardize terms and dates, and break complex data into usable formats. We will also cover how to share your data and cleaning steps with collaborators and export a script that details the steps taken which can be applied to future datasets.Register here (Registration limited to Cotsen affiliates)

Introduction to 3D Digital Reconstructions using SketchUp
2020-07-23 10:00 - 12:00
Anthony Caldwell, Assistant Director of the UCLA Digital Research ConsortiumThursday, July 23rd 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT) This workshop will introduce 3D modeling through the use of SketchUp, an intuitive modeling application that lets you create and edit 3D models. The workshop will cover: navigating and understanding 3D space, drawing basics, textures, tags, importing and exporting, and much more.Note: This workshop will be using Sketch-up free. If you would like to follow the workshop, please make sure you have signed up for a SketchUp free account at https://www.sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing/sketchup-freeRegister here

Keep it Secret! Keep it Safe! Hidden Magic and Coffin Construction in Ancient Egypt
2020-07-22 13:00
Caroline Arbuckle MacCleod, Ph.D. Fellow, University of British ColumbiaWednesday July 22, 2020 – 1:00pmIn ancient Egypt, the wooden coffin was considered one of the fundamental elements of a burial for wealthier individuals. It was a magical vessel that protected the deceased, and ensured that the owner could be transformed into a divine being in the afterlife. Due to the importance of these objects, potent magical talismans and symbols were placed around and in the coffin, and were often included in the decoration. Magical spells and rituals were also performed throughout the burial ceremony. In this talk, a new layer of ritual and magic is considered, hidden within the invisible joints of wooden coffins. In these areas, secret spells and magical red paint were added during construction. This may suggest the presence of educated carpenter priests, trained in the rituals needed to prepare the wood, as the first step in the creation of these potent vessels for the dead.Register herePlease note, the talks will start at 1:00pm PT during the summer.

Vector Illustrations with Adobe Illustrator
2020-07-16 10:00 - 12:00
Deidre Whitmore, Digital Archaeology LabThursday, July 16th 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT)Vector illustrations are common in archaeological publications and field documentation. In this workshop we’ll cover how Adobe Illustrator and vector illustrations can be used for site maps, trench and elevation drawings, and artifact renderings. Participants will be introduced to the interface and tools associated with these types of illustrations. We’ll cover how to bring scanned drawings into Illustrator and set up a drawing for digital tracing as well as tricks to speed up the process. Additionally, we’ll walk through creating artifact drawings using common techniques including stippling.Register here (Registration is limited to Cotsen affiliates)

Statistics: Basic Data Management and Regression
2020-07-09 10:00 - 12:00
Alan Farahani, Assistant Professor in Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las VegasThursday, July 9th 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT)This workshop will cover the basics of contemporary data manipulation using the R statistical programming language as well as provide an introduction to approaches to regression for archaeological applications. Topics covered will include philosophy of regression, model specification, parameterization, and evaluation, as well as the different distribution families used to analyze count (poisson, negative binomial, etc.) and continuous (gaussian) data. Participants should walk away (aka turn off their web cameras) with at least a basic understanding of the issues as well the ability to undertake some of the analyses using the R platform.Register here (Registration is limited to Cotsen affiliates)

Photogrammetry Workshop: Creating 3D Models from Photographs
2020-07-02 10:00 - 12:00
Anthony Caldwell, Assistant Director of the UCLA Digital Research ConsortiumThursday, July 2nd 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT)Photogrammetry, or Structure-from-Motion, is a technique for constructing three dimensional models from a series of photographs. This technique can be utilized by archaeologists to record objects, features, and sites both quickly and relatively inexpensively. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to systematically photograph objects and the steps to processing these photographs into a 3D model with Agisoft’s MetaShape (previously named PhotoScan).Register here (Registration is limited to Cotsen affiliates)

PXRF Analysis Workshop: You've collected your data. Now what?
2020-06-25 10:00 - 12:00
Vanessa Muros, Director of the Experimental and Archaeological Sciences LabThursday, June 25th 2020 10:00am – 12:00pm (PT)Portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy has become a widely used analytical tool in the fields of archaeology and conservation for the non-destructive elemental analysis of cultural heritage materials. But once you’ve collected your data, how do you interpret it? This workshop will provide a general introduction to the three types of pXRF data that can be generated (qualitative, quantitative, and semi-quantitative) and through the use of case studies, illustrate how the data can be interpreted and used to answer research questions about cultural heritage.Register here (Registration is limited to Cotsen affiliates)

