History of Archaeology | American Journal of Archaeology

Plaster Casts of the Portico from Aphrodisias: Archaeology, Politics, Museology

website — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:12:35 +0000

This article presents a case study that demonstrates three essential uses—archaeological, political, and museological—of plaster casts in Graeco-Roman studies. The case is the Portico of Tiberius at Aphrodisias, which the Italian archaeological mission in Anatolia excavated in 1937. Casts of the architectural elements of the portico (entablature, capital, and column) were made immediately, shipped to Rome, and employed to create a one-to-one plaster reconstruction (7.5 m tall, 5.8 m wide, and 1.6 m deep) for a Fascist-period exhibition in Rome, the Mostra Augustea della Romanita. Notwithstanding its Tiberian-period inscription, there the portico was deliberately interpreted as an Augustan monument, with a clear political intent. Both the plaster fragments and the reconstruction today belong to the collection of the Museo della Civiltà Romana in Rome. These objects are extraordinary in their versatile functions—as three-dimensional documentary replicas, propagandistic tools, and a decontextualized museum exhibit—and in their capacity to represent and misrepresent their sources.

The post Plaster Casts of the Portico from Aphrodisias: Archaeology, Politics, Museology appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

“The Peculiar Hellenic Alloy”: Carl Blegen’s Narrative of Greek Racial Development in Context

website — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 22:46:53 +0000

In two short publications from the early 1940s, Carl Blegen characterized the development of prehistoric culture in Greece as a continuous process of racial mixing that laid the foundations for classical, and even modern, Greece. This article situates Blegen’s narrative of racial mixing within a longer tradition in Aegean prehistory, as it developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and especially how 19th-century ideas about race influenced archaeological understandings of culture. Along with his friend and collaborator the British archaeologist Alan J.B. Wace, Blegen additionally used archaeological practice—vertical stratigraphy and ceramic evolutionary typologies—to buttress an argument for progressive racial mixing that ultimately preserved a continuity of culture between prehistoric and historic Greece. Despite disciplinary shifts in the decades after World War II, I argue Blegen’s narrative had a degree of staying power both because of its emphasis on language as an indicator of culture, which was strengthened by the decipherment of Linear B, and because it appealed to those who rejected notions of racial purity. This study therefore reveals how racialized understandings of culture can persist without the word “race,” and why it is important to interrogate the entangled relationship between archaeological practice and intellectual history.

The post “The Peculiar Hellenic Alloy”: Carl Blegen’s Narrative of Greek Racial Development in Context appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Sir John Boardman, 1927–2024

website — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 19:54:34 +0000

The post Sir John Boardman, 1927–2024 appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Tracking Color Through Time: Polychromy on Etruscan Urns from Ancient Creation to Modern Intervention

website — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 04:00:00 +0000

A comparative study of four Etruscan terracotta urns from Chiusi, Italy, investigates their ancient polychromy and the urns’ trajectories through changing modern-day art market practices and museum conservation policies. The objects’ shared moldmade motif of a specific scene from Sophocles’ play Antigone makes this group particularly suitable for illustrating differences and similarities in their past and present materiality, uncovered by multispectral imaging and chemical analyses. The analysis of the urns revealed some recurring patterns but also variations in the color scheme of the repeated scene. Moreover, the study underlines how scientific analysis of the polychromy is potentially a useful tool to assess the originality of archaeological artifacts, even in cases of excessive cleaning. The detection of the modern pigment Prussian blue hints at a now-lost chapter of modern overpaint and its later removal on one of the examined urns. This is used as point of departure for a discussion of the changing attitudes and approaches to restoration and conservation in archaeology and art history and their sometimes radical effects on the present-day appearance of museum artifacts.

The post Tracking Color Through Time: Polychromy on Etruscan Urns from Ancient Creation to Modern Intervention appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Gods, Goddesses, and Mortals for the 21st Century: The Reinstallation of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Collection of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art

website — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000

In 2021, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) unveiled five newly revitalized galleries for nearly 550 objects from their renowned collection of Greek and Roman art. The new installations include one featuring Graeco-Roman gods and goddesses and others devoted to Early Greek art, Roman portraiture, the Byzantine Empire, and a gallery for rotating exhibits exploring how 20th- and 21st-century artists have interacted with the art of the ancient Mediterranean. The curatorial team is to be congratulated for maintaining the thought-provoking juxtaposition of objects in a variety of media and from different chronological periods and geographies, as well as augmenting these with state-of-the-art digital installations that enhance viewer experience. Given the importance of provenance in contemporary discussions of ancient objects, though, it seems that the MFA has missed an opportunity here to take the lead in revealing to the public how their amazing collection came to be.

