Archaeology Research Day hits Toronto this Friday

This Friday promises a feast for archaeology lovers in the Toronto area. The Archaeology Centre, at the University of Toronto, is holding Archaeology Research Day. It takes place from 10 am to 4 pm at Koffler House, 569 Spadina Ave., Room 108.

Fifteen presentations will be given on archaeology research happening all around the world. Its a free event and theres no registration. If youre interested in research involving ancient times, you will not be disappointed. Much of the research that is going to be presented dates to that era. Here are some of the highlights:

News From Syria

This is going to sound annoyingly vague, but the research find made by Dr. Robert Mason in Syria, which will be discussed at this event, is very important. I have a major story on this find that has been ready to go for nearly two weeks now. Unfortunately the researchers havent sent me the relevant photos yet and I dont want to publish this story without them. I hope to have a full report before the Friday presentation photos allowing, so please stay tuned for now.

Kingdom of Dian

Professor Alice Yao is a new member of the University of Toronto faculty. Her research looks at the expansion of the Chinese state during the time of the Han Dynasty (206 BC AD 220). Currently she is surveying southwest China, investigating a kingdom called ‘Dian’ that existed before the Han took over the region.

3D Reconstructions

There will be a chance to find out about the technology behind the latest virtual reconstructions when Jennifer Campbell discusses her 3D modelling work as part of the Caravanserai Networks Project. This project aims to analyze the trade routes that criss-crossed northwest Pakistan in Islamic times. Theyve conducted field research in Peshawar in the past.

Latest From Tayinat

Professor Tim Harrisons research at Tayinat has made plenty of headlines over the past year. Check out Heritage Keys in-depth interview with him.

Schedule (courtesy – Uof T Archaeology Centre)

  • 10:00-10:15 Welcome
  • 10:15-10:30 Genevieve Dewar: Adaptations to marginal environments in the Middle Stone Age
  • 10:30-10:45 Jill Hilditch: Talking pots and white dots: island interactions in the Middle Bronze Age Aegean
  • 10:45-11:00 Amy Barron: Assyrian Weapons of the First Millennium BCE
  • 11:00-11:15 Break
  • 11:15-11:30 Sally Stewart: Mastering the unknown: How early settlers in Cyprus mapped new landscapes and key resources
  • 11:30-11:40 Sarah Finkelstein: Paleoclimate records from the Canadian Arctic
  • 11:45-12:00 Ingrid Hehmeyer: Current fieldwork in Yemen: Water and waste in the medieval Islamic city
  • 12:00-12:15 Victor Ostapchuk: Historical Archaeology at Akkerman Fortress (Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky, Ukraine)
  • 12:15-1:30 Lunch
  • 1:30-1:45 Joe Deloges: River (In)Stability and Middle-to-Late Holocene Floodplain Occupation in Southern Ontario
  • 1:45-2:00 Alice Yao: Shellmounds and Imperial Cities: Archaeological Survey in Southwestern Yunnan, China
  • 2:00-2:15 Jennifer Campbell: Three Dimensional Modeling, Architectural Analysis, and the Caravanserai Networks Project
  • 2:15-2:30 Catherine Duff: Egyptian Imperialism in the Central Hill Country: Ceramic Continuity and Change
  • 2:30-2:45 Break
  • 2:45-3:00 Chris Watts: Keeping Animals in Mind: Personhood and Relationality in Iroquoian Animal Effigy Pipes
  • 3:00-3:15 Ramez Boutros: Excavating the Monastery of Saint Apollo, Bawit, Middle Egypt
  • 3:15-3:30 Robert Mason: An Enigmatic Arrangement of Rocks in the Syrian Desert
  • 3:30 3:45 Tim Harrison: Tablets, Temples, and Assyrian Imperialism at Tell Tayinat
  • 3:45-4:00 Final Remarks