RECENT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Zoë Crossland Mines the Connections Between Anthropology and Archaeology
Human remains are at the heart of Zoë Crossland’s work. In one of the most popular classes that she teaches, Corpse Life, students learn about the history of death and the treatment of remains.
Fall 2018 news and events
Welcome to The Center for Archaeology’s Fall Newsletter. We post biannual updates on archaeology at Columbia at the start of the Fall and Spring semesters.
The months since our last newsletter have seen a lot of activity and new initiatives by faculty and students at Columbia and Barnard, from field schools to art works – all outlined below. We welcome our incoming students and a special welcome to new faculty member Lisa Trever, in the Department of Art History and Archaeology.
If you have any news or events that you’d like to circulate please send them to me (zc2149) or to Brian Boyd (bb2305). Our calendar of events may be found on the CCA homepage.
Spring 2018 news and events
We post updates on the Center’s activities at the start of the Fall and Spring semesters. If you have any news or events that you’d like to circulate please send them to Prof. Brian Boyd
Fall 2017 news and events
Welcome to the first of The Center for Archaeology’s biannual newsletters. We’ll be posting updates on the Center’s activities at the start of the Fall and Spring semesters.
Columbia’s First Excavation in Greece Focuses on a Sanctuary of Poseidon
Boeotia, in central Greece, is a region of mythological imagination and historical significance. Already one of the most important Greek kingdoms in the age of the Mycenaeans, circa 1600-1100 B.C., it is the birthplace of Hesiod, Pindar and Plutarch and the setting for Sophocles’ tragedies Antigone and Oedipus. The region’s chariot races were once celebrated in verse by its local poets.
Excavation at Hadrian’s Villa Uncovers the Art of Ordinary Spaces
Twenty miles east of Rome lies the villa of the emperor Hadrian, who ruled for about 20 years during the second century A.D., but whose lavish estate has exercised a strong influence on architects and artists since its rediscovery in the 15th century.
Lenfest 2015 Winner: Li Feng
Li Feng brings his background as an archaeologist and historian of early China to bear on his teaching, at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
Mapping the World’s Cultural Treasures
When Zainab Bahrani traveled to Iraq 10 years ago, she realized that it was crucial to document the extensive damage to the country’s cultural treasures caused by years of war. “We needed a system to record what was left standing of the region’s built heritage because Iraq had been cut off from the rest of the world for so long,” she said.
Islamic Arts Professor Studies ‘Interaction Zones’ Between Cultures
For Avinoam Shalem the study of art history is not just about locating and defining a civilization, a culture or a movement, it’s about what he calls “interaction zones”— the places where culture and commerce collide and inspire new forms of expression. Forms that may not be best understood through a primary comparison to Western art.
Humans Shaped Stone Axes 1.8 Million Years Ago
A new study suggests that Homo erectus, a precursor to modern humans, was using advanced tool-making methods in East Africa 1.8 million years ago, at least 300,000 years earlier than previously thought. The study, published this week in Nature, raises new questions about where these tall and slender early humans originated and how they developed sophisticated tool-making technology.
