NEAF Lectures

NEAF offers a range of public lectures throughout the year of interest to the lay-person. These ocassions are a great way to keep in touch with recent archaeological discoveries, as well as the chance to meet like-minded people who, like you, are fascinated by archaeology.

The 2013 lecture series theme is: Turkey and the Eastern Mediterranean.

UPCOMING LECTURES

THE HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF SYRIA: A lecture series from NEAF

The medieval walls of Damascus

The first of our CCANESA seminars for 2013 is a two-day series on Saturdays April 13th and 20th focusing on Syria. The series will be presented by a number of speakers.

Dr Ross Burns, as well as speaking on specific sites, will give a general introduction and broad outline on the geography and history of Syria. Dr Stephen Bourke is covering the Bronze and Iron Age cultures of Syria and Dr David Thomas will speak on his excavation experience at Tell Brak: a site made famous by Agatha Christie in her book, Come Tell Me How You Live. Dr John Tidmarsh and Dr Wendy Reade both excavate at Jebel Khalid, a Hellenistic city on the Euphrates and will use the site as a focus of their presentations. Dr Peter Edwell will present his research at the Roman-period oasis city of Palmyra, on which he has published a well-received book.

The series will conclude with a survey of the current condition of Syria’s ancient sites. These talks have been designed to give our audience a greater understanding of the past and present of a country that, sadly, continues to be in the news daily.

Please select here to download a booking form for the series
Please select here to download a schedule for the Syria Study Days

New Insights into the First Farmers of Central Turkey

The Liverpool-University of Queensland project at Boncuklu

or What came before Çatalhöyük?

by Dr Andrew Fairbairn, The University of Queensland.

Wednesday 24 April 2013
6.30pm
The Womens College, University of Sydney

Presenting results from the joint University of Liverpool-University of Queensland project at Boncuklu, as well as other sites in the region, this lecture updates the story of Anatolia’s Neolithic origins and addresses the question of what came before Çatalhöyük.

Please select here to download the lecture booking form

Nomads, Tribes, States and Empires

Professor Philip Salzman (centre)

by Professor Philip Salzman, McGill University Canada.

Wednesday 22 May 2013
6.30pm
The Womens College, University of Sydney

Why do nomadic peoples prefer a migratory life rather than a sedentary one? What is a tribe, and why do some peoples organize themselves into tribes? How are states different from tribes, and what are pre-modern states like? How do tribes and states get along? Why have empires been launched ever since the agricultural revolution, and what is it about pre-modern society that made empire-seeking inevitable?

Please select here to download the lecture booking form