News and Notes

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA--NORTH ALABAMA SOCIETY

banner image: Moundville, Alabama

11.11.13

AIA Talk: Athens of the South: Nashville Parthenon and Athena 13 November 2013

Dr. Barbara Tsakirgis of Vanderbilt University is a classical archaeologist who specializes in the study of ancient Greek houses and households. She received her Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from Princeton.  She has excavated in Italy, Sicily, and Greece, and has been conducting excavations at the Athenian Agora since 1993. Dr. Tsakirgis will be giving two talks one on Greek archaeology and one on the recreation of the Parthenon in Nashville. Both talks are free and open to the public. Please come and bring a friend!  


"Opening the Door to the Greek House"
2:20 PM 13 November
Wilson Hall 168 UAH Campus

"Athens of the South:  Nashville Parthenon and Athena"
7:30 PM 13 November
Chan Auditorium UAH Campus

14.10.13

International Archaeology Day! Lowe Mill, 19 October 2013

Greetings Members and Friends of the AIA,
This Saturday, October 19th is International Archaeology Day!
Several local archaeology groups will be joining together to host an Archaeology Fair.

Lowe Mill Dock and Lawn from 1:00-4:00 PM
2211 Seminole Dr. Huntsville, Alabama 35805
  • Tennessee Valley Archaeological Research will open labs for tours
  • TVA will have ceramic activities for kids
  • Expert flint-knapper Tim Baker will do demonstrations
  • Oakville Indian Mounds Museum staff will teach atl-atl throwing
  • Huntsville City Schools’ Earthscope will have Native American games 
  • Alabama Archaeological Society, the Alabama National Guard, and other organizations will have tables with information and activities
  • Archaeologists from TVA and Redstone Arsenal will be identifying artifacts as well as accepting donated artifacts, particularly those that were collected in the past from public land
  •  7 PM at UAH Theatre
    Jeannine Windham
    Registered Public Archaeologist
    “Eating in the Valley: Woodland Foodways along the Tennessee River”
 Please feel free to tell friends about these events. It will be three hours of fun and learning at Lowe Mill and then a fascinating look at archaeology in our back yard that evening.

17.9.13

AIA Talk: Ancient Languages 23 September 7:30 PM



Dr. Kevin McGeough has graduate degrees from Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania and teaches at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. He has done fieldwork in Israel, Turkey, Jordan, and Egypt and is a specialist in ancient economies and languages.

In his evening talk, Dr. McGeough will introduce the languages of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, describe the history of the alphabet, explore how ancient scripts were deciphered, demonstrate some of the peculiar features of ancient writing, and examine some of the different approaches world cultures have taken to expressing their ideas in written words. 

The next day he will discuss how the conventions used by ancient Near Eastern artists remained stable across shifting political and social situations. Dr. McGeough will explain how to “read” the basics of ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian visual culture.

Puzzling Out Ancient Languages or How an Evil Bird becomes a Word and A Horizontal Wedge becomes a Fish
WHERE:  Wilson Hall Theatre, UAH campus
WHEN:  7:30 PM Monday 23 September


"Reading" Ancient Near Eastern Art
WHERE:  Wilson Hall 168, UAH Campus
WHEN:  12:45 PM 24 September

4.9.13

AIA Talk: The Osiris Temple in Abydos 11 September 2013

Dr. Michelle Marlar, recently of Morehouse College in Atlanta and currently a visiting professor at UAH, is an Egyptologist with her doctorate from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University.  Dr. Marlar does fieldwork at Abydos.  The Osiris Temple there is one of the most important sacred sites in all of ancient Egypt.  The site was long a center of worship with a record of inscriptions and building; it was a pilgrimage destination during the Middle Kingdom.  The location of the temple was a mystery until it was discovered by NYU experts in 2003.  You can read more about the on-going investigations here

Talk:  The Osiris Temple in Abydos:  An Offering which the King Gives
When:  11 September 2013 7:30 PM
Where:  Wilson Hall Theatre, UAH Campus

The talk is free and open to the public.  Please come and bring a friend!

Excavate! Our Society's Newsletter, Volume 27!

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