RECENT NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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.
Columbia Archaeologist Unearths Remnants of 19th-Century Village Beneath Central Park
Some 35 million people visit Central Park each year, but only a few of them realize how much history lies beneath their feet. When archeologist Nan Rothschild takes her morning walk on the park’s west side, she knows she’s not far from the remnants of Seneca Village, the first community of African American property owners in New York.
