Calendar of Events
Western Illinois Society
Archaeological Institute of America

Wednesday, October 8, 2003
“A Brief Overview of Human Prehistory in Western Illinois”
Lawrence Conrad, Archaeology Research Lab, Western Illinois University
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room, Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
The approximately 13,000 years of American Indian prehistory in west central Illinois will be discussed in a slide lecture illustrating sites, excavations and artifacts. The audience is encouraged to bring artifacts they would like to have identified by the speaker.

 Monday, October 20, 2003
“Treasures of the Macedonian Royal Tombs” 
Dr. Eugene Borza, Dept. of History, Penn State University (retired)
7:30 P.M. in the Olin Center Auditorium, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois
        A review of the last two decade’s discoveries of Macedonian tombs, with a special emphasis on the architecture and grave goods of the royal tombs at Vergina as evidence of the wealth and taste of the Macedonians.  The excavation of this material-including painting, ivory sculpture, gold and silver vessels, and jewelry, and a variety of other grave goods-has forced a reevaluation of the ancient Macedonian royalty and gentry, who now appear to have acquired sufficient wealth to acquire from abroad or to manufacture at home a variety of high-quality objects.  The grave goods also reveal some information about the religion and the burial customs of a people who differed in some respects from their Greek neighbors.  This survey includes some discussion of the identity of the persons interred in the tombs, including what some believe are the remains of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.

Tuesday, October 21, 2003
“That Old Ruin, the Parthenon”
Dr. Eugene Borza, Dept. of History, Penn State University (retired)
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room, Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
        The crowning glory of the Athenian acropolis, the great temples of the goddess Athena known as the Parthenon is perhaps the most widely acknowledged symbol of the ancient Greeks.  This lecture traces the post-Classical history of the Parthenon as a church and mosque, and recounts the destruction of the building as a ruin, and the early attempts at restoration following the establishment of the modern Greek state in the 1830s.  It then moves to a description of the present ongoing restoration of the Parthenon. The lecture not only relates the technical processes that intend to halt and repair the deterioration of the building, but it also considers the historical and cultural context of a restored Parthenon as a symbol of the resurrected Greek nation. 

Thursday, November 13, 2003
“Ab Urbe Condita in Terra Nova: State Formation in Central Mexico in Myth and Reality”
Víctor M. Martínez, Ph.D. student in Archaeology at the University of Illinois

It is said that location is everything when making a home. In pre-colonial Central Mexico, location was paramount. The place of rulership was defined more by the site than by the individual. Even after a city-state’s demise, it often continued to enjoy a level of venerability from later centers. This talk explores how a few sites, including Teotihuacan and Tenochtitlan, developed as states and how their archaeological remains and early developments have spun elaborate histories, some ancient; some modern.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004    
“Archaeology and Soil Conservation”
Ms. Sharron Santure, Cultural Resources Specialist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
7:30 P.M. in the Huff Center Classrooms 1012 A & B, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
Issues of land management and concerns about preserving archaeological sites often intersect, especially in the rich archaeological landscape of western Illinois.  In this presentation, an archaeologist with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service will demonstrate how archaeological sites are being identified and protected during soil conservation activities in western Illinois farmland.                                                           

Monday, March 15, 2004
“The Sculpture of Ancient Cyprus: Portraits of a Culture”
Dr. Pamela Gaber, Director of Education, Temple Emanu-El, Tucson, AZ; Director, University of Arizona Expedition to Idalion, Cyprus
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room, Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
Since the 19th century Cypriote sculpture has been primarily studied by Classicists who have classified, studied and evaluated it in comparison and contrast to the sculpture of ancient Greece. Seen in its proper historical and cultural milieu, the sculpture of ancient Cyprus falls clearly in the Near Eastern votive tradition. Once seen in this context it becomes easier to see how the products of the prolific sculptural schools of Cyprus functioned in their culture. Old ideas of chronology must be reevaluated, and a picture of a thriving sculpture trade emerges. We can recognize the output of different regions, different towns, and in some cases, even the work of individual hands. The sculpture becomes a living, breathing artifact that can tell us about trade and religion as well as about art.

 Monday, April 5, 2004
“‘Sharers of the Same Shade’: Byzantines and Ottomans in early 14th century Bursa (Bithynia)”
Suna Cagaptay-Arikan, Ph.D. candidate in Architecture at the University of Illinois
7:30 P.M. in the Highlander Room, Stockdale Center, Monmouth College, Monmouth, Illinois
An archaeological study of the reuse of Byzantine buildings (churches, baptisteries) for Ottoman and Islamic purposes (turbes) to demonstrate a constant cultural, architectural, and social overlap in early 14th century Bithynia. Issues like the fluidity and liquidity of identities-frontier related problems and ethnic identity and their reflection on architecture at that period will be examined.

This material has been published on the web by Prof. Tom Sienkewicz for his students at Monmouth College. If you have any questions, you can contact him at toms@monm.edu.