Cotsen Institute of Archaeology

Indo-European Origins Revisited: New Data, New Problems
2016-01-11 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Professor Colin Renfrew, Senior Fellow of the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research University of Cambridge The image of mounted nomad warriors from the steppe lands of Russia bringing the Proto-Indo-European language to Europe has been displaced in recent years by new models; the early spread of farming from Anatolia became a preferred explanation for language replacement. Recent work on ancient DNA has, however, brought the steppe theory back into prominence. The Indo-European question remains controversial and will be reviewed – but perhaps not resolved! The lecture is free to the public. Parking at Lot #4 (Sunset and Westwood) is $12 for 24 hours, hourly parking available.

Pizza Talk: "The Ancient Methone Archaeological Project: The First Two Years"
2015-12-02 12:00 - 13:00
Speakers: John Papadopoulos, Professor, Department of Classics, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLASarah Morris, Professor, Department of Classics, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA

Friday Seminar: "Historical Counterfactuals in Archaeological Reasoning"
2015-11-20 16:00 - 18:00
Speaker: Dr. Derek Turner, Connecticut CollegeOver the last fifteen years or so, philosophers of science have made a lot of progress toward understanding how researchers in fields such as paleontology, geology, and archaeology re-construct the past. One neglected issue, however, is counter-factual reasoning. An historical counterfactual claim has the form: “If condition C had been different at some time in the past, then the downstream outcome O would have been differ-ent.” Counterfactual claims are closely related to the idea that history is contingent—an idea that Stephen Jay Gould made popular in paleontology with his famous thought experiment of replaying the tape of history. However, counterfactual rea-soning remains controversial among historians, some of whom see no value in speculating (for example) about how things would be different if Al Gore had won the presidential election in 2000. One major challenge is explaining what would count as evidence for or against counterfactuals. In this talk, the speaker will (1) provide an overview of some of the relevant philosophical work on the epistemology of historical counter-factuals, and (2) argue that counterfactual reasoning does have a legitimate, if limited role to play in archaeologists’ efforts to reconstruct the past.

Pizza Talk: "A Study in Plaster: Archaeology, Conservation, and Late Roman Visual Culture in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis"
2015-11-18 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Susanna McFadden, Assistant Professor, Fordham University; Getty Museum Scholar

The 2nd Hampartzoum and Ovsanna Chitjian Conference in Armenian Studies
2015-11-14 11:00 - 17:00
Featured Speakers: Dr. Marco Brambilla, Prof. Touraj Daryaee, Ms. Kristine Martirosyan-Olshansky, Prof. Bert Vaux

Friday Seminar: "Power and Exotica: Pre-Columbian Exchange and Social Transformation in Chaco Canyon"
2015-11-13 16:00 - 18:00
Speaker: Dr. Adam Watson, American Museum of Natural History

Friday Seminar: "Why Land Here? Second-Millennium AD Ports and Harbors in Southeast Tanzania"
2015-11-06 16:00 - 18:00
Speaker: Dr. Edward Pollard, British Institute in East Africa

Pizza Talk: "Interrogating Identities in Achaemenid Egypt"
2015-11-04 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Henry Colburn, Postdoctoral Fellow, Getty Museum; Curatorial Fellow, Harvard Art MuseumsThis study uses identity to examine the experience of Achaemenid Persian rule in Egypt (c. 526-404 BCE). Individuals in Egypt chose the material culture that they believed best suited their identities in the context of votive statues and seals. Some chose traditional Egyptian types, while others drew on a wider array of forms, some of which clearly referred to the Achaemenid royal court. The variation in these choices suggests that contrary to prevailing views there was not a clear divide between subjects and subjugators in Achaemenid Egypt. Rather, different people experienced Achaemenid rule in different ways. The identities examined in this talk attest to a social environment in Egypt in which multiple cultural traditions were valued and employed side by side. Indeed, this finding is consistent with the ecumenical character of Achaemenid ideology, as represented in the sculptural program at Persepolis.

Pizza Talk: "Ecology, Subsistence, and Cultural Admixture: A Bioarchaeological Perspective of Community Health Along Northwest China's Prehistoric Trade Networks"
2015-10-28 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Mauricio Hernandez, Postdoctoral Scholar, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLAThis presentation shows the results of the preliminary analysis of long-term patterns of nutrition and activity as a result of climatic shift, subsistence changes and increased inter-cultural contact along a prehistoric exchange route across arid mountain passes and oasis towns, linking the Central Eurasian Plains with the Yellow River valley 2,000 years before the founding of the Silk Road trading networks. It is during this period that a climate cooling event began to drive Eurasian groups eastward to establish trade networks in order to obtain agricultural products and raw material for metalworking. Northern Chinese communities in turn benefited from Central Eurasian jade, introduction of new western cultigens, grazing animals, and cultural innovation with Inner Asian motifs. The goal is to investigate whether shifts in subsistence practices and perhaps kinship structure as a result of longterm cultural interaction with Eurasian peoples affected the livelihood and health of populations residing in the intermediate zone, covering the region of eastern Xinjiang, Gansu and eastern Qinghai – both as entire communities, as well as along gender lines.

