2026 PRESENTATIONS
Dr. Zachery Dunseth,
Associate Professor of Anthropology and the Kershaw Chair of the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands at the University of California San Diego
Dung and Desert Copper: Environmental Archaeology at the Macro and Micro Scale
Settlement patterns in the Negev desert (modern Israel) have experienced significant fluctuations over the past 6000 years. At certain times, the arid landscape was dotted with thousands of sites, including cities, villages, and farmsteads. In other periods, the desert periods were nearly devoid of evidence for human activity. This presentation will specifically focus on one of the earliest waves of large-scale settlement during the Early (c. 3300-2500 BCE) and Intermediate Bronze Ages (c. 2500-1950 BCE). Notably, the former period spans the rise and fall of urban cities to the north, and the latter spans the regional 4.2 kya ‘Megadrought’ aridification event. However, the motivation behind why these desert communities continue to grow and expand in an increasingly hostile environment during this time is still debated. I begin by explaining the foundation of my approach to studying desert lifeways. This framework is constructed based on experimental and geo-ethnoarchaeological insights gained from premodern Bedouin sites. I delve into both macro- and microarchaeological methods employed to investigate subsistence, animal rearing, and the copper industry across Negev sites. The discussion includes an examination of the results within the context of broader systems, including the desert, Egypt and the Levant during the 3rd millennium BCE. LEARN MORE ABOUT ZACHARYJen Green, MA, RPA, Curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History
History of South Florida Archaeology Through Curation-Based Stories at the Florida Museum of Natural History
The lecture presents a history of the archaeology of South Florida enriched through the records of the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The South Florida collections at the FLMNH are expansive and represent over 300 discrete archaeological sites across the thirteen southernmost counties. Using curation-based stories, Green will discuss the breadth of the collections housed at the museum from Lake Okeechobee to the Keys and Gulf to the Atlantic coasts. Dozens of archaeologists and their teams have contributed to the rich history of the collections over the last 130 years, and their fascinating contributions have shaped our understanding of the field.
Jennifer Green grew up surrounded by the sub-tropical diversity of Southern Florida, where she spent most of her time exploring outside. Interested in archaeology from an early age, she found a natural progression to studying the Indigenous cultures that once inhabited the landscape around her. Green received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology from Florida Atlantic University, where she studied the pre-Columbian history of southern Florida. After a short stint at the University of Tennessee to obtain a doctoral degree, she’s glad to be back in the Sunshine State, where she recently joined the Florida Museum of Natural History as its new collections manager for South Florida archaeology and ethnography.
Dr. Jesse Obert, Professor at the University of South Florida
Social Networks & Cyborgs: Cretan Warriorhood in the Archaic Period
Dr. Obert presents a new narrative for Cretan warriorhood, focusing in particular on the archaeological evidence for violence on Crete between 700 and 300 BCE. He argues that the incongruity of Cretan warriorhood reflects two distinct ideologies of violence that were concentrated in specific types of ritual space: collaborative camaraderie on the one hand and antagonistic individuality on the other. Despite this opposition, Cretans had to balance both narratives simultaneously, which ultimately developed warriorhood into a full-time vocation. This unique and complex system guaranteed the wealthiest Cretans coveted positions at the top of the socio-political hierarchy, regardless of their appearance, background, or personal identity. These accessible yet gatekept identities set the tenor for military power on Crete in the centuries that followed--the systems that Plato praised in the fourth century were the product of a long-standing and deeply entrenched ideological conflict that had raged across Crete since the seventh century.
Jesse Obert is an interdisciplinary scholar working primarily in the fields of ancient history, archaeology, classics, and digital humanities. He completed his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology and also holds an MA from University College London in Ancient History. He studies violence, warfare, enslavement, exploitation, and inequality in the ancient Greek world.
