New Research on Old Pots: Developments in Southwestern Ceramic Analysis

Archeological Institute of America (AIA) Lecture Series

University of Colorado, Boulder and Archaeology Southwest preservation archaeologist Deborah Huntley, Ph.D. will present a free Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) lecture, “New Research on Old Pots: Developments in Southwestern Ceramic Analysis,” 7 p.m., Wednesday, January 23, at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.

“Southwestern archaeologists,” according to Huntley, “have always studied pottery to help them to understand past human behavior.”  In her talk she will share how analyzing pottery can reveal information about past foodways, ethnicity, trade, migration and religious beliefs of those communities who created them. Southwestern ceramicists have increasingly been using high-tech techniques from 3D modeling to nuclear reactors to understand and find answers to some of these questions. This talk explores some of these techniques and the advances Southwestern ceramicists have made in using pottery to understand past cultures. Pots from the museum’s collection will be on display to illustrate this talk.

Dr. Huntley’s research interests include prehistoric Southwestern socio-political organization; technological, compositional, and stylistic analyses of ceramics; migration and long-distance interaction; and interpreting archaeology for the public.  Her work has been published in American Antiquity, the Journal of Archaeological Science, and Kiva and she has co-directed the Preservation Archaeology Field School since 2011.

The museum is located in the Henderson Building at 15^th Street and Broadway. Limited parking is available to the public in lot #208 on the south side of the museum. The cost for parking after 5 p.m. at this and all CU parking lots is $3. The museum is easily accessed by bike, B-cycle, foot, and bus (16^th and Broadway/Euclid stop).

For information on the Archeological Institute of America (AIA) contact Boulder AIA President Steve Lekson at lekson@colorado.edu or 303-492-6671. For information on the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, to receive exhibit, talk, lecture, Family Day and workshop invitations and to sign up for regular museum updates visit: http://CUmuseum.Colorado.edu or call 303.492.6892.