Speaker: Dr. Heather Miller, University of TorontoArchaeological interest in technological change focuses on both invention and production by craftspeople, and on social issues related to adoption of new technologies. We recognize that technological change involves both motivations and mechanisms for change, with respect to both the invention and innovation/adoption ends of the spectrum. The possible motivations and mechanisms for […]

Speaker: Jacob Bongers, PhD Candidate, UCLAThis talk addresses local mortuary practices in the mid-Chincha Valley, Peru dating from the Late Intermediate Period, or LIP (AD 1000 – 1476) to the Late Horizon (AD 1476 – 1532). Ethnohistorical documents state that a complex, centralized state known as the Chincha Kingdom dominated the Chincha Valley from the […]

Speaker: Dr. Owen Doonan, California State University, NorthridgeAncient Sinop was the crossroads of the ancient Black Sea, which has been itself described by the distinguished historian Georges Bratianu as the "Turntable of Eurasia."Owen Doonan has led an interdisciplinary archaeological expedition to the Sinop region since the mid-1990s and through that research program has established a basic sequence […]

Fowler OutSpoken TalkTua Pittman on Traditional Sea Voyaging and NavigationSaturday, April 30, 1:30 pm Internationally recognized as a traditional voyaging seafarer, Tua Pitman has navigated canoes for over thirty years without the use of modern instruments. He uses a traditional navigation system based on observations of the stars, sun, moon, the ocean swells, the flight […]

Speaker: Scott Fitzpatrick, University of OregonFor many island societies worldwide, the acquisition and exchange of prized resources was fundamental to developing and maintaining social, political, and economic relationships. The patchiness of resources like stone, clay, tempering agents, shell, and animals often led to differential access which then helped to fuel the rise of social complexity. This […]

Speaker: Dr. Cathy Costin, California State University, NorthridgeAlthough some have suggested that North Coast ceramics are characterized by a stable technological style over thousands of  years, evidence indicates that several aesthetic and technological styles "coexisted" with one another; they waxed and waned in popularity depending in large measure on the social and political environments in […]

Speaker: Merrick Posnansky, UCLA Professor EmeritusBlack Lives Matter has been a contentious political and Social concern in recent years but most of the heat has concerned the present situation of Police violence on Black youth in the USA. My own concern is with the general decrease of interest in the lives of poorly documented Blacks […]

The ancient world is characterized by technological innovations and the creation of beautiful objects of art and daily life. On this public lecture day UCLA graduate and undergraduate students will explore who the people were that made these, what techniques they used, and how we can learn about their social circumstances.This event is free and […]

Speaker: Dr. Marriana Nikolaidou, UCLAMarianna Nikolaidou holds a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and is a research associate at the Cotsen Institute since 1994. Her research and fieldwork focus on the Neolithic and Bronze Ages of the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. She has published extensively on gender issues, symbolism […]