2026 PRESENTATIONS
Jen Green, MA, RPA, Curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History
History of South Florida Archaeology Through Curation-Based Stories at the Florida Museum of Natural History
The lecture presents a history of the archaeology of South Florida enriched through the records of the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The South Florida collections at the FLMNH are expansive and represent over 300 discrete archaeological sites across the thirteen southernmost counties. Using curation-based stories, Green will discuss the breadth of the collections housed at the museum from Lake Okeechobee to the Keys and Gulf to the Atlantic coasts. Dozens of archaeologists and their teams have contributed to the rich history of the collections over the last 130 years, and their fascinating contributions have shaped our understanding of the field.
Jennifer Green grew up surrounded by the sub-tropical diversity of Southern Florida, where she spent most of her time exploring outside. Interested in archaeology from an early age, she found a natural progression to studying the Indigenous cultures that once inhabited the landscape around her. Green received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in anthropology from Florida Atlantic University, where she studied the pre-Columbian history of southern Florida. After a short stint at the University of Tennessee to obtain a doctoral degree, she’s glad to be back in the Sunshine State, where she recently joined the Florida Museum of Natural History as its new collections manager for South Florida archaeology and ethnography.
Dr. Jesse Obert, Professor at the University of South Florida
Social Networks & Cyborgs: Cretan Warriorhood in the Archaic Period
Dr. Obert presents a new narrative for Cretan warriorhood, focusing in particular on the archaeological evidence for violence on Crete between 700 and 300 BCE. He argues that the incongruity of Cretan warriorhood reflects two distinct ideologies of violence that were concentrated in specific types of ritual space: collaborative camaraderie on the one hand and antagonistic individuality on the other. Despite this opposition, Cretans had to balance both narratives simultaneously, which ultimately developed warriorhood into a full-time vocation. This unique and complex system guaranteed the wealthiest Cretans coveted positions at the top of the socio-political hierarchy, regardless of their appearance, background, or personal identity. These accessible yet gatekept identities set the tenor for military power on Crete in the centuries that followed--the systems that Plato praised in the fourth century were the product of a long-standing and deeply entrenched ideological conflict that had raged across Crete since the seventh century.
Jesse Obert is an interdisciplinary scholar working primarily in the fields of ancient history, archaeology, classics, and digital humanities. He completed his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology and also holds an MA from University College London in Ancient History. He studies violence, warfare, enslavement, exploitation, and inequality in the ancient Greek world.
Dr. David Gilman Romano, Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Arizona
The Sanctuary of Zeus and Sanctuary of Pan at Mt. Lykaion
Recent research at Mt. Lykaion, both at the southern summit of the mountain at the Sanctuary of Zeus and in the lower mountain meadow at the Sanctuary of Pan, is leading to new understandings about cult practices at this ancient site in Greece. Answering questions about the origins of Greek cult and Greek athletics are at the heart of the agenda of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project. Since 2004 the project has been working at the site of the Sanctuary of Zeus. The project is co-sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the University of Arizona and the Greek Archaeological Service under the auspices of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.
I am a Classical Archaeologist interested in both the Greek and Roman worlds. My specific interests include the study of ancient cities and sanctuaries, architecture, athletics and computerized applications in archaeology. The Archaeological Mapping Lab, which I direct, works in the fields of digital cartography, GIS, remote sensing, spatial analytical studies as well as databases. Since 2003 I have been the co-Director (with M.E. Voyatzis) of the Mt. Lykaion Excavation and Survey Project, working at the Sanctuary of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion in Arcadia. Since 1987 I have been the Director of the Corinth Computer Project, undertaking a long term study of the planning of Roman Corinth. Since 2004 I have been the Director of Digital Augustan Rome.
RECENT ARCHAEOLOGY NEWS
Computer Study Tracks Paleolithic Marks and Symbols
SAARBRÜCKEN, GERMANY—According to a statement released by Saarland University, repeated lines, notches, dots, and crosses etched on Paleolithic artifacts some 40,000 years ago exhibit the same level of complexity and information density as proto-cuneiform script, which emerged around 3000 B.C. Linguist Christian Bentz of Saarland University and archaeologist Ewa Dutkiewicz of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in Berlin used computers to analyze the statistical properties of more than 3,000 signs on 260 Paleolithic artifacts. “We hypothesized that the early proto-cuneiform script would be more similar to the writing systems of today, especially due to their relative proximity in time,” Dutkiewicz said. “Yet the more we studied them, the clearer it became that the earlier proto-cuneiform script is very similar to the much older Paleolithic sign sequences,” she continued. The study may eventually help researchers narrow down potential interpretations of what information the marks might have conveyed to Paleolithic people, Dutkiewicz concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read about the origins of an early script known from inscriptions found on the Sinai Peninsula, go to "Primordial Alphabet Soup."
Study Pushes Back Occupation of Southern Argentina Site by 500 Years
GUAYAQUIL, ECUADOR—According to a statement released by the Polytechnic School of the Coast, between 1,500 and 400 years ago, hunter-gatherers consumed guanaco, armadillo, birds, and large rodents at the site of Zoko Andi 1, which is located in Argentina’s transition zone between the Pampas and Patagonia. Gustavo Martínez of the National University of Central Buenos Aires and his colleagues determined that this use of the site is about 500 years earlier than previously thought. In addition to serving as a camp, the site may have been used for ritual purposes, since burials were also uncovered. This connection to ancestors may have continued to draw people to the site for centuries, the researchers concluded. To read about evidence for early hunter-gatherers in western Argentina, go to "Off the Grid: Barrancas River Valley, Argentina."
Sacred Road Mapped in Northern Peru’s Chicama Valley
TRUJILLO, PERU—A sacred road stretching for more than a mile has been mapped in northern Peru’s Chicama Valley with drones, Andina reports. The straight stone line, which cuts across ravines and open terrain, is thought to have been used by the Chimú people as a ceremonial route linking a fortified settlement, agricultural fields, and a ceremonial complex, said archaeologist Henry Tantaleán of the Chicama Archaeological Program. The aerial imagery has allowed researchers to map the geoglyph in its entirety. The team also noted that agricultural fields along the route had serpentine furrows and were watered with secondary canals that branched from the Gran Canal de la Cumbre. Soil samples from the agricultural fields are being tested for phytoliths and pollen, which would show what crops were cultivated. A stone platform and a rectangular plaza were also found along the sacred road. Tantaleán thinks this open space may have been used for large ritual gatherings linked to agricultural cycles and the organization of agricultural work. To read about the origins of a mile-long pattern in Peru's coastal desert, go to "Return to Serpent Mountain."
CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE
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IN THIS ISSUE
Model Homes
A look inside miniature worlds created for the living, the dead, and the divine
Pompeii's House of Dionysian Delights
Vivid frescoes in an opulent dining room celebrate the wild rites of the wine god
Return to Serpent Mountain
Discovering the true origins of an enigmatic mile-long pattern in Peru’s coastal desert
Himalayan High Art
In a remote region of India, archaeologists trace 4,000 years of history through a vast collection of petroglyphs
What Happened in Goyet Cave?
New analysis of Neanderthal remains reveals surprisingly grim secrets