ABOUT THE AIA PUGET SOUND SOCIETY

The AIA Puget Sound Society is an affiliated society of the Archaeological Institute of America, North America's oldest and largest organization devoted to promoting archaeological inquiry and preserving the world's archaeological resources. Established in 1956 as the AIA Seattle Society, the Puget Sound Society serves both professional archaeologists and interested members of the Puget Sound area public. In cooperation with the Departments of Classics at the University of Washington and the University of Puget Sound, the Puget Sound Society co-sponsors an annual lecture series that introduces audiences to the latest archaeological research and discoveries. Lectures, which are free and open to the public, are supported in part by the annual dues paid by Puget Sound Society members. To join the Puget Sound Society, or to learn more about the benefits of AIA membership, click here.

Support the society's work!

A form with instructions for making a donation of any size can be downloaded for printing here.

If you don't have access to a printer, simply write out your information on a blank piece of paper.

Thank you!

OUR NEXT LECTURE:

Prison Abolition, Ancient Incarceration, and the Mirror of the Past

with Dr. Mark Letteney (UW History) AIA Faculty Lecture Saturday, January 25th, 2-3:30 pm (doors open at 1:45) University of Washington, Denny 303 and on Zoom (link here)

We live in the age of mass incarceration, and the field of critical prison studies maintains that the prison itself, and its widespread use, is unprecedented in pre-modern history. This lecture will dispute that traditional timeline, exploring the deep history of incarceration in the ancient Mediterranean world. We will see spaces of incarceration through 3D models, and we will read the words of people imprisoned thousands of years ago as preserved in their papyrus letters requesting food, clothing, and release from captivity. The lecture employs the past as a mirror in which we can critically examine modern ideals about the prison. We will explore troubling resonances between ancient and modern carceral practices, along with clear points of departure that help to denaturalize some modern prison policies that appear to many as obvious or necessary

Announcing: Microgrants for Students in

Western Washington!

AIA Puget Sound is proud to announce the continuation of their microgrant program for 2025.

The Puget Sound Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is pleased to offer microgrants for local archaeology students. These range from $50-$250, and are intended to mitigate some of the costs of participating in a professional archaeological project (that is, a project led by a professional archaeologist or an academic). For example, applicants might seek funds to purchase a trowel or steel-toed shoes, pay program or lab fees, tuition, travel or food expenses, etc.

Eligibility: open to any student enrolled in a high school or college in western Washington. If you live outside of western Washington, please contact your local AIA society and encourage them to start a microgrant fund! There are also microgrants available through the Black Trowel Collective and Sportula.

To apply: please send the following to aiapugetsound@gmail.com

Your name, the name of your school/college, and your grade or year in school
Statement of purpose (250-500 words). Please describe the archaeological project you are or will be involved in, and how it contributes to your current or future goals.
Microgrant request (50-150 words). Please describe how much microgrant money you are applying for (from $50 to $250) and what you need it for (equipment, program fees, travel, etc.; please be as specific as possible).
Reference. Please provide the name and contact information (email and phone number) of one individual who has agreed to serve as a reference for you (for example, a teacher, project director, employer, etc). Your reference does not need to write a letter of recommendation, but should be prepared to discuss your interest in archaeology and/ or your academic work related to archaeology over the phone.

Application deadline: We welcome applications on a rolling basis through May 31, 2025. We will review applications monthly beginning in March 2025; please anticipate 4-6 weeks for us to review your application.

Interested in archaeology but not sure where to start?

Check out Peter Nelson and Sara Gonzalez’s article “What Do Archaeologists Do,” and find a fieldwork project in the Archaeological Fieldwork Opportunities Bulletin!

PAST EVENTS

International Archaeology Day 2024 Double-Header - Dr. Camille Reiko Acosta

Co-Sponsored by AIA Puget Sound and UW Classics Department: A lecture series by Dr. Camille Reiko Acosta, October 25th and 26th!

ANNOUNCING:

INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY DAY 2023

AT THE BURKE MUSEUM!

Free and open to the public, please join us!

OCT. 23rd, 2023, 11am-3pm, in the lower lobby

AIA Statement on Archaeology and Social Justice

On June 3, 2020, the Archaeological Institute of America published a statement recognizing the role our discipline has played and still plays in perpetuating injustice and urging all of us to consider how the field must change in order to "achieve an archaeology that broadens our vision, deepens our understanding, and expands our humanity." The full statement can be found here:

https://www.archaeological.org/aia-statement-on-archaeology-and-social-justice/

The Puget Sound Society fully endorses this statement. Look for updates through the society email list as we plan relevant local programming in this area, and get in touch if you would like to be added to the email list.

Temple at Assos: Archaeology/Mark Rose

AIA Puget Sound on Facebook

www.facebook.com/AIA-Puget-Sound-107793077255823

PUGET SOUND SOCIETY

Department of Classics, University of Washington

262 Denny Hall, Box 353110

Seattle, WA 98195-3110

Phone: (206) 543-2266 | Fax: (206) 543-2267

aiapugetsound@gmail.com

Puget Sound Society officers

Co-Presidents: Aislinn Melchior (amelchior@pugetsound.edu) and Sarah Levin-Richardson (sarahlr@uw.edu)

Vice President: Randall Souza (souzara@seattleu.edu)

Treasurer: Laura Matz (lmatz@aol.com)

Secretary: Ulrike Krotscheck (ulrikek@evergreen.edu)

For more information about this society and about the Archaeological Institute of America, see our collection of Information and Resources

Past Lectures and Activities:

Friday, October 22nd, 6:30 pm, via Zoom (link will be sent out ahead of lecture):

Amy Gusick, Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County:

Migrations, Marginality, and Maritime Landscapes: A New World Paleocoastal Occupation.

Zoom link: Oct 22, 2021 06:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJclc-6srDwjH9A_lrWylhWA1R2aFtoLeHH3

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Friday, April 9 2021

7:30pm via Zoom

Passcode (if prompted): pugetsound

Jeffrey Hurwit, University of Oregon

"The Archaic Smile: It’s No Laughing Matter"

Undoubtedly the most familiar and recognizable feature on the faces of figures carved in the round or in relief during the Greek Archaic period (c. 750-480 BCE) is a shallow, inscrutable smile that, like the Mona Lisa’s, has defied explanation. The lecture surveys the origin and history of the “Archaic Smile” as well as the history of its interpretation. It is often thought a stylistic “import” from the sculpture of Egypt or the Near East, and it has been variously considered a sign of life, or happiness, or status, or divinity, or even an “optical refinement.” But although certain theories can be eliminated from the discussion and others added, there may in fact be no single, universal explanation for the Smile at all.

Image credit: Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge

International Archaeology Day was Saturday, October 17, 4-5:30pm!

We had an exciting afternoon of lightning talks for our first-ever virtual Archaeology Day celebration! Area scholars Stephanie Selover, Ulrike Krotscheck, Ian Randall, Aislinn Melchior, and Dale Croes shared their archaeological research and answered questions. You can download the program by clicking this link:

AIA Puget Sound International Archaeology Day 2020 Program

For the full schedule of lectures this academic year, see our Schedule of Lectures

Questions? Comments? Please direct your inquiries to aiapugetsound@gmail.com