Archaeological Institute of America Jacksonville Society

04/03/2026

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on April 18, 2026, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Zachery Dunseth, Associate Professor of Anthropology and the Kershaw Chair of the Archaeology of Ancient Israel and Neighboring Lands at the University of California at San Diego.

The title of his lecture is “Dung and Copper: Environmental archaeology at the macro- and microscale.” His talk will focus on the earliest waves of large-scale settlement in the Negev during the Early and Intermediate Bronze Ages spanning the rise and fall of urban cities to the north and the “Megadrought” 4.5 thousand years ago.

He will report on the results of his investigations into subsistence, animal rearing, and the copper industry across Negev sites.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Complimentary refreshments will be served afterwards in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the staff/faculty/vendor spaces are available to everyone. For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

03/19/2026

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on March 28, 2026, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Jen Green, MA, RPA, Curator of the Florida Museum of Natural History.

The title of her lecture is “History of South Florida Archaeology Through Curation-Based Stories at the Florida Museum of Natural History.”

The lecture presents a history of the archaeology of South Florida enriched through the records of the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The South Florida collections at the FLMNH are expansive and represent over 300 discrete archaeological sites across the thirteen southernmost counties.

Using curation-based stories, Green will discuss the breadth of the collections housed at the museum from Lake Okeechobee to the Keys and Gulf to the Atlantic coasts.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Complimentary refreshments will be served afterwards in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the staff/vendor/faculty spaces are available to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

01/30/2026

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Feb. 21, 2026, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Jesse Obert, a professor at the University of South Florida.

His lecture is titled “Social Networks & Cyborgs: Cretan Warriorhood in the Archaic Period.” Dr. Obert will focus on the archaeological evidence for violence on Crete between 700 and 300 BCE.

He discusses two distinct ideologies of violence that were concentrated in specific types of ritual space: collaborative camaraderie on the one hand and antagonistic individuality on the other. Balancing both narratives simultaneously ultimately developed warriorhood into a full-time vocation, setting the tenor for military power on Crete in the centuries that followed.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Complimentary refreshments will be served after the lecture in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the faculty/staff/vendor spaces are open to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

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12/29/2025

The Archeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26, 2026, to participate in the UNF Manchin Lecture Series in Ancient Studies. The speaker will be Dr. David Gilman Romano, Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Arizona. His lecture is titled "The Sanctuary of Zeus and Sanctuary of Pan at Mt. Lykaion." Recent research at Mt. Lykaion, both at the Sanctuary of Zeus on the southern summit of the mountain and at the Sanctuary of Pan in the lower mountain meadow, is leading to new understandings about cult practices at this ancient site in Greece. This event will take place in the Adam Herbert University Center, where parking is free. We will have a table at the door to tell the public about our AIA group as they arrive at the venue. For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411, or [email protected].

We will return to our Saturday meeting date and location in February.

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10/22/2025

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Nov. 15, 2025, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Andrea U. de Giorgi, Professor of Roman Archaeology at Florida State University and Getty Scholar.

The title of his lecture is “Cosa, the Colony and the Roman Expansion.”

Fieldwork at Cosa, Italy, revealed a constellation of public and religious buildings that are now mainstays in the discourse of Roman republican architecture. Cosa’s forum and temples made their way into virtually every survey of pre-imperial city planning and urban décor due to the ingenuity of its builders. This small colonial enclave became the center of the Roman world.

The lecture addresses the nucleation and growth of the colony of Cosa in the context of the Roman conquest of Italy.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Complimentary refreshments will be served after the lecture in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the staff/faculty/vendor spaces are available to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

10/01/2025

On Oct. 18, the Archaeological Institute of America will celebrate International Archaeology Day with an artifact display and book sale in Building 51 at the University of North Florida.

There will also be a 3-D printer demonstration.

We will have our usual meeting at noon to hear a lecture by Dr. Sara S. Cohen, a professor at Florida State University who was named the Frieda Florence Renner Lecturer by AIA. Her lecture is titled “Creating an Empire: Political Consolidation Strategies in Western Mesoamerica, c. AD 1000-1530.”

At the time of European arrival in the Americas in the late fifteenth century, western Mesoamerica was ruled by the Purépecha Empire. As rivals of the Aztec Empire, the Purépecha were long thought to have established centralized control over 75,000 km2 from the capital city of Tzintzuntzan.

This talk explores the archaeological evidence for political and cultural changes in Postclassic (AD 1000-1530) western Mesoamerica, as well as future work in the region.

The lecture and artifact display are free and open to the public.

