2026 PRESENTATIONS
Dr. John Kantner Senior Associate Provost at the University of North Florida
Boundedness and Borders in the Chaco World
How are borders and boundaries identified in the ancient world? We recognize the importance of these phenomena today, but in the absence of residual features such as the Great Wall of China or Hadrian’s Wall, the “edges” of sociopolitical entities are difficult to find archaeologically. In this illustrated talk, Dr. John Kantner shares recent research he has conducted to identify the borders of the Chaco World, a mysterious tradition that was centered on Chaco Canyon 2,000 years ago in what is now northwestern New Mexico. Using data from pottery, obsidian, and architecture, Dr. Kantner presents the history of a Chaco World borderlands area and what it suggests about how this sociocultural tradition evolved over time.
Dr. Kantner's research focuses on the archaeology of ancient societies, particularly the processes by which complex social and political regional institutions emerged from communities of comparatively simple horticulturists. His research is explicitly comparative, and he has collaborated on projects throughout the United States, Costa Rica, and Peru. In addition to several books, that research appears in journals such as PNAS, Human Nature, Antiquity, Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, Journal of Anthropological Research, Journal of Archaeological Research, Journal of Archaeological Science, and Historical Archaeology.
Dr. Zachery Dunseth,
Associate Professor of Anthropology and the Kershaw Chair of the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands at the University of California San Diego
Dung and Desert Copper: Environmental Archaeology at the Macro and Micro Scale
Settlement patterns in the Negev desert (modern Israel) have experienced significant fluctuations over the past 6000 years. At certain times, the arid landscape was dotted with thousands of sites, including cities, villages, and farmsteads. In other periods, the desert periods were nearly devoid of evidence for human activity. This presentation will specifically focus on one of the earliest waves of large-scale settlement during the Early (c. 3300-2500 BCE) and Intermediate Bronze Ages (c. 2500-1950 BCE). Notably, the former period spans the rise and fall of urban cities to the north, and the latter spans the regional 4.2 kya ‘Megadrought’ aridification event. However, the motivation behind why these desert communities continue to grow and expand in an increasingly hostile environment during this time is still debated. I begin by explaining the foundation of my approach to studying desert lifeways. This framework is constructed based on experimental and geo-ethnoarchaeological insights gained from premodern Bedouin sites. I delve into both macro- and microarchaeological methods employed to investigate subsistence, animal rearing, and the copper industry across Negev sites. The discussion includes an examination of the results within the context of broader systems, including the desert, Egypt and the Levant during the 3rd millennium BCE. LEARN MORE ABOUT ZACHARYJen 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
2,000-Year-Old Game Boards Identified in China
SHAANXI PROVINCE, CHINA—Two Liubo game boards carved into square bricks have been found in two Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220) tombs in Xi’an, an ancient capital city in central China, according to The Greek Reporter. The rules of the game are not completely understood, but each player is thought to have controlled six game pieces by throwing sticks or dice. One of the game boards is carved on an otherwise plain brick, while the other is on a brick adorned with a geometric pattern. Most of the other known Liubo game boards were made of lacquered wood or stone. It is not clear if these boards were ever used, since they may have been intended to be symbolic versions of the game for burial. To read more about ancient Chinese games, go to "Artifact: Subeixi Game Balls."
Relief of Protective Deity Uncovered at Vindolanda
HEXHAM, ENGLAND—La Brújula Verde reports that a sculpture was excavated at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, by archaeologist Andrew Birley, Vindolanda’s excavation director. The carving represents a Roman genius, or protective deity, that had been buried beneath the floor of a barracks when it was built in the fourth century A.D. to ensure the safety, prosperity, and good fortune of the occupants. This genius is shown holding a cornucopia, a symbol of abundance and fertility, in one hand. The other hand holds a patera, or shallow plate used in ritual ceremonies to hold libations and offerings. Birley and his colleagues think the sculpture was carved locally. To read more about Vindolanda, go to "The Wall at the End of the Empire: Life on the Frontier."
Vindolanda was a Roman auxiliary fort (castrum) just south of Hadrian's Wall in northern England, which it pre-dated. Archaeological excavations of the site show it was under Roman occupation from roughly 85 AD to 370 AD. Located near the modern village of Bardon Mill in Northumberland, it guarded the Stanegate, the Roman road from the River Tyne to the Solway Firth. It is noted for the Vindolanda tablets, a set of wooden leaf-tablets that were, at the time of their discovery, the oldest surviving handwritten documents in Britain.
Early 18th-Century Tombstone of Free Black Man Identified in Boston
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS—Live Science reports that conservationists identified the gravestone of a formerly enslaved man who died in Boston in the early eighteenth century. The stone is located in the Granary Burying Ground, which was established in 1660 and contains more than 5,000 graves. “I was reviewing the photos of headstones, and then I noticed that the stone only had one name,” said Kelly Thomas of the Historic Burying Grounds Initiative for the Boston Parks and Recreation Department. She noted that enslaved people were often known by just one name. A search of historical records revealed that the man had been named Sebastian, or Bastian, but he changed his name to Boston. In 1701, Boston and his wife Jane Lake baptized their daughter at First Church in Boston. At the time, the two were both enslaved and lived in different households. Boston is thought to have been freed in 1702 after the death of John Waite, who held him in slavery. His name then appeared on a list of free Black people compiled in 1708. Boston’s obituary was published in the New England Weekly Journal, showing that he had been well known and respected as a hardworking handyman. In addition to his name, the stone is caved with a stylized skull flanked by wings known as a death’s head. The tombstone also records his death at the age of 70 on February 28, 1728, according to the Julian calendar. “That discovery is likely one of the oldest gravestones of a free Black person in America,” commented Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston. To read about excavations of a community razed in the early days of the American Revolution, go to "Letter from Boston: In the Shadow of Bunker Hill."
CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY MAGAZINE
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IN THIS ISSUE
Egypt's First Queen
How a trailblazing ruler pulled her realm back from the brink
Secrets of the Serpent
Is a Native American origin story embedded in Ohio’s colossal earthwork?
Slinging Insults
Greek and Roman soldiers fired pointed barbs at their enemies
Inside Africa’s Houses of Stone
Archaeologists are rethinking how kings shared power beyond the great capitals of medieval Zimbabwe
Tennis, Anyone?
Discovering the origins of the peculiar racket game that swept sixteenth-century France