The post Gods, Goddesses, and Mortals for the 21st Century: The Reinstallation of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts Collection of Ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

Archaeobotanical Research in Classical Archaeology

website — Sat, 01 Oct 2022 04:00:00 +0000

The recovery, identification, and analysis of archaeobotanical remains can help address a wide range of archaeological and historical research questions, from foodways, to the agricultural economy, to ritual practice and social identity. This state of the discipline article reviews the application of archaeobotanical techniques to classical archaeology from historical, regional, and thematic perspectives. It also highlights current challenges and limitations in the field of archaeobotany. The article concludes with some suggestions for future directions to improve the practice and outcomes of the discipline. Classicalperiod archaeobotanical research has not yet reached its full potential, and despite facing some internal and external issues, we envision a bright future for both archaeobotanical and classical archaeological research with a greater degree of communication and collaboration between the two fields.

The post Archaeobotanical Research in Classical Archaeology appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

A Curious Artifact: The Changing Meaning of the Roman Oil Lamp from 17th-Century Jamestown, Virginia

website — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 04:00:00 +0000

In 2006, a Roman oil lamp was scientifically excavated at Jamestown, Virginia, the earliest permanent English settlement in the Americas. This study explores why a 17th-century traveler would bring this ancient lighting vessel to the settlement and how its unusual double depositional history allows us to trace its changing meaning over time. It further demonstrates that the Jamestown lamp is the type of object that appealed to British and European nobility as a curiosity based on the inclusion of Roman lamps in still life paintings, collections, catalogues, and inventories.

The post A Curious Artifact: The Changing Meaning of the Roman Oil Lamp from 17th-Century Jamestown, Virginia appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

The Gallery Enhancements Project at the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago: Everything Old Is New Again

website — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 04:00:00 +0000

What began as a plan to replace the original 1931 walnut display cases quickly morphed into a five-year Gallery Enhancements Project at the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago (OIM). Timed to coincide with the centennial celebration in the fall of 2019, the museum redesign includes greater label transparency, a standardized set of gallery materials, and some stunning sightlines, color schemes, interpretations, and object placements. While a product of its time, the Oriental Institute is not frozen in time, and the project is a testament to OIM commitment to visitor and scholarly engagement. In this moment of museum self-reflection, reckoning, and public scrutiny it has become difficult to have the name Oriental Institute, so in addition to the bricks and mortar restructure, the institute is also changing their name to mitigate the persistent harm perpetrated by use of that expression. We cannot change the colonial origins of archaeological practice, partage, and museum display, but we can challenge, contemplate, and question the collection, its ancient and modern histories, and orientalist legacies on display. The new and improved OIM offers us the unique opportunity to experience an ancient collection, acquired in a colonial moment, through a contemporary lens, which could make all the difference in our understanding of the past and the present.

The post The Gallery Enhancements Project at the Oriental Institute Museum of the University of Chicago: Everything Old Is New Again appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

The Collecting History of an Early Christian Lead Vessel: From Carthage to the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition

website — Fri, 01 Apr 2022 04:00:00 +0000

This article is based on research into the archaeological collections exhibited at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867. In the course of that research, various documents were found relating to an Early Christian lead vessel, discovered in Carthage and since disappeared, that attracted the attention of many scholars at the time. This article aims to trace the history of the vase from its discovery to its exhibition in Paris through illustrations and published and unpublished documents. Archival data are drawn on to offer a description of the lost vase’s iconography that is as complete as possible.

The post The Collecting History of an Early Christian Lead Vessel: From Carthage to the 1867 Paris Universal Exhibition appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.

From the Editor-in-Chief: New Statement of Purpose for the AJA

aja — Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:50:06 +0000

Thirty-two years ago, AJA Editor-in-Chief Fred S. Kleiner wrote an editorial letter in which he expressed the need to expand the meaning of the motto, virum monumenta priorum, on the seal adopted by the AIA in 1889. That motto, Kleiner wrote, reflected the 19th-century view of what archaeologists were interested in—that is, grand testimonials of the past.¹ Kleiner’s editorial pointed out that, in the advanced 20th century, monumenta include even the most modest artifacts, the remains of ancient mulieres and freedmen are valued along with those of ancient viri, and archaeologists collect botanical remains that are not human-made at all.