Virtual Chauvet Cave: Masterworks of the Paleolithic
2020-05-27 12:00 - 13:00
We are excited to announce that our event Chauvet Cave: Masterworks of the Paleolithic will now be held virtually!In conjunction with the global digital film premiere of The Final Passage, a 28-minute immersive experience of the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc Cave and its paintings, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology will be hosting a virtual discussion and Q&A session with Jean-Michel Geneste, General Curator of Cultural Heritage for the Ministry of Culture in France and former curator of the Lascaux caves, and the film’s producer, Martin Marquet. Participants are invited to watch the film online prior to the event. Questions can be submitted in advance when registering or during the event. Since its discovery in 1998, the extraordinary rock art of the Chauvet-Pont d’Arc cave in south-central France has been celebrated for its remarkable realism and demonstration of skill never before seen in cave art. Dating back 36,000 years, the myriad paintings of horses heads, mammoths, bears, cave lions, rhinoceroses and more use “the knobs, recesses, and other irregularities of the limestone to impart a sense of dynamism and three-dimensionality to their galloping, leaping creatures,” according to Smithsonian magazine.(only available from May 7 – June 7)Wednesday, May 27, 2020 12:00 – 1:00 PM Space is limited. Please register by May 25.This event is co-sponsored by the UCLA Rock Art Archive. Email Michelle Jacobson at mjacobson@ioa.ucla.edu for more information.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: MY TWO PET PEEVES IN AFRICAN ARTS: FERTILITY GODDESSES AND "DOLLS"
2020-05-20 12:00 - 13:00
SPEAKER:Dr. Herbert ColeUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraProfessor Emeritus, Art HistoryIn writing my latest (and probably last) book: Maternity: Mothers and Children in the Arts of Africa, two stereotypes emerged that I ran into more or less often as I researched the topic, and these ended up as “pet peeves” that I felt the need to address in my text: “fertility goddess” as a descriptor of Africn images of mothers with children, especially those shown suckling, and the word “doll” as applied to images of children used by many potential mother to help them conceive, or if pregnant, to make sure the pregnancy goes well and a healthy, handsome child is born. I will explore both of these stereotypes and show that both are ultimately racist words when applied to maternity and child images.Suggested reading for the talk available here.Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: WEALTH, WOMEN'S LABOR, AND FORMS OF VALUE: THINKING FROM THE STUDY OF ANCESTRAL CENTRAL AMERICA
2020-05-13 12:00 - 13:00
SPEAKER:Rosemary A. JoyceProfessor and Chair of AnthropologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThis talk builds on feminist scholarship criticizing a tacit distinction between household labor (as intimate, domestic, and ruled only by naturalized relations of sex and age) and extra-domestic labor to help advance understanding of gender and labor in societies of ancient Central America. Household production, the role of specific products of women’s labor as standards of value and media of exchange, and the role of indigenous ontologies in which material animacy and animating spirits occupied central places in exchanges we might otherwise think of as economic will be considered.Full abstract:As renewed interest in inequality sparks a turn to the archaeologically documented past as a source of data for generalizing models explaining the roots of the contemporary economic reality, it is worth pausing to question how pasts that were shaped under far different social conditions can be treated as equivalent to the contemporary world of nation states and global economies. In this paper, I examine three sources of incommensurability that should be taken into account in any attempt to think from the past of economic relations to the present. The first of these examines how labor is conceived of, counted, and understood in these different situations. As feminist scholars of the contemporary economy have long noted, large areas of economic activity by women are routinely excluded in modern analyses. Such household maintenance work rests on a tacit distinction between household labor (as intimate, domestic, and ruled only by naturalized relations of sex and age) and extra-domestic labor. For the societies of ancient Central America, such a division simply did not exist. Not only did a large part of the organization of agricultural labor build on household relations; women’s specialist craft production, in particular, was critical to economic relations. This leads to the second aspect of incommensurability that I consider: the identification and mobilization of standards of value and exchange. In these societies, cloth produced by women working in domestic spaces was one of the enduring standards of value, specifically important in tribute payments that established and perpetuated political hierarchies. Cloth’s use in this fashion cannot be disentangled from the social relations in which it was embedded. Nor can the social relations which gave value to other key media used to measure value in economic exchanges be equated, even when the same social agents, women, have key roles in production, for example, in the cultivation of cacao, a second standard of value. By considering these two media, and the way that they relate to women’s economic activities extending from domestic space to cosmopolitan marketplaces, I identify a third contradiction to conceptualizing the ancestral Central American economy in terms drawn from the current situation: the important of ideologies of material animacy and the role of animating spirits in exchanges we might otherwise think of as economic.Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: ICONOGRAPHY AND SYMBOLISM OF THE CELESTIAL DOMAIN AND THE PERCEPTION OF SPACE IN THE EUROPEAN BRONZE AGE
2020-05-06 12:00 - 13:00
SPEAKER:Alessandro VanzettiUniversity of Rome “La Sapienza”, ItalyAssociate Professor in Pre- & ProtohistoryShort-term Visiting ScholarThe lecture will present the main evidence for the symbolic representation of the celestial domain in the European Bronze Age, with some extension to the former Late Neolithic (also named Copper Age) and to the ensuing Iron Age. An iconographic analysis is necessary in order to decode (or try to) the representations.In order to do it, we should consider the way in which 3-dimensional space is represented, for the production of symbolic images.The discussion involves both phenomenological, conceptual, cognitive and religious aspects, often difficult to disentangle.A simple grammar of the representations, of their rules and occurrences, can help, but it is still only a starting point for further insightsRegister for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will receive instructions on viewing the talk after registering.

VIRTUAL PIZZA TALK: Lord of the Rings: Archaeology in Shire, Ethiopia
2020-04-22 12:00 - 13:00
SPEAKER:Dr. Willeke WendrichProfessor, Dept. of Near Eastern Language and CulturesDirector, Cotsen Institute of ArchaeologyUCLA After five years of work in Ethiopia the UCLA Shire Archaeological Project has established close collaborations with four Ethiopian universities, national, regional and local offices and the population living around the site of Mai Adrasha. In December 2019 this culminated in a workshop to discuss the future of the archaeological site of Mai Adrasha. I will discuss the results of the excavations and survey in the tension field of different ideas and interests in both the past and the future.Register for this Cotsen Virtual Pizza Talk here! You will recieve instructions on viewing the talk after registering.
