23 March 2010: Next Archaeological Forum 16:00 sharp Lipsius 227

: The Archaeological Forum is an archaeological discussion meeting which takes place every 2 weeks on Tuesday afternoons. The aim is to focus on issues relevant to all archaeologists, and to discuss matters pertaining to archaeological theory and methodology. This is achieved by a series of lectures in which researchers present aspects of their work that can trigger wider debates. Presentations are about 30-40 minutes, followed by a discussion.

february 23rd: “Wayana Socio-Political Landscapes: Multi-Scalar Regionality and Temporality in Guiana”

By Renzo S. Duin

This study is a contribution to an ongoing debate on socio-political complexity of indigenous people in Greater Amazonia. It demonstrates an integrated regionality in Wayana socio-political organization, based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork conducted from 1996 to 2004 in over twenty Wayana villages and abandoned places of the upper Maroni basin (in Suriname and French Guiana). This four-field approach case-study draws on a wide array of data, from intra-settlement patterns and local structures of kinship, to regional organization associated with ritual gatherings, in association with personal histories, legends and mythical narratives on cosmology. In due process, it critically re-evaluates past archaeological and anthropological studies of the region, particularly as to why the posited hierarchical supravillage organization has hitherto not been recognized.

9th of February 16:00 (sharp) – 17:00 Lipsius room 227: Archaeobotanical research and archaeological contexts

By René Cappers

Sampling strategies in archaeobotany are partly based on random sampling. If judgemental sampling is practiced, there is a preference for samples rich in plant remains. A main problem with this kind of sampling and selection is that plant records are difficult to analyze in relation to specific research questions. A solution to this problem is the improvement of our knowledge of processes that are related with the transport of plant remains to specific archaeological contexts. This approach implies a good description of archaeological contexts and ethno-archaeobotanical research and will be illustrated with a model that can be used for the reconstruction of agricultural practices in Roman Egypt.

Sjoerd van der Linde: Archaeological Forum 15 December 2009 16:00 (sharp) -17:00 Lipsius 227

Digging Holes in Jordan – An ethnographic analysis of the Deir Alla Joint Archaeological Project

The last few decades have witnessed an increase in critiques on the ethics of Western archaeological conduct in postcolonial contexts, leading to the formulation of new theories, new policies, new ethical guidelines, new epistemologies. But how useful are these for understanding the actual factors that shape the design and implementation of archaeological practice? In other words; who does actually decide whose values in the archaeological process are to be given priority? And what is the role of the foreign, Western archaeologist in these value negotiations? This presentation will argue for an ethnographic and discursive approach to explore the daily practices, historical backgrounds and value-negotiations of projects and actors, using the Deir Alla Joint Project as a case study.

More information: Bleda Düring, 071-5276449, b.s.during@arch.leidenuniv.nl
Angus Mol, 071-5274164, a.mol@arch.leidenuniv.nl
Adam Jagich, 071-5272423, a.p.jagich@arch.leidenuniv.nl

Dr Ann Woodward (University of Birmingham): 1st of December, 16:00 (sharp) – 17:00, Eyckhof 2 / 004

Examination of Ritual and Dress Equipment from British Early Bronze Age Graves

Tineke Rooijakkers: 17th November, 16:00 (sharp) – 17:00, Eyckhof 2 / 004

Dress Codes: A comparative study of dress and religious identity within the Coptic community in past and present

This study investigates the connection between religion and dress, or more specifically; the role of dress within the creation, confirmation and renegotiation of religious identity. To answer this general question a specific case study is examined in detail: the Coptic community in the past and present. The research entails an archaeological or art historical section examining Coptic dress from the fourth to fourteenth century AD and an ethnographical section studying dress among the Copts in Egypt, the Netherlands and the US. By comparing the past and the present, changes in dress over time can be examined, but also the influence of different receptor societies on Coptic dress and the use of the past in the legitimisation of the present.

Professor Luuk de Ligt (Ancient History): 3 November 2009, 16.00 (sharp) - 17:00 Eyckhof 2/004

The Population of Italy in the time of Augustus: Archaeological and Historical Perspectives

October 6th, 16.00 (sharp), Eyckhof 2/004
: Anna Russell

Of herders and flocks:
Developments in sheep and goat animal husbandry Late Neolithic Tell Sabi Abyad

Sheep and goats are the dominant species in the majority of Late Neolithic sites across the Fertile Crescent. These hardy medium ungulates form the basis of the animal husbandry at these sites and they are the staple food source together with domestic crops. In this presentation I will discuss the ovicaprids of Tell Sabi Abyad, a site located in the Balikh valley of northern Syria. Over 15,000 fragments ovicaprid bones were recorded and analysed from levels dated to 6900-5900 cal BC. Their role in the subsistence economy, the development of secondary product production and the possibility that semi-nomadic pastoralism took place in this period will be discussed.

22 September 2009: Professor Peter Pels

Temporalities of Transcendence at Çatalhöyük

Peter Pels is part of a group of non-archaeologists, including pre-eminent anthropologists, theologians, and philosophers, who have engaged interpretatively with the rich evidence from the Anatolian Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in a project funded by the Templeton Foundation to further its understanding. In this presentation he will share with us some of his ideas about transcendence at Çatalhöyük.

Webmaster archaeology – 09/03/2010