Neil Asher Silberman 


Rebooting Antiquity
How Holy Wars, Media Hype, and Digital Technologies Are Changing the   Face of 21st Century Archaeology


Iraqi National Museum Deputy Director Mushin Hasan holds his head in his hands as he sits on destroyed artifacts April 13, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Mario Tama/Getty Images.


Wednesday, September 21 • 6:15 pm.  Classroom 2, Penn Museum
3260 South Street, Philadelphia 

Co-sponsored by Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World Graduate Program, University of Pennsylvania 


There’s a revolution happening today in the way we value, discover, and imagine the past. On the negative side, ancient sites by the thousands—not only in the Middle East but all over the world—are being bulldozed, looted, vandalized, or blown up or merely vandalized. Feature films, bestsellers and specialized cable documentaries hopelessly muddle archaeological fiction and fact. Yet on the positive side, advanced satellite imagery and LIDAR sensors are uncovering complex civilizations in deserts and jungles where none were assumed ever to exist. Virtual reality environments and 3d digital reconstructions are now used both for scientific documentation and immersive museum experiences. And the sheer social reach of Facebook, Twitter, and research-by-crowdsourcing is offering archaeologists unprecedented opportunities to engage the general public in their work. This illustrated lecture will highlight some recent discoveries and ongoing controversies in the Americas, Europe, and Asia that exemplify the dramatic new directions that archaeology is taking in our globalized, internet age. 


Reception to follow with opportunity to meet the speaker.
Please use the Kress Entrance on the east of the Penn Museum. 

For information call 215.898.2680 or contact aiaphiladelphia@gmail.com. 
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Upcoming

October 4  
Thomas Carpenter, Ohio University.  
Whose Dionysos? Pursuit of the God in 4th Century BC Apulia.  
Penn Museum, 6:15 pm

October 15 International Archaeology Day  
details TBA Penn Museum, 10:00-4:00

November 13-15 Lorenzo Nigro, University of Rome.  
Lectures on Jericho and Motya.  
Details TBA. Penn Museum

November 17  

Jack Davis and Shari Stocker, University of Cincinnati.  


From the Silent Earth: The Griffin Warrior of Pylos.  


Rainey Auditorium, Penn Museum. 6:00 pm reception, 6:30 
  
pm lecture.

March 30, 2017 Vanessa Davies, Ph. D.  

An overlooked chapter in the history of Egyptology: 
  

W .E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, and Pauline Hopkins. 
   
Penn Museum, 6:15 pm.