FRIDAY SEMINAR: Ethics in Archaeology Panel Discussion

Ethics in Archaeology Panel DiscussionWith Drs. Willeke Wendrich, John Papadopoulos, Lothar Von Falkenhausen, and Steven Acabado This workshop will focus on the importance of what is coming out of the ground and what happens to it afterwards. The following questions will be among the topics discussed:Who is responsible for ancient artifacts and what are they responsible […]

PIZZA TALK: Decoding Andean Formative Iconography: Didactic Images, Esoteric Knowledge, and the Emergence of Complexity on the North Coast of Peru

Dr. Cathy Lynne Costin, Professor, Department of Anthropology, CSU NorthridgeRevisiting North Coast Formative Period Ceramic Iconography:  the Case for Foundational Ritual PowerIn my current research, I am building an argument that a larger proportion of North Coast Formative ceramic iconography reflects the consumption of therapeutic and psychoactive substances than is generally acknowledged in recent scholarship […]

FRIDAY SEMINAR: Conservation Actions and Reactions: Matter of Fact or Perception?

AbstractEvolution in conservation practice generally reflects wider contextual developments. These, whether scientific or societal, can however overshadow other developments within conservation which could inform scholarly studies of the objects and improve effective management of heritage assets. Awareness of these influences is nevertheless critical since any conservation action, regardless how small and seemingly unimportant can potentially […]

PIZZA TALK: Digging Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Mines

Bio:Dr. Kate Liszka is Assistant Professor with the Department of History at California State University, San Bernardino, and holds her degrees from the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.), and from 2012 to 2015 was a Cotsen Postdoctoral Fellow and Lecturer with Princeton University.  Her areas of specialization are Nubians in Egypt, the Medjay, ethnicity and identity […]

Archaeology of Ancient Israel Lecture Series: “Israel and the Samaria Highlands: A Nomad Settlement Wave or Urban Expansion during the Early Iron Age?”

“Israel and the Samaria Highlands: A Nomad Settlement Wave or Urban Expansion during the Early Iron Age?”Dr. Yuval Gadot, Director of the Institute of ArchaeologyTel Aviv University Tuesday, November 13 at 2 PMKaplan (formerly Humanities) A51 Archaeology of Ancient Israel Lecture SeriesCo-sponsored by the UCLA NELC Department, Alan D. Leve Center for Jewish Studies, and the Cotsen Institute […]

PIZZA TALK: Politics in Ancient Maya

Bio:Professor Tsukamoto is an anthropological archaeologist who received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 2014. His research centers on the interplay between social relations and embodied practices that are reflected in the spatial and material settings of early complex societies. He seeks to refine different theoretical and methodological approaches in order to better […]

PIZZA TALK: Restoration of Dazu Rock Carvings: An Ecological Perspective

Bio:Dr. Sonya Lee is Associate Professor of Chinese Art and Visual Cultures at the University of Southern California, where she holds a joint appointment in the Departments of Art History, East Asian Languages and Cultures, and Religion. A specialist in religious art and architecture of pre-modern China, Dr. Lee has published widely on the material […]

FRIDAY SEMINAR: “No es lo mismo llamar al diablo que verlo venir”: Climate Change, Changing Weather and Archaeological Heritage as Seen from Puerto Rico

BIO:Isabel Rivera-Collazo is Assistant Professor on Biological, Ecological and Human Adaptations to Climate Change at the Department of Anthropology  and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. Dr. Rivera-Collazo is an environmental archaeologist specializing on geoarchaeology, archaeomalacology, coastal and marine processes, maritime culture and climate change, with regional interests in Puerto Rico, the […]

FRIDAY SEMINAR: Plundered Skulls and Stolen Spirits: Why the Repatriation Wars Matter

Dr. Chip ColwellSenior Curator of Anthropology, Denver Museum of Natural ScienceAbstract:Five decades ago, Native American leaders launched a crusade against museums to reclaim their sacred objects and to rebury their kin. This controversy has exploded in recent years as hundreds of tribes have used a landmark federal law to recover their heritage from more than […]