Complimentary refreshments will be served after the event in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the faculty/staff/vendor spaces are available to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

08/23/2025

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Sept. 20, 2025, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Jeffrey M. Mitchem, board member of the Archaeological Conservancy.

His lecture is titled "Searching for the Remains of Hernando de Soto's Cross at Parkin, Arkansas."

Parkin is an Arkansas State Park with an ongoing program of field and laboratory archaeological research. Mitchem was the Station Archeologist there in 1990. His research led to the conclusion that it is the town of Casqui mentioned in all four accounts of the de Soto expedition.

These accounts also describe the raising of a large wooden cross on a platform mound at the site. During the excavations, Mitchem consulted with the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma, who may be the descendants of the original Parkin residents.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Refreshments will be served after the lecture in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the faculty/staff/vendor spaces are available to everyone. For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

07/20/2025

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Aug. 16, 2025 in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Megan Fry, RPA, MA, NAGPRA Coordinator and Bioarchaeologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Her lecture is titled “Introduction to NAGPRA: Archaeological, Ethnographic, and Natural History Collections.”

This talk explores the ongoing impact of NAGPRA (Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act) on museum collections, including natural history, ethnographic, and archaeological collections.

Specifically, we will examine the new updates, which went into effect January 12, 2024, highlighting both their successes and their limitations. Through case studies, this presentation underscores the ethical imperatives of repatriation, the role of collaboration in the process, and the broader implications for cultural heritage and Indigenous sovereignty.

The lecture is free and open to the public.
Complementary refreshments will be served after the lecture in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the faculty/staff/vendor spaces are available to everyone.

For more information contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

04/09/2025

The archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on April 26, 2025, in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Geoff Emberling, the AIA’s Joukowsky Lecturer for this year.

His lecture is titled “Kush and the Roman World: Warrior Queens along the Nile.”

Ancient Kush was one of the earliest and longest-lived empires in Africa and remained in power long after the last Egyptian pharaoh. Its initial contact with Rome resulted in a series of skirmishes in which the Kush*te army was led in battle by a ruling queen or kandaka, part of a long line of powerful Kush*te royal women. This talk describes the long relationship between Kush and the Roman world, including espionage, conflict, and a long and rich trade and gift exchange.

The lecture is free and open to the public.

Complimentary refreshments will be served afterwards in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the faculty/staff/vendor spaces are available to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

02/01/2025

This is a reminder that the Archaeological Institute of America--Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Feb. 15, 2025 in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Andrea Torvinen, collections Manager at the Florida Museum of Natural History/University of Florida.

Her lecture is titled "The Role of Collective Action in Community Resilience in Northwest Mexico." Her research uses ceramics and other artifacts to determine why one city is abandoned while others in the area are not.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Complimentary refreshments will be served afterwards in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free and the faculty/staff/vendor spaces are available to everyone.

For more information, contact Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or go to [email protected].

P.S. We are having a special raffle item--a gift certificate from JaxTours--so come prepared.

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12/29/2024

The Archaeological Institute of America—Jacksonville Society will meet at noon on Jan. 18, 2025 in Building 51 at the University of North Florida to hear a lecture by Dr. Daniel Pullen from Florida State University.

His lecture is titled “A Late Bronze Age ’Naval Station’ at Kalamianos (Saronic Gulf), Greece? “

He will discuss the Late Bronze Age port of Kalamianos as a possible Homeric locale and as a possible naval station and ancient Greek harbor site.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Complimentary refreshments will be served after the lecture in the Anthropology Lab.

On Saturday, parking is free, and the faculty/vendor/staff spaces are available to everyone. For more information, call Melva Price at (904)241-9411 or [email protected].

Send a message to learn more

11/04/2024

Groundbreaking New Discoveries on Yeronisos Island, Cyprus:
From Cleopatra to Justinian

Joan Breton Connelly, Professor of Classics at New York
University, is a field archaeologist who has excavated
throughout Greece, Kuwait, and Cyprus.

Since 1990 she has directed the NYU Yeronisos Island Excavations,exploring a unique Ptolemaic Egyptian garrison/sanctuary site that flourished off the west coast of Cyprus during the reign of Cleopatra.

Connelly majored in Classics at Princeton University and earned her Ph.D. in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College where she later served as an Assistant Dean and, still later, as member of the Board of Trustees.

Presented by the Machin Family Ancient Studies Initiative at UNF and the Department of Art, Art History, and Design

The presentation is free and open to the public.

Thursday, November 14, 2024, 7 p.m.
Adam W. Herbert University Center
Building 43, Room 1058

For additional information, contact Debra Murphy
at [email protected] or (904) 620-4037.

Send a message to learn more