Archaeological Projects in Belize and Turkey Focus of October 7 Presentations at Trent University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Community Invited to Attend Free Presentations Examining Byzantine Lifestyles and the Collapse of Maya Society

Friday, October 3, 2008, Peterborough

The Trent University Archaeological Research Centre (TUARC) invites the community to attend the inaugural lectures of the 2008-09 academic year, to be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2008, at 5 p.m. in Otonabee College Room 109.

This presentation will feature two seasoned Trent archaeologists, starting with Dr. Hugh Elton, chair of Ancient History and Classics, who will discuss the Avkat Archaeological Project in Turkey. The second lecture will be given by anthropologist Dr. Gyles Iannone, associate vice-president of research, who will present on his field work in Maya archaeology at Minanha, Belize.

Professor Elton will present an overview of the Avkat project which aims to address basic but important questions about how the people of Avkat lived, laboured, and traveled in the region, from prehistoric times to the Ottoman era. Relatively little is known about how these residents of central Anatolia lived or how they communicated and traded with their neighbours. Together with his colleagues, Prof. Elton hopes to survey parts of an area that covers nearly 600 square miles of central Turkey. In the process, they will employ technologies in the field like hand-held computers to organize the information they gather and share it with other researchers.

Professor Iannone’s presentation will focus on the Anthropology Department's Belize Archaeology Project, which is a long-term, multi-faceted research project involving faculty researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate field school participants. The research is broadly focussed on exploring the rise and fall of an ancient Maya city-state called Minanha ("the place without water"). Particular emphasis is being placed on why this ancient centre "collapsed" over 1200 years ago, and what lessons this decline provides for us today. The lecture itself will discuss the history of the project, with emphasis being placed on some of the key insights that have been generated after over a decade of intensive excavations and laboratory analysis.

These lectures are open to the public and all are welcome to attend. A cash bar will be available. Otonabee College is located on the east bank of Symons Campus at 2151 East Bank Drive, Peterborough. More details about TUARC are available by visiting www.tuarc.trentu.ca .

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For further information, please contact Kristine Williams, Administrative Secretary of the Anthropology Graduate Program and TUARC at 748-1011 ext. 7851.