1st Semester

4th April, 2008

ACT Heritage Unit Presentation (Rm E)

Indigenous Heritage in the ACT: annual grants program opportunities

Return to Seminars Page

11th April, 2008

Associate Professor Alison Betts, University of Sydney (Rm E)

Walking to the Gobi: external influences on the Zhunge'er Basin, Xinjiang in the Bronze Age

The Bronze Age of western China received strong influences from the west - from the Eurasian steppes to the north, and perhaps also from the southern oasis populations of Central Asia. Political isolation and the major linguistic divide between China and Russia have inhibited research in this remote and beautiful region, yet the limited data available indicate that it was a very significant area of cultural exchange and innovation. Recent Chinese-Australian collaborative research in the Zhunge'er Basin is beginning to lift the veil on the complexities of the Bronze Age past through the application of western methodology and expertise in Chinese, Russian and English language scholarship.

Return to Seminars Page

11th April, 2008

Dr Peter Jia (5pm Rm E) note special time

Recent Results from the Project of Archaeological Research in Xinjiang, China

Funded by ARC Discovery Grants, this is the study of early contact between East and West in Xinjiang prehistory. The project follows the prehistoric 'Silk Road' to trace the early settlers of ancient Indo-European and East Asian in Zhinge'er Basin which involves various archaeological fieldworks in this area.
The presentation will briefly introduce this fieldwork with some evidence found in the first year, which implicates a possible agricultural exchange between East and West during 1500-2000BC. Also some pottery sherds found from excavation may represent a mixed material culture among East and West. The East-West mixture is also implicated from the result of physical anthropology and DNA analysis.
The presentation will show the potential of the project for further research in various areas. Although archaeological research in Xinjiang is just beginning, some initial results may have already altered the past view in the rise of Chinese civilisation based on the development of metallurgical technologies and dispersal of wheat agriculture. It also brings a fresh view in understanding modern Chinese culture based on archaeological research in Xinjiang.

Return to Seminars Page

Mid-Semester Break

1st May, 2008

Dr Alistair Pike - University of Bristol (NB 1:30pm Rm '1.13' RegNet Building - Coombs Ext)

Isotopes and Archaeology: recent research at the Bristol Isotope Group

Return to Seminars Page

2nd May, 2008

Professor Osmund Bopearachchi (Sorbonne University) (Rm B)

Seafaring in the Indian Ocean: archaeological evidence from South India and Sri Lanka

The archaeological evidence obtained from the exploratory program on the organisation of maritime trade connected with the ancient ports on the western and southern coasts of Sri Lanka, launched by the French Mission of Archaeological Co-operation in Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka, throw much light on the growing body of evidence attesting the close cultural, social, religious and commercial ties between Sri Lanka and South India from the proto-historic period. The starting point of our investigations was the spatial distribution of ancient ports along the South Indian coasts. It is significant that ancient ports in South India were situated either on the banks or at the mouth of the rivers. Likewise, the most important characteristic of all the ancient ports around the Sri Lanka is their geographical situation at the estuaries of rivers. The location of emporia along rivers must have facilitated transactions with the interior regions.
There is no reason to believe that during the first three centuries of our era, Roman traders had direct connections with Sri Lanka. This was probably due to the time gap between the two monsoon winds, used for sailing which put Sri Lanka out of reach. During this period the South Indian traders may have played the intermediary role between Roman traders and Sri Lankans. Pliny's specific reference to the ships of Taprobane (Sri Lanka) carrying 3000 amphorae in contrast with the Roman vessels capable of carrying over 10, 000 amphorae shows that the navigation through the straits of Mannar was undertaken not by Romans but by Sri Lankans. On the contrary the great abundance of the Roman "third brass" in Sri Lanka may be a result of the revival of western powers through Axumite, Himyarite and Persian middlemen, which coincides with the foundation of Constantinople as the seat of the Roman empire on the one hand, and on the other hand, the gradual shift of the focus of trade from the south Indian coasts to Sri Lanka. Likewise by the fifth century Sri Lanka became the main centre of trade in the Indian Ocean. From this period onwards, the ports situated on the southern coast of Arabia, connected with the Axumite, Himyarite and Persian traders, played a vital role. The shifting of the starting points of the sea voyage from the Red Sea to the Arabian Sea, the evolution in the speed of ships and the direct sailing instead of the coastal navigation of the earlier periods made the journey to Sri Lanka and beyond easy. From this period onwards Sri Lanka was playing an important role in transmitting merchandise between East and West, a role once played by Western India.

Return to Seminars Page

16th May, 2008

Professor Timothy Darvill (Bournemouth University)
(NB: Haydon Allen 'Tank' 4:15pm)

Right Here! Right Now!: prehistory in popular culture

From Fat Boy Slim to XTC, the Beatles to Pink Floyd, rock musicians the world over have taken images, iconography, and ideas from prehistory as themes for their music, marketing, appearance, and mystique. In this lecture Professor Timothy Darvill of Bournemouth University, UK, dips into topics as diverse as rock art, the Pyramids of Egypt, and Stonehenge to show how ancient sites have taken their place in the development of rock and roll!

Return to Seminars Page

13th June, 2008

Quaternary Forum (Innovations Theatre 3pm)

TBA

Return to Seminars Page

27th June, 2008

Dr. Daniella Bar-Yosef - University of Haifa (Rm E)

Beads: From Foragers to Farmers in the Southern Levant

Return to Seminars Page

4th July, 2008

Quaternary Forum (Innovations Theatre 3pm)

TBA

Return to Seminars Page

2nd Semester

1st August, 2008

Quaternary Forum (Innovations Theatre 3pm)

TBA

Return to Seminars Page

15th August, 2008

Sandy Harrison - Bristol (Seminar Room 'B', 3:30pm )

Using the Past to Constrain the Future: palaeodata for climate-model evaluation

Sandy will give some examples of palaeodata syntheses and how these can be used to test models, drawing on the Palaeoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project work. She will also show some of the forward modelling that can be done to translate climate into palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

Return to Seminars Page

12th September, 2008

Quaternary Forum (Innovations Theatre 3pm)

TBA

Return to Seminars Page

Mid-Semester Break

10th October, 2008

Quaternary Forum (Innovations Theatre 3pm)

TBA

Return to Seminars Page

24th October, 2008

Ian Farrington, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, ANU (Rm B)

Puma People: felines and Inka identity

Return to Seminars Page

7th November, 2008

Quaternary Forum (Innovations Theatre 3pm)

TBA

Return to Seminars Page