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The Toronto Society is one of the oldest of over one hundred local AIA Societies throughout North America.
Local Societies provide a vehicle for people interested in archaeology to meet one another, to learn about new discoveries, and to hear from scholars about their current research.
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Monthly Archives: September 2012
The Humble Dead: Mortuary Ritual in the Mycenaean Hinterland
Our final lecture for the 2012 – 2013 season is by Dr. R. Angus Smith, Classics at Brock University. Abstract: This paper concerns evidence for mortuary ritual from the Mycenaean cemetery of Ayia Sotira near Koutsomodi in the Nemea Valley. During … Continue reading
From Dunhuang (P.R. China): The Oldest Star Atlas
Our sixth lecture is by Dr. Nicholas David, professor emeritus of the Anthropology Department of the University of Calgary. Abstract: The Dunhuang star atlas was discovered in 1907 by Aurel Stein, the Hungarian-British explorer, in a town on the ancient Silk … Continue reading
The Past on Display: A Curatorial Perspective
Our fifth lecture is by Dr. Catherine Lucinda Cooper, Rebanks Research Fellow in Classical Archaeology, Royal Ontario Museum. Abstract: Museums are one of the most public arenas of engagement with classical antiquity. The highly visual experience of the museum encounter is … Continue reading
In Search of Moses: Khirbat al-Mukhayyat and the importance of pilgrimage in Byzantine Jordan
Our fourth lecture is by Dr. Debra Foran , Tell Madaba Archaeology Project. Abstract: Mount Nebo is well known as the site where Moses saw the promised land and was told he would never enter. The importance of this area as … Continue reading
Mobility and Symbolism in Middle Bronze Age Europe
Our third lecture is by Paul R. Duffy, SSHRC Postdoctural Fellow at the University of Toronto. Abstract: What do the Kivik stone glyphs in Sweden, the Mycenaean shaft graves in Greece, and the bronze axe hordes of eastern Hungary all … Continue reading
Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
Our second lecture is by Dr. William FitzHugh of the Anthropology Department of the Smithsonian Institute. Abstract: Vikings: the North Atlantic Saga” explores the little-known story of the dramatic Viking/Norse expansion across the North Atlantic from 850-1000, and their explorations … Continue reading
Inuit Kayak Hunting in Greenland: An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective
Our first lecture of the season is by Matthew Walls, Anthropology, University of Toronto. Abstract: In Greenland, a community has been working to ensure that kayak hunting continues as a living tradition. They follow designs that their ancestors have used … Continue reading