Abstract: For more than three hundred years during the Late Bronze Age, from about 1500 BC to 1200 BC, the Mediterranean region played host to a complex international world in which Egyptians, Mycenaeans, Minoans, Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Cypriots, and Canaanites… Read More
UWM Sabin Hall
3413 N. Downer Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53211
War, Peace, and the Feast is a hands-on opportunity to experience the variety of ways that conflicts were contested, resolved, and prevented in the past as revealed in the archaeological record. We present three main themes about ancient conflict. First is the variety of ways in which conflicts could be contested. These contests could indeed be bloody wars, but also could take the form of smaller-scale ritual battles like those which are seen today in Chiaraje, Peru. Myths also tell of sporting events taking place for warfare. Indeed, sports are well-known as a measure for pausing conflicts, as was the case in the ancient Olympics. We might infer that periodic sporting events both created social bonds between participants and released tensions before they could break into bloodshed. Finally, we present feasting as a key method in which social bonds were created as a means to provide stability and prevent conflict. With competitive feasting, we see the themes of War, Peace, and the Feast come full circle.
International Archaeology Day will be celebrated here in Milwaukee on Saturday October 20, 2018, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on the UWM campus. Come to the first floor of UWM’s Sabin Hall (3413 N. Downer Ave.) and join us for an exciting afternoon doing archaeology with local specialists, ranging from experimental archaeology to helping identify and analyze ancient artifacts! FREE and open to the public. Fun for all ages!
This event is co-sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America, Milwaukee Society and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Departments of Anthropology, Art History, and FLL Classics Program.
Sabin Hall G90
Sunday, September 30, 3 PM, Sabin Hall G90
Abstract
Coinciding with the dawn of the Middle Mississippian Culture at the ancient city of Cahokia nearly 1,000 years ago, a group canoed over 500 miles up the Mississippi River to establish a settlement at Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Antiquarian records alluded to distinct platform mounds and exotic ceramics, but only recently has the age, extent, and purpose of Trempealeau’s very early Mississippian expression been thoroughly explored. Ongoing excavations since 2010 have revealed that the Cahokians carried ceramic vessels and a variety of flint stones from their homeland along with their architecture and religion to this far-flung yet short-lived outpost; and why they came to Trempealeau.
Bio
Robert “Ernie” Boszhardt is a Wisconsin archaeologist with over 40 years of experience. His research has focused on the unglaciated Driftless Area of western Wisconsin where he has studied and written extensively about nearly all aspects of that region’s archaeological heritage, including Paleoindian, Hopewell, Effigy Mounds, Oneota, rock art, and most recently Middle Mississippian. He currently is co-owner of Driftless Pathways LLC. with his wife Danielle Benden who together direct the Trempealeau Archaeology Project.
Boszhardt-authored books on the Trempealeau research and regional rock art will be available for purchase and signing at the talk.
Abstract Coinciding with the dawn of the Middle Mississippian Culture at the ancient city of Cahokia nearly 1,000 years ago, a group canoed over 500 miles up the Mississippi River to establish a settlement at Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Antiquarian records alluded… Read More
Recent PhD Kevin Garstki has accepted a post-doctoral position at the Institute for European and Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Buffalo (SUNY) for 2018-2019, where he will organize a conference and publication on 3-D digital modeling in archaeology: https://iema.buffalo.edu/people/…. Read More
Click Here to listen to Dr. Richards talk about UWM Anthropology’s important work on the Milwaukee County Poor Farm project!
PhD candidate Jessica Skinner’s thesis project is featured on the Graduate School’s Research page. Earlier this spring Jessica competed in the first ever 3 Minute Thesis competition at UWM and took second place! Follow the link to the article in… Read More
This year’s recipient of the Wisconsin Archaeological Society Research Award (WASRA) is Megan Thornton, a Masters student in the Department of Anthropology. The WASRA is a competitive award that annually provides funding to students and avocational archaeologists conducting research pertinent… Read More
Traci Billings (MS 2016) was accepted into a funded three-year PhD program at the Max Planck Institute in Jena, Germany, where she will be part of a team examining the use of psycho-active plants among the Steppe peoples in prehistory… Read More
Bettina Arnold is interviewed by WUWM about her research on feasting and fermentation in connection with the Science and Culture of Fermentation certificate program: http://wuwm.com/post/uwm-professors-discuss-science-fermentation#stream/0