Category Archives: Research Seminars

Research Seminar #8: PG takeover!

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We were treated to a very different kind of research seminar on Friday when three of our PhD researchers bravely took the stage to present on their work. The three students had recently given these papers at EAA Glasgow and were invited to share them with the department, which was great for those who couldn’t make it to Scotland in September! In a break from the usual format, each student gave a 20 minute presentation followed by questions. The turnout was fantastic, it was great to see such support for postgraduate research! There was even a live tweet going on – follow it with the hashtag #PGtakeover.

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Research Seminar #6: “A reinterpretation of Middle-Eastern Neolithic mortuary practices” by Dr. Karina Croucher

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skull

Plastered skull now in the collection of the British Museum, from Jericho, Israel, 7000-6000 BC. Photo credit: British Museum

Dr. Kroucher’s talk discussed the plastered skulls sometimes found in burials across the Near Eastern Neolithic, at sites including Ein Ghazal and Chatalhoyuk. Approximately 90 skulls have been recovered from across the Near East where the skull of an individual has been plastered over after death and decomposition. Some plastered skulls have shells or stones in place for eyes, and sometimes colourings such as browns or pinks were used probably to make the skull look more life-like. An absence of plaster on most skulls where hair would have been has led some researchers to suggest that wigs or hair may have been attached to the skulls. The reasons for some skulls being plastered and displayed are unclear and Dr. Kroucher’s research questions related to understanding the practice of skull-plastering and whether we can use contemporary theories of grief and mourning to inform on past mortuary practices.

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Research Seminar #5: “Metalwork and the Chiefly Technologies of the Recuay Culture” by Dr. George Lau

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requayOur visiting speaker last Friday was Dr. George Lau of the University of East Anglia. He delivered an artefact rich presentation entitled “Metalwork and the Chiefly Technologies of the Recuay Culture (AD1-700), North Highlands of Peru”.

Dr. Lau first introduced the Recuay culture in the context of its environment and its contemporaries. The highland landscape was particularly well suited to camelid herding and tuber agriculture. The culture and its contemporaries are in a region known for their fantastically detailed pottery showing symbolism and social hierarchy, which links aspects of society such as ancestor veneration and warrior leaders.

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Research Seminar #4: “Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, SD” by Prof. Alan Outram

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outram lecture

On Friday we were incredibly grateful to Professor Alan Outram, our head of department, for stepping in a short notice when our scheduled talk was postponed. Dr. Marisa Lazzari, the coordinator of our departmental seminar series, jokingly suggested that “as a research intensive department, we always have a research talk on hand”! Professor Outram’s talk was entitled:

Mitchell Prehistoric Indian Village, South Dakota: Economy and Connectivity of the Earliest Agriculturalists on the Northern Plains.

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Research Seminar #3: “The Enisala grave: Bioarchaeology, social status, health care and ethnicity” by Prof. Florin Curta

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Our third departmental research seminar this series was on Friday 16th October. Following the theme of funerary practices, Prof. Florin Curta of the University of Florida presented: “The Enisala grave: Bioarchaeology, social status, health care and ethnicity in early 7th century Dobrudja (Romania).

The female grave in Enisala (photo by S. Ailincăi) (Ailincăi et al., 2014)

The female grave in Enisala (photo by S. Ailincăi) (Ailincăi et al., 2014)

Prof. Curta provided an alternative view to the interpretation of grave goods and ethnicity. He challenged the assumption that social ethnicity represents social reality and the emphasis placed on material culture items to define group boundary markers. Rather than using items as identity markers, he suggests that they may have been used to create new ethnic identities by combining characteristic elements from other regions and recognised ethnic groups. The example of the Enisala grave provides evidence for such a combination.

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Research Seminar #2: “Landscape, bodies and historical trajectories” by Dr. Leticia Cortés

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20151009_135921On Friday 9th October we were treated to the second instalment of the departmental research seminar series here in archaeology. Continuing the funerary theme of last week, Dr. Leticia Cortés from CONICET-U/ Buenos Aires delivered a presentation on her PhD research topic: “Landscape, bodies and historical trajectories: funerary practices of the southern Cajón Valley (North-western Argentina, 6000-1300 BP).  The sites studied in the presentation were two villages, Cardonal and Bordo Marcial, dated to circa 2000BP. Burials in the area are found in tombs and cemeteries that span from 6000BP to 1300BP. The burials pre- and post-date the settlement occupations, but there are contemporary internments also.

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Research Seminar #1: “The Shaft Grave Penthesileia” by Dr. Kristin Leith

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Term has begun anew and that means more excellent opportunities to engage with research by some of the world’s leading academics in any and all fields of archaeology. The first research seminar kicked off with a paper by Exeter’s own Dr. Kristin Leith entitled:

“The Shaft Grave Penthesileia: An investigation of Burial 58 Myc and a critique of the use of ‘domaining’ to explain Mycenaean culture”

Boar's Tusk Helmet

Boar’s Tusk Helmet (wikipedia)

Kristin elaborated on some of her PhD investigations into gender roles linked with martial equipment in the Aegean Bronze Age and in particular the Mycenaean Shaft Grave B complex. Her focus on Friday was one burial in particular: that of the female called Burial 58 Mycenae. The grave complex, containing 17 burials and a huge wealth of grave goods including swords, daggers, arrows, and a rather spectacular looking boar’s tusk helmet, has long been associated with male warrior identities and presumed to represent the hierarchical nature of society; Kristin’s analysis of the female burials and the associated grave goods addressed the potential flaws in this interpretation.

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