UNL's Murray to present AIA Lecture Nov. 4

UNL's Murray to present AIA Lecture Nov. 4

calendar icon03 Nov 2015    

Lincoln, Neb.—University of Nebraska–Lincoln Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies Sarah Murray will present the first lecture on archaeology for the 2015-2016 season for the Lincoln-Omaha Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA).

Murray’s lecture, titled “From Lithographs to Holograms:  The History of Images in Archaeological Research,” will be presented on Nov. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Richards Hall Rm. 15. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Since the field was born in the late 19th century, Greek archaeology has depended on the visualization of complex information in order to both understand and communicate remains encountered in the field. In the old days, vast quantities of time were spent planning, drawing, painting or engraving elaborate visualizations by hand. These visualizations were carefully curated works of art, immensely expensive to produce and reproduce.

Today most archaeologists employ computational technologies, including GIS applications, CAD, Photogrammetry and LIDAR scanning, to speed the production of visualizations in both two and three dimensions. As a result, images that once took weeks to painstakingly craft can now be cranked out in a few clicks of a mouse. But to what degree have the changes wrought by computing in archaeological visualization generated breakthroughs in our knowledge of the ancient past?

In this presentation, Murray reviews the history of images and image-making techniques in archaeological fieldwork and research, then present the diverse menu of visualization techniques and technologies currently popular among archaeologists working in the field today, including a discussion of their perceived strengths and weaknesses among experienced practitioners. She considers the way in which that the employment of digital tools in archaeological imaging has the potential to unlock new knowledge.
 
Murray is a Faculty Fellow at the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities at UNL. She finished her Ph.D. on economic change over the Greek Bronze/Iron Age transition at Stanford University in 2013. Her research interests include Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age economies, Homeric epic as historical evidence, 'big data' in archaeological research, and GIS applications in archaeology.
 
Murray’s lecture is sponsored by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the Department of Art and Art History at UNL, and the Lincoln-Omaha Society of the Archaeological Institute of America.
 
About AIA
The Archaeological Institute of America is North America’s oldest and largest archaeological organization. With more than 250,000 members and over 110 societies across the U.S. and the world, they are united by a shared passion for archaeology and its relevance to our present and future.
 
Upcoming AIA Lectures:
Sunday, Dec. 6        “The Stories of Stuff - from Pompeii”
2 p.m.                        Ted Pena, University of California-Berkeley
                                   Abbott Lecture Hall, Joslyn Art Museum, 2201 Dodge Street, Omaha
           
Sunday, Jan. 31        “Digital Frontiers of Pre-Hispanic Landscapes: Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and Beyond”
2 p.m.                         Carolyn Heitman, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
                                     Abbott Lecture Hall, Joslyn Art Museum, 2201 Dodge Street, Omaha
           
Monday, Feb. 22         “From Hamilton to Hercules: Greek Vases in Popular Culture”
7:30 p.m.                        Tyler Jo Smith, University of Virginia
                                         Room 15, Richards Hall, Stadium Drive, UNL, Lincoln
 
Monday, Feb. 29          “Marble Parades: Celebrating Materiality in Augustan Rome”
7:30 p.m.                       Diane Favro, University of California Los Angeles
                                        Room 15, Richards Hall, Stadium Drive, UNL, Lincoln
 
Sunday, Apr. 10        TBA
2 p.m.                         Ian Morris, Stanford University
                                     Witherspoon Concert Hall, Joslyn Art Museum, 2201 Dodge Street, Omaha