Archaeological Society of New Jersey
January 2023 Meeting
Meeting date: Saturday, January 21, 2023
Venue: Monmouth University, Pozycki Hall
Address: 400 Cedar Ave, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
Parking: Entrance A off Larchwood Avenue
Click here to access a Campus Map
Board Meeting
11:00 am – 12:30 pm: Executive Board Meeting (All Members Welcome)
12:30 pm – 1:00 pm: Break
Public Meeting & Lectures
1:00 pm - 1:15 pm: President’s Welcome
1:15 pm - 1:25 pm: Announcements
1:30 pm - 1:55 pm: Lecture by Ryan Knipple: Mapping the Pleistocene
Using maps of archaeological and fossil sites, I am trying to answer questions about the relationship between the two, such as: What was the relationship between Paleoindian peoples and Pleistocene megafauna in the American Northeast? and Did Paleoindian peoples cause Pleistocene extinctions in the American Northeast?
2:00 pm - 2:25 pm: Lecture by Dr. Richard Veit (Monmouth University), Alan Cooper (Morristown Beard School), and Stacy Noonan: Unearthing William Alexander Lord Stirling’s Estate Finding a Forgotten Founding Father
Starting in the 1980s, and for nearly twenty years, Dr. Alan Cooper of the Morristown Beard School directed a major public archaeology project at the site of William Alexander, aka Lord Stirling’s Estate, “The Buildings” in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Dr. Cooper and a team of volunteers spent nine years excavating at the site and unearthed rich archaeological deposits and numerous archaeological features associated with one of the grandest estates in colonial New Jersey and the lives of its inhabitants and visitors. Stirling was a major figure in colonial New Jersey, who invested heavily in iron and copper mining, viticulture, and progressive farming. He also served was a Major General during the American Revolution. This presentation provides a brief overview of Dr. Cooper’s excavations at site and their significance and highlights current research on the collections being carried out by Monmouth University graduate students Nikki Bowers and Stacy Noonan.
2:30 pm - 2:55 pm: Break
3:00 pm - 3:25 pm: Lecture by Dr. Matthew Kalos (Tenure-track Instructor of Anthropology; Brookdale Community College): “How Now Cornelius Low?” Excavating an 18th Century Landscape
This presentation will focus on the results of the 2022 archaeological field school performed by Brookdale Community College students at the Cornelius Low house, located in Piscataway, NJ. The presentation will focus on the history of the site, the archaeological process, and artifacts recovered. Finally, the presentation will situate the Low house in the history of New Jersey History.
3:30 pm - 3:55 pm: Lecture by Dr. Rachael Goldman (Monmouth University): Hiding a Colorful and Patterned Past: Ancient Sculpture and Polychromacity
In 2018, there was a strong effort by the New Yorker Magazine to document and set the record straight concerning reconstructions of polychromed sculpture. This new effort showed the work of the decades-long experience of archaeologists and ancient historians by reconstructing emperors and imperials images of Ancient Greece and Rome. Putting all notions aside about the “whitewashing” of history and bringing the colors to the surface on ancient sculpture and monuments had not reached the mainstream population and was debated vigorously. Recent archaeological studies on ancient sculpture and monuments comment on the complex decoration and exceedingly bright color compositions on the marble showed that the color was intended and not accidental (Sebesta, 1988, Brinkmann and Wünsche, 2007; Bradley, 2013, Abbe, 2015, Fine, 2015, Goldman, 2016) but also correspond with the written record to support their evidence. Text and image play closely together and the literature support when the colors were produced and what was available; certain colors were not available or used as originally thought. The names of the specific colors also show the attitudes of ancient writers. In particular, clothing and appearance of Greek and Roman sculpture command the most amount of attention. It is readily apparent that the ancient preferred bright and complimentary colors, but little attention has been devoted to the exact nature of these patterns and where they drew their inspiration. Through this discussion, I will consider the different color patterns on clothing from decorated sculpture. Among the sculptures that will be considered include temple pediments and decoration, grave markers, imperial busts and inscriptions. To this aim, ancient polychromed sculptures can shed new light on the impact that it had on the larger Ancient Mediterranean and their production methods.
3:55 pm: Closing Remarks
january 2023 executive board election
An election for the remainder of the President’s unexpired term, which runs through January 2024, as well as, two Member-At-Large seats on the board are also up for reelection.
Take a look at the candidates who are running for these positions here and those of you who are members, please remember to join us at the January 2023 Quarterly meeting on the 21st to cast your votes!