After a year in which ongoing failures of social justice in the United States have been painfully clear, it is time for a similar re-articulation of the mission of the AJA in order to address the lack of diversity among the authors published in the journal and, very probably, among the readers of the journal. The present statement of the AJA’s purpose emerged in the mid 1980s. According to Editor-in-Chief Brunilde S. Ridgway, writing in 1985, “the mandate of the Archaeological Institute of America is for the journal to cover the art history and archaeology of the Mediterranean area in particular, with Near Eastern and European topics also included,”² though a newsletter article by Robert C. Dunnell on “Americanist Archaeology in 1984” appeared in the last issue of AJA that year.³ What became the canonical statement of the AJA’s mission appeared in Kleiner’s first editorial letter: “In accordance with long-standing editorial policy, AJA will continue to be devoted to studies of the art and archaeology of ancient Europe and the Mediterranean world, including the Near East and Egypt, from prehistoric to late antique times.”⁴

This statement does not adequately represent what the AJA must include. It has become obvious in the last half century that responsible scholarship in all areas requires self-consciousness about its past and present procedures and conclusions. The archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean and related regions has been shaped from its beginnings by prejudices that have acted to exclude many people and points of view from its exploration of the past. It is the responsibility of scholars in this discipline to assess how prejudices and unexamined assumptions have structured our archaeological interpretations, and the AJA should publish such studies. While we examine how we have studied the past, we should also consider why we do. If this archaeology is relevant to contemporary lives, we must find ways to communicate its importance to a greater diversity of people.

The expansive geographical compass of the AJA’s mandate should be represented by a correspondingly broad range of viewpoints. The phrasing of the AJA’s scope, with its foregrounding of “ancient Europe,” seems to favor the northern side of the Mediterranean, and in fact these regions—Italy, Greece, and western Turkey—have always predominated in the pages of the AJA. Although the Near East was added almost as an afterthought, the lands east of the Mediterranean have also had a consistently strong presence. Yet the scope of the journal includes all of North Africa (with Egypt and Sudan) as well as all of Europe (with the British Isles). One objective of reframing the journal’s statement of purpose is to attract content that reflects the whole of the AJA’s mandated geographical extent.

All of these perspectives are needed in the pages of the AJA. To that end, the Governing Board of the AIA, on 1 May 2021, approved the following expanded statement of purpose for the AJA:⁵

The American Journal of Archaeology (AJA), founded in 1885, is published by the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA). The AJA publishes original research on the diverse peoples and material cultures of the Mediterranean and related areas, including North Africa (with Egypt and Sudan), Western Asia (with the Caucasus), and Europe, from prehistory through late antiquity.

Manuscripts that address the history of the discipline, archaeological methodologies, theoretical approaches, pedagogy, and the politics and ethics of archaeological heritage are welcome. The AJA encourages submissions that explore the intersections of ancient Mediterranean cultures with other regions and periods, the reception of these cultures in later times, and their ongoing significance in the present.

In accordance with the AIA’s Statement on Archaeology and Social Justice (www.archaeological.org/aia-statement-on-archaeology-and-social-justice/), the AJA is committed to advancing equity and inclusion in archaeological publication. The journal seeks to publish diverse viewpoints, especially from members of historically underrepresented groups, to acknowledge and examine the appropriation of Mediterranean archaeology by racist, nationalist, and colonialist ideologies, and to address critically the biases that have shaped the discipline.

The AJA affirms the critical importance of archaeological context and the responsibility to provide documentation of provenance in archaeological publication. Submissions should follow the AJA’s policies regarding the citation of excavated objects and objects in public and private collections (www.ajaonline.org/submissions/antiquities-policy/).

If the AJA succeeds in fulfilling this mission, it will continue to be a distinguished journal of the archaeology on all sides of the Mediterranean.

Jane B. Carter
Editor-in-Chief

F.S. Kleiner, “Monumenta virum priorum,” AJA 93:3 (1989) 315–18 (see esp. 316–17).
B.S. Ridgway, “Editorial Statement,” AJA 89:1 (1985) 1.
R.C. Dunnell, AJA 89:4 (1985) 585–611. This was the last of Dunnell’s Americanist newsletters in the AJA; previous installments had appeared starting in 1979.
AJA 90:1 (1986) 1. Repeated in editorial letters by Kleiner in AJA 90:4 (1986) 379 and 93:3 (1989) 316 n. 13.
The statement was drafted by several members of the AJA’s Advisory Board, the academic editors of the AJA, and First Vice President of the AIA Elizabeth S. Greene. Before its submission to the Governing Board, the draft was reviewed by the whole of the AJA’s Advisory Board, AIA President Laetitia La Follette, and AIA Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs Thomas Tartaron.

The post From the Editor-in-Chief: New Statement of Purpose for the AJA appeared first on American Journal of Archaeology.