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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.
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.