Dr. David Gilman Romano, Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Arizona
The Sanctuary of Zeus and Sanctuary of Pan at Mt. Lykaion
Recent research at Mt. Lykaion, both at the southern summit of the mountain at the Sanctuary of Zeus and in the lower mountain meadow at the Sanctuary of Pan, is leading to new understandings about cult practices at this ancient site in Greece. Answering questions about the origins of Greek cult and Greek athletics are at the heart of the agenda of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project. Since 2004 the project has been working at the site of the Sanctuary of Zeus. The project is co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of Arizona and the Greek Archaeological Service under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
I am a Classical Archaeologist interested in both the Greek and Roman worlds. My specific interests include the study of ancient cities and sanctuaries, architecture, athletics and computerized applications in archaeology. The Archaeological Mapping Lab, which I direct, works in the fields of digital cartography, GIS, remote sensing, spatial analytical studies as well as databases. Since 2003 I have been the co-Director (with M.E. Voyatzis) of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, working at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia. Since 1987 I have been the Director of the Corinth Computer Project, undertaking a long term study of the planning of Roman Corinth. Since 2004 I have been the Director of Digital Augustan Rome.
RECENT ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS
Altar and Offerings Discovered Near Ancient Toltec Capital
HIDALGO, MEXICO—La Brújula Verde reports that work along the route of a passenger train uncovered an altar, or momoztli, in central Mexico near the site of Tula, the ancient Toltec capital. The momoztli has been dated to between A.D. 900 and 1150. Archaeologist Víctor Francisco Heredia Guillén of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History said that the structure had at least three tiers. The first tier is a stone base thought to be made of andesite, a type of volcanic rock. These blocks are each about four inches long. The next tier consists of slabs made of the same material, while the upper tier features several rounded stones and basalt rock. Two skulls were uncovered near the altar’s base. Beneath the skulls, the researchers found a compacted stucco surface, under which they discovered another two skulls and several large bones. A black bowl containing another vessel, other ceramic vessels, and obsidian fragments and blades were also unearthed. Heredia Guillén said that the bones will be analyzed for age, sex, and health status at the time of death. Scientists will also look for any cut marks or evidence of decapitation on the bones. The excavation of the altar also revealed evidence of a larger structure surrounding it, suggesting that the altar may have been placed in a courtyard. “We suppose these were either rooms or an elite context, or groups of higher hierarchy, remains of palaces that may have existed at the site. We know that at the edges of Tula there were neighborhoods of upper and middle classes, and much farther away, those of common people,” Heredia Guillén concluded. To read more about Tula, go to "Mexico's Butterfly Warriors."
Artifacts Repatriated to Peru
LIMA, PERU—The Andina News Agency reports that 169 artifacts have been returned to Peru this year from 13 different countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Luxembourg, and Italy. For example, a Moche-style necklace made sometime between 200 B.C. and A.D. 600 was repatriated by Turkey. Artifacts attributed to the Nazca, Vicus, Tiahuanaco, Wari, Chancay, Lambayeque, Chimú, and Inca traditions are also among the repatriated items. Peru’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hugo De Zela said that more than 70 percent of the items returned to Peru had been handed over voluntarily. Peru has also returned more than 1,700 cultural items to other countries since 2023, added Culture Minister Fatima Altabas. For more on the archaeology of Peru, go to "Return to Serpent Mountain."
Study Tracks Arrival of Bow and Arrow in North America
TULSA, OKLAHOMA—The bow and arrow were first used in western North America some 1,400 years ago, according to a statement released by PNAS Nexus. Briggs Buchanan of the University of Tulsa and his colleagues radiocarbon dated 136 weapons made of organic materials, which were recovered from glacial ice patches, dry caves, and rock shelters where they had been preserved. The researchers determined that the bow appeared in a single place, then spread rapidly across North America through cultural transmission networks. In northern British Columbia and Alberta, people adopted the bow and arrow, but continued to use the atlatl to throw darts for more than 1,000 years. In contrast, people to the south—in California, the Southwest, and northern Mexico—rapidly replaced the use of the atlatl with the bow and arrow. Buchanan and his team members think that people living to the north may have found some advantages to throwing darts with the atlatl during the colder months or while hunting certain prey. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PNAS Nexus. To read about a rock art panel in central Montana that depicts an archer, go to "A Very Close Encounter."
CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE
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IN THIS ISSUE
Model Homes
A look inside miniature worlds created for the living, the dead, and the divine
Pompeii's House of Dionysian Delights
Vivid frescoes in an opulent dining room celebrate the wild rites of the wine god
Return to Serpent Mountain
Discovering the true origins of an enigmatic mile-long pattern in Peru’s coastal desert
Himalayan High Art
In a remote region of India, archaeologists trace 4,000 years of history through a vast collection of petroglyphs
What Happened in Goyet Cave?
New analysis of Neanderthal remains reveals surprisingly grim secrets