The Archaeological Institute of America’s Archaeology Abridged series presents:

Traitors or Native Conquistadors? The Role of Tlaxcala in the Fall of Aztec Mexico

A free lecture by David Carballo on Thursday, March 23 at 1pm CT

Following three centuries of colonial rule, when Mexicans achieved their independence from Spain they embraced prehispanic cultural symbols and labelled Indigenous groups who had allied with Spaniards in the sixteenth century as “traitors”, particularly the traditional Mexica-Aztec foes, the Tlaxcaltecs. Recent scholarship has questioned such categorizations as a simplification of Native agency in a time of European colonial expansion. In this talk, David Carballo will provide an overview of Tlaxcaltec resistance and resilience both during the Aztec period and early New Spain. Register at https://www.archaeological.org/march-virtual-lectures-with-david-carballo/.

The Milwaukee Area Biblical Archaeology Society presents:

Early Christian Travel in Macedonia and Greece

A free lecture by Dr. Glen L. Thompson on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 at 7:30 PM

At Reichel Lecture Hall, FM15, Wisconsin Lutheran College and live online on Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/99429889086. Dr. Thompson is currently leading a tour in Greece and will present an update on his research on Roman roads that the apostle Paul may have used in Greece during his travels.

The UWM at Waukesha Library and the Organization de Lideres Latino Americanos (OLLA) student organization at the Waukesha campus are pleased to announce an art exhibit:

 Arte de Quilotoa: Ecuadorian Art in Response to the COVID Pandemic

Opening reception on Tuesday, March 28th at noon in the UWM at Waukesha Library. Light refreshments will be served.

The exhibit consists of twelve contemporary paintings by Indigenous artists from the rural community of Quilotoa. These works reflect the impact that COVID has had on indigenous communities in the South American country and were commissioned as part of an ongoing research project by UWM at Waukesha anthropology faculty member, Joe Quick. Dr. Quick’s dissertation (UW Madison, 2018) is on indigenous development and institution-building in the highlands of Ecuador. The paintings will become part of the permanent art collection at the Waukesha campus. On display in the library from March 28 through May 26.

ASU Publication Workshop

April 7^th at noon in Sabin 332

Come hear how it is done by those who have done and are continuing to do it!. All of our presenters have first-hand experience with the publication process, as authors, editorial assistants and editors. Speakers include Professor Emily Middleton, Dr. Richard Edwards, and Field Notes editor-in-chief, Ann Eberwein.

Water insecurity, human health, and well-being in Indonesia and Peru

Dr. Paula Skye Tallman
Assistant Professor, Dept of Anthropology, Loyola University Chicago

Friday, March 3, 2023 at 3:30 pm
Sabin Hall G28 (3413 North Downer Avenue, Milwaukee)

Abstract: Globally, scientists are finding an alarming link between water insecurity, or the inability to access and benefit from affordable, adequate, reliable, and safe water, and human health and well-being. This talk presents multi-disciplinary research in Indonesia and Peru about the relationship between water insecurity and multiple forms of mental and physical health. This work documents associations between water insecurity and measures of human biology, depression, and experiences of gender-based violence. The research highlights how anthropologists can work with global health and conservation experts to understand and address issues of contemporary concern.

Speaker: Dr. Paula Skye Tallman is an Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology at Loyola University Chicago. Her research integrates theory and methods from anthropology and global health to examine how environmental factors are linked to human biology, health, and well-being. Dr. Tallman received her B.A. in Behavioral Biology from Johns Hopkins University, her Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology from Northwestern University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship focused on indigenous well-being and conservation at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Her work has been supported by funds from the British Academy, the National Science Foundation, and the Wenner-Gren Foundation.

The Scarcity Slot: Excavating Histories of Food Security in West Africa

Professor Amanda L. Logan
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology
Northwest​ern University

Friday, February 3, 2023 @ 3:30 pm 
Sabin Hall G28 (3413 North Downer Avenue, Milwaukee)

Abstract: African foodways have been viewed through the lens of ‘the scarcity slot,’ a kind of Othering based on presumed differences in resources. Combining archaeological, historical, and environmental data with food ethnography, I illustrate how a longue durée approach can combat these stereotypes. Drawing on a case study in Banda, west-central Ghana, I show that people maintained high food security during the worst drought on record in the last millennium, lasting from 1400-1650, in part through diverse economic strategies. Seasonal chronic food insecurity increased in severity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in association with changing labor dynamics and market economies further institutionalized under British colonial rule. This long-term view challenges notions of the African continent as a forever food scarce place, and suggests that the past can act as an inspiration for food secure futures.

Amanda Logan is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University with affiliations in the Program of African Studies, Program in Environmental Policy and Culture, and the Buffett Institute for Global Studies. She studies how underdevelopment and other political and economic shifts have helped create food insecurity across the African continent. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. She is the author of The Scarcity Slot: Excavating Histories of African Food Security (University of California Press 2020) and articles in American Anthropologist, African Archaeological Review, among many other journals