Archive for October, 2021

Archaeology First Thursday, November 2021

October 29, 2021 at 11:34 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged , ,

The Landscape of Klamath Basin Rock Art
Robert David, Portland State University

Please join us Thursday, November 4, at 4 p.m. for our monthly PSU Archaeology First Thursday Speaker series for a talk by Robert David, PSU Adjunct. We will meet virtually via zoom. 

Please join us on Nov 4 using this link: https://pdx.zoom.us/j/87524504421

Robert David’s presentation is based on his dissertation research, in which he considers how rock art imagery in the Klamath Basin served different purposes within three different socially-constructed contexts. Specifically, he analyzes rock art within settlement sites (villages, large seasonal camps), frequently used areas (popular springs, trails, work areas), and special use areas (caves, high mountain retreats), which are in some way separate from the mundane world. “Meaning” is explored within each of these contexts.

Robert David is a member of the Klamath Tribes and a graduate of Portland State University (MA) the University of California Berkeley (PhD). In both programs, he focused his research on Klamath Basin rock art. He currently teaches courses at Portland State University and work as an archaeological contractor. At present, he is working on two projects that involve Petroglyph Point, Lava Beds National Monument. The first is a book based on research on the monument over the past seven years and the second is a film documentary, which is a community-based effort with the Klamath Tribes, Lava Beds National Monument staff, and members of the general public.

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Archaeology First Thursday, October 2021

October 1, 2021 at 10:22 pm · Filed under Lecture, Uncategorized ·Tagged , , ,

Thursday, October 7
4 p.m.

VULVA MONOLOGUES: ‘Female’ Signs in the Upper Paleolithic

Melanie Lee Chang, Portland State University

Register in advance for this Zoom meeting with the link provided below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend!

https://pdx.zoom.us/j/87524504421

Summary
Binary models of sex and gender are often uncritically applied in paleoanthropology. In the Upper Paleolithic, abstract representations ranging from simple bifurcating lines to overt representations of secondary sex characteristics may be used to identify an illustration, engraving, or piece of portable art (no matter how ambiguous) as “male” or “female.” The taxonomic rubrics that are applied are rarely stated explicitly. We present an empirical survey of human representations in Paleolithic art employing an explicit classification scheme that relies on anatomical markers to identify images as male or female representations. Within this context, we discuss the difficulties inherent in recognizing sex (much less gender) in Paleolithic art, and the consequences of such unfounded assumptions in scientific and popular discourse.

Bio
Dr. Chang is a paleoanthropologist whose primary interests are Middle to Upper Paleolithic human evolution, the Neandertals, hominin systematics, feminist archaeology, and the role of reflexivity in human evolutionary studies. She has taught biological anthropology and human evolution at PSU since 2014. Dr. Chang graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in physical anthropology and ecology/evolutionary biology in 2005, completed a postdoctoral fellowship in behavioral genetics at UCSF in 2008, and has done fieldwork in Paleolithic archaeology in France, Morocco, and Jordan. She is a former TEDx speaker (2014) and was featured in a documentary series, Human: The World Within, that is currently airing on PBS and Netflix (2021).

Questions? Contact us at anthdept@pdx.edu

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