Past Events

Bridget A. Alex, PhD, SAPIENS Magazine

Dr. Alex is the archaeology and biological anthropology editor for SAPIENS, a digital magazine produced by anthropologists for the public. As a freelance writer, she has published more than 140 popular science stories for outlets including Discover, Science, Archaeology, Atlas Obscura, and Smithsonian. Bridget has taught anthropology and science communication at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena City College, and Harvard University. 

Dr. Alex earned her Ph.D. in archaeology and human evolutionary biology from Harvard. Supported by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Program, and other awards, her research focused on the spread of Homo sapiens and extinction of other humans, such as Neanderthals, over the past 200,000 years. More broadly, she used biogeochemical methods like radiocarbon dating to reconstruct the chronology and biogeography of past human groups. This methodological expertise allowed her to work and publish on diverse archaeological contexts including Paleolithic Eurasia, Stone Age Africa, Iron Age Near East, Moche South America, and Teotihuacan-era Mesoamerica.

Great research is not enough. Archaeologists must effectively communicate their work to non-archaeologists, including scholars in other fields, funding agencies, journalists, and diverse publics. However, few archaeologists are trained to write for non-specialists. This seminar will provide a foundation for researchers who want to write or create content for diverse audiences. After reviewing the challenges and opportunities of public communication, the seminar will deliver technical and artistic guidance on the craft of public writing. The session will discuss story structure, audience characterization, and the qualities of engaging, accessible prose. By analyzing exemplary models from public-facing pieces, the instructor will distill elements that make pop-science writing effective and sometimes beautiful. Participants will develop their public writing skills and learn the steps to publishing with popular media outlets. They will also compose (and come away with) short descriptions of research ready to share with public audiences.

1. Review potential risks and rewards of public communication
2. Discuss elements of public writing, including structure, story-telling, and accessibility
3. Summarize the process of writing for popular media outlets from pitch to publication

Alanna Ossa, PhD, RPA, SUNY Oswego, Department of Anthropology

Dr. Ossa has over 22 years of experience in archaeology including 11 years in a Cultural Resource Management setting. Before joining SUNY Oswego as tenure-track faculty, she worked for ACS (Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd.), the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Comparative Archaeology, the Department of Anthropology at Arizona State University, the Office of Cultural Resource Management at Arizona State University, and the Cultural Resource Management Program at the Gila River Indian Community. To date, she continues to do consulting work through Logan Simpson Design for the Gila River Indian Community. From 2001 to 2008, she worked as an archaeological database consultant for the Cultural Resource Management Program at the Gila River Indian Community. Prior to that, she taught an intensive course in SQL (Structured Query Language) to IT professionals. For the purposes of the course, she wrote a brief SQL Tutorial and introduction. As ACS’ Senior Ceramic Analyst, and lab manager prior to joining the faculty at SUNY Oswego, she analyzed ceramic materials and wrote the reports on ceramic materials from testing, data recovery, and monitoring projects, and was responsible for curation from beginning to end. She has experience with collections from central Arizona, central New Mexico, the Northeast (Iroquois), and several locations in Mexico including the Gulf coast (Veracruz), central Highlands, and the West coast.

This class is designed for both beginners and experienced users of archaeological data or collections focused databases. In this class you will learn how to treat your database creation as a component of research design based on common units in archaeology analysis and collections. You will learn the basic archaeological database and collections database architecture and apply these to relational database design. By the end of the class, you should be able to recognize basic principles of effective database organization and be able to avoid common pitfalls in database organization and curation practice. We will practice and identify guidelines for effective data fields, analysis forms, and practice how to deal with database changes (and analysis changes) using an example database. Participants in this course will be encouraged to come with their own data questions and structures to practice with during the practicum portion.

1. Describe how database creation is an important component of research design in archaeology
2. Identify basic archaeological database architecture using common examples from real-life databases
3. Demonstrate how to apply relational database structures to common archaeological organizational challenges using museum and research project examples
4. Outline strategies to handle database changes by creating flexible data structures as applied to archaeological data with practical examples

Anubhav Preet Kaur, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali

The role of environmental stimuli in human evolution, expansion and extinction has been highlighted time and again by scholars. Global climate changes from forest-dominated to grassland-dominated environments in the Plio-Pleistocene period have been identified as an important factor for hominin dispersal around the Old World. However, in light of recent research this priority is being questioned and debated. Fossils of Homo erectus, one of the first known early human species to expand outside of Africa, have been discovered from Early Pleistocene deposits of East Europe, West Asia, and Southeast Asia, thereby placing the Indian Subcontinent in general - and the Siwalik Hills in particular - as an important dispersal route. However, apart from the chronologically and taxonomically ambiguous Hathnora cranium, no unequivocal fossil hominin remains have yet been reported from the region. Based on the presence of fauna often associated with Homo erectus, like Theropithecus oswaldi, Hippopotamus, and Megantereon in the Early-Middle Pleistocene deposits of the Siwalik Hills, scholars have predicted the presence of hominin remains in the region, yet none have been found. Currently, lithic artifacts are the only known signatures of hominin occupation in the region, primarily occurring as surface deposits without secure dates. The Pinjore Formation (2.58-0.63Ma), north of Chandigarh represents the most extensive and the only continuous Early-Middle Pleistocene deposit in the region with a rich record of fossilized vertebrate remains and recently, ostrich eggshells. In light of absence of stratified lithic deposit and secure dates, palaeoecological and faunal analogies with other Early-Middle Pleistocene hominin bearing sites, can provide an adequate explanation for presence or absence of hominins in the region.

The Student Affairs Lecture Series in Archaeology (SALSA) provides an opportunity to hear student members present on their current research as well as a space to discuss and connect with other students.