Archaeology Lecture: Peopling of the New World – Central Controversies of the 21st Century, presented by Bonnie Pitblado

UNC Asheville will present two archaeology lectures during the spring 2019 semester – on Feb. 27, focusing on controversies among scholars over “peopling” of the New World, and on March 26, examining how late Roman textiles provide a window into social relations, including gender issues, in that era.

Both talks are free and open to everyone as part of the Archaeological Institute of America’s (AIA) 123rd Lecture Program that will bring leading scholars to audiences across the U.S. during the 2018-19 academic year. The lectures take place at 7:30 p.m. in UNC Asheville’s Karpen Hall, Room 038.

Feb. 27 – Peopling of the New World:  Central Controversies of the 21st Century, presented by Bonnie Pitblado – This lecture – based on a book by the same name that Pitblado is writing – discusses the central controversies that are hotly debated by scholars about timing and travel routes of the first human settlers in the Western Hemisphere and the causes of their migration. Pitblado is professor of anthropology and holds the Robert and Virginia Bell Endowed Chair in Anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. 

March 26 – The Social World of Late Roman Textiles, presented by John Stephenson – Rather than limiting his examination to the iconography and techniques used by the Romans in creating their textiles, Stephenson explores how textiles served the increased concerns with privacy, visibility, mystery, boundaries and shifting gender relations in this period. Stephenson is associate professor of art history at Appalachian State University, and won Textile History’s Best Article of the Year award for Veiling the Late Roman House.

These lectures are co-sponsored by the Western North Carolina chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, and UNC Asheville’s Departments of Classics, and Art and Art History. For more information, contact Laurel Taylor, UNC Asheville senior lecturer in classics and art history, ltaylor@unca.edu or 828.251.6290.