The Archaeology Centre – University of Toronto

About the Archaeology Centre

The Archaeology Centre is a community that brings archaeologists and people interested in archaeology together across the University of Toronto and beyond. We aim to provide a centralized hub of information about opportunities (e.g., field schools, scholarships, etc.) and events (e.g., lectures, interest groups, symposia, etc.) related to archaeology. We are not an academic unit at the university and do not offer courses for credit or degree programs. Please do not email the Archaeology Centre with questions about degree requirements. If you are interested in academically pursuing archaeology at the University of Toronto, please see the following departments for more information and contacts, as well as UofT’s Mediterranean Archaeology Collaborative Specialization (MACS):

Department of Anthropology
Department of Art History
Department of Classics
Department of Near & Middle Eastern Civilizations
Department of Earth Sciences

Regular Interest Groups

The Faunal Interest Group

The group has convened by-weekly (times TBA; in the Archaeology Centre boardroom AP140 at 19 Ursula Franklin Street) since September 2007. The group discusses new and old issues of zoo archaeological method and theory. For more information, please contact Moses Akogun at moses.akogun@mail.utoronto.ca.

Next meeting: Friday, Oct 17, 2025, 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada). This meeting will be held over Zoom, only: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/83209263486 Meeting ID: 832 0926 3486. Article: Holland-Lulewicz I, Holland-Lulewicz J (2023) A network approach to zooarchaeological datasets and human-centered ecosystems in southwestern Florida. PLoS ONE 18(12): e0295906. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295906.

The Collections Interest Group

Join the Collections Interest Group and discuss a wide array of topics regarding the care, preservation, and public education of artifacts and histories in a collections setting. Whether you are interested in a career in the museum world, plan on interacting with collections in some capacity, or simply find an interest in the curation and preservation of histories, this group is for you. Topics of discussion look to explore the relationship between ‘the institution’ which houses objects and the communities which interact with its stories, the role of ever-evolving technology in a collections/museum setting, and sustainable collections management that serves present, past, and future generations. Interested? Please contact Savanna for more information (s.buehlmanbarbeau@mail.utoronto.ca).

Next meeting: TBD

NEW – Archaeobotany & Environmental Archaeology Interest Group

Archaeobotany & Environmental Archaeology Interest Group

Are you interested in how people in the past engaged with plants, landscapes, and climate? Join the new Archaeobotany & Environmental Archaeology Interest Group at U of T!

This graduate-led group provides a space for discussion, collaboration, and curiosity-driven exploration of the intersections between plants, foodways, people, and environments in the past. We’ll focus on themes such as:

Human–environment interactions in deep time
Climate change and resilience in past societies
Cuisine, diet, and the cultural significance of plants
Methods and theories in environmental archaeology

Whether your background is in archaeology, anthropology, ecology, history, or related fields, this is a chance to share ideas, workshop projects, and build connections with others who care about reconstructing the lived experiences of past communities through their relationships with plants and landscapes. Come be part of shaping a vibrant intellectual community where we put people back into the past by exploring their environmental choices and legacies. Please email Lachlan Kyle-Robinson (lachlan.kylerobinson@mail.utoronto.ca) with any questions.

Next Meeting: TBD

October Talks

The Archaeology Centre presents: Dr. Stephanie Langin-Hooper, on October 17th, 2025, in Room AP140 (the Archaeology Centre boardroom) at 19 Ursula Franklin St. More information to follow.

October Talks

The Archaeology Centre presents: Dr. Sarah Newman, on October 21st, 2025. Attention to the material forms, and distributions of artifacts has enabled archaeologists and art historians to associate things to specific times, places, and people. Material and formal characteristics that are consistent enough to be distinguishable, yet also changeable over time and space, have allowed us to construct histories. Traditionally, archaeologists have tended to focus almost exclusively on the style of artifacts made or modified by humans in the past. But style is also detectable in artifacts made or modified by other animals. Bird’s nests, beaver dams, and termite mounds can also be studied as archaeological objects. In this talk, I ask: What would it take to study the material traces of animals’ pasts as we study the material traces of our own (human) cultures? What could we learn about birds, beavers, and termites? Perhaps more importantly, what could we learn about ourselves as animals?

October Talks

The Archaeological Institute of America, Toronto Society presents October 21, 2025, at 6:10 PM EST, in the Anthropology Building, RM.130: Lecture: Sealed Bodies, Promised Rebirth: Tang Burial Caves at Longmen, Dr. Lan Li, Department of Historical Studies, University of Toronto Mississauga. Registration and Zoom link for online attendees: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/cnW1gKuGSLKYDE1-3dypFQ . Reception to follow, Anthropology Building, RM.140. Why were the dead sealed in caves at a Buddhist site? What religious aspirations and social needs shaped this unconventional funerary practice in the Tang dynasty? Building on the recent discovery of burial caves at the Longmen Grottoes, this study aims to reconstruct their contexts and associated rituals in two steps: First, by analyzing the newly excavated WFG K1 and utilizing 3D technologies, it restores the original conditions and the dynamic process of constructing a burial cave. Second, by referencing textual and epigraphic sources, it reconstructs the burial ceremonies and posthumous rituals conducted at the site, while exploring how Buddhist ideas of death and rebirth were successfully integrated into local funerary traditions. For the earlier afternoon session, that we’re presenting alongside the Ho Centre: Live VR Archaeology Demo: The Digital Afterlives of Tang Buddhist Burials at the Longmen Grottoes. Presented with the Ho Centre for Buddhist Studies. 12:30 – 2:00 PM EST, Sidney Smith Hall, RM.6029 (Art History Common Room). Lunch provided. Registration is required for this afternoon session – RSVP here by October 14th: https://forms.office.com/r/vhnZXY6NbJ. In this event, Dr. Li will share their experience as an archaeologist applying digital technologies into the study of Buddhist burials at the Longmen Grottoes, featuring a VR tour of a 3D reconstruction of a recent excavation and a discussion on practical methods for digitally preserving and interpreting Buddhist sites. Additionally, Dr. Li will address challenges faced in collecting research data at famous tourist destinations like Longmen or at sites that remain active within modern Buddhist communities in China.

October Talks

The Archaeology Centre presents: “Tightrope Walking in Roman Antiquity (dangling between archaeology and performance),” by Dr. Felipe Rojas Silva on October 22nd, 2025, at 5 pm in AP140 (the Archaeology Centre boardroom) at 19 Ursula Franklin St. In this talk I gather archaeological, epigraphic, and literary evidence of tightrope walking in Roman antiquity and show that it can serve as a window into diverse ancient matters that are often hard to study or even notice. These include informal transmissions of expertise, social memory among marginal communities, and kinesthetic empathy across huge social divides. By combining ancient evidence with insights gleaned from modern dance and performance, I reflect about the nature of archaeological traces and question the purported ephemerality of performance.