Pizza Talk: "A Huge Beehive of Industry: Native American Work and Life at Mission San Gabriel, California"
2015-10-21 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: John Dietler, Principal Investigator, SWCA Environmental Consultants

Pizza Talk: "Art Restoration and its Contextualization"
2015-10-14 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: David Scott, Professor, Art History, Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA

Pizza Talk: "The Birth of Ehecatl and the Origins of Cacao: The Initial Series Group at Chichen Itza, Mexico"
2015-10-07 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: Karl Taube, Professor and Department Chair, Anthropology, UC RiversideArchaeological fieldwork performed by the Proyecto Chichen Itza under the direction of Peter Schmidt during 1999 to 2002 uncovered a remarkable series of bas-relief friezes from the upper portions of palace and temple structures. The focus of this study will be buildings featuring avian and floral imagery, including abundant representations of cacao. Many of the friezes contain scenes portraying an avian-headed figure playing music surrounded by floating elements pertaining to music and dance. The relation of music to precious birds is well known for Late Postclassic Central Mexico, however it is becoming increasingly clear that a very similar complex existed among the more ancient Classic Maya, including the wind deity — god of music and closely related to flowers as well as the embodiment of the breath soul. In this study, I argue that the avian figure in the Initial Series at Chichen Itza constitutes an Early Postclassic form of the wind god and as such, can be considered as an ancestral form of Ehecatl. Moreover, the Initial Series Group has the most developed monumental program dedicated to the production of cacao in ancient Mesoamerica, with the immediate topography strongly indicating why.

Pizza Talk: "Conflict and Treachery in the Sacred Ridge Community, Southwest Colorado"
2015-09-30 12:00 - 13:00
Speaker: James Potter, PaleoWest Archaeology, INC.This presentation will discuss the formation, development, and dissolution of an early prehispanic community in Southwestern Colorado. At its height the Ridges Basin community, dating from A.D. 750-825, comprised approximately 75 households organized in pithouse clusters. Households in these clusters were diverse in their backgrounds and social identities, regularly exercised violence against one another, and were variably connected to other communities and the larger outside world. The result was a community that developed and changed rapidly, exhibited fluid boundaries and volatile social relations among households, and came to a quick and violent end. Various models will be explored to explain the final massacre at the Sacred Ridge site.

2015 Back-to-School Book Sale
2015-09-22 09:00 - 2015-10-30 17:00
CIoA Press Back-to-School Book SaleUp to 50% off!The CIoA Press is celebrating the start of the new school year with a book sale. New books on the last days of the Inca, an important site in Mesopotamia, and many more!New titles will be 20% offSlightly damaged books are 50% offBargain Bags! Buy a tote for $10 and fill with all of the bargain books you can fit!And starting this year, the chance to win prizes including free books, water bottles, and individual electronic chapters!CIoA water bottles, t-shirts, postcards, and hats will also be available.A list of available titles with the sale prices can be downloaded here: bts_title_list.pdf

Cotsen Public Lecture 2015
2015-06-18 14:15 - 15:15
Cotsen Institute of Archaeolgy at UCLA and Archaeological Institute of AmericaPresent:Dr. Andrea RicciGerman Archaeological Institute – Eurasia Dept.2015 AIA-DAI Fellow at the Cotsen Institute (UCLA) “Early settlement of the Southern Caucasus: recent discoveries of the German-Azerbaijani investigations in the Mil Plain (Southern Azerbaijan)”The talk will address the latest results of the interdisciplinary project “Kura in Motion”, which has been investigating early sedentism along the Kura Valley since 2010. Focus will be on the landscape of survival of the Mil Plain of Southern Azerbaijan, where a series of late Neolithic (6th Mill. BCE) sites have been investigated with intensive survey and excavation.

UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Open House 2015
2015-05-02 13:00 - 16:00
The UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology is holding its annual Open House this Saturday, May 2nd, from 1-4. Stop by and find out what current research the faculty is undertaking and visit the different labs housed at the Institute. Make sure to stop by room A410 to visit our lab and learn about the different methods we use to examine archaeological objects.

UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Student Conference 2015
2015-01-30 16:00 - 2015-01-31 17:30
schedule_2015.pdf

Poles, Posts, and Canoes: The Preservation, Conservation and Continuation of Native American Monumental Wood Carving
2014-07-21 16:45 - 2014-07-22 17:45
This two day symposium (preceded by an opening ceremony and meal on the evening of July 20th) will gather Native and non-Native museum professionals, tribal members, and contemporary Native carvers to discuss the challenges of preserving and exhibiting historic monumental wood carvings from both a Native and Non-Native view point. It will also serve to connect Native carvers and the museum community in the hope that the resulting dialogue will help support the continued development of this traditional art form. The format of this gathering is aimed at encouraging discussion, so presentations will be relaxed and brief, and an equal amount of time will be scheduled for general discussion of the topics addressed.Registration will open January 21st, 2014, and a provisional program will be available at that time. Download symposium registration form here. Email completed form to info@hibulbculturalcenter.org.Symposium registration fees:Early bird discount: $300 (register before May 30, 2014 to receive the early bird discount!)Full: $350Student: $250 (please provide a copy of your student ID for verification purposes)

PIZZA TALK: SURVEY AND SETTLEMENT ON THE PERUVIAN SOUTH COAST: THE LIP
2014-02-05 12:00 - 13:00
