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 Alicia Hawkins at alicia.hawkins@utoronto.ca.

Next meeting: Friday, November 22nd at 12 pm.

The Faunal Interest Group is pleased to welcome Dr. Linda Amos, who will join us in person for a talk on migratory waterfowl. Mark your calendars and we look forward to your participation in what promises to be an interesting talk. For more information about this, please see below.Seasonal exploitation of migratory waterfowl in the Natufian of el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel.Bird exploitation during the Natufian (Late Epipalaeolithic Levant) was studied. The Natufians transitioned to a more sedentary lifestyle, leading to changes in how they interacted with their environment. Our case study is the deep Natufian sequence (ca. 15,000–12,000 cal BP) of el-Wad Terrace, Mount Carmel, Israel. A total of 429 bird remains were recovered, identified, and studied taphonomically. The Natufians were targeting especially ducks and geese (n = 113) in addition to native partridges (Alectoris, n = 69). The plentiful Anseriformes and waterbirds in the assemblage attest to strong wetland signals in the foraging and nesting requirements of identified species. Taxonomic and taphonomic analyses of four Natufian phases show that nine species of Anseriformes (Anas platyrhynchos, Anas crecca, Spatula querquedula, Anser anser, i. a.), along with herons (Ardidae), and a rail (Fulica atra) were exploited as part of the Early Natufian diet, most likely in the winter. This intense focus on waterfowl abates in the Late Natufian where cutmarks were not identified on waterfowl remains. Also confined to the Early Natufian phases, the main architectural phases of the site, eight distal tibiotarsi of species spanning six avian Orders (Galliformes, Columbiformes, Passeriformes, Accipitriformes, Falconiformes, and Anseriformes) were processed as beads using the supraintendinal bridge to thread them. Our results indicate that extensive wetland habitats were present along the coastal plain west of Mount Carmel, hosting large populations of migratory waterfowl each winter. Natufian hunters at el-Wad Terrace recognised this yearly influx and took advantage of the avian bounty.Venue: AP140 (Arch Center Board room), Department of Anthropology, UTSG.Zoom Link: https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/85908554991Meeting ID: 859 0855 4991For more information about the meeting, please contact Alicia Hawkins (alicia.hawkins@utoronto.ca).

NEW: 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: TBA

November Talks

The Mediterranean Archaeology Collaborative Specialization (MACS) presents: “Socio-Political Developments in Late Bronze Age Coastal Thessaly: New Insights from a Multi-Method Archaeological Project,” by Dr. Bartłomiej Lis (Interdisciplinary Center of Archaeological Research, Polish Academy of Sciences [PAN]). Thursday November 14th, at 4-6 pm in LI 205 (Lillian Massey Building, 125 Queens Park).