[OR_Archaeology] AIA Lecture Tonight: Dr. Maria Liston

[Tommy Sandvig]

The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) and the Willamette University
Center for Ancient Studies and Archaeology (CASA) are co-sponsoring their
final lecture of the academic year this evening titled *Short Lives and
Forgotten Deaths: Infant Skeletons from the “Baby Well” in the Athenian
Agora*. Dr. Maria Liston's lecture will begin at 7:30 P.M. in the John C.
Paulus Great Hall, within the Collins Legal Center. Dr. Liston is an
Associate Professor and Chair of the Anthropology Department at the
University of Waterloo in Canada. Her lecture will address the following:


~ In 1932, excavators in the Athenian Agora discovered a disturbing deposit
in one of the wells on the site. The skeletons of hundreds of infants and
dogs were recovered from debris deposited after the well ceased to be used
as a water supply. The mass of infant burials led to much speculation, and
possible explanations for the large number of infant skeletons included a
cult of infant sacrifice, previously undocumented plague, and association
with military disaster. A recent multi-disciplinary project has at last
clarified the date and nature of the deposit, and provides insight into the
high infant mortality rates that plagued the ancient city. This lecture
examines the causes of death of nearly 450 infants deposited in the well,
and explores the possible explanations for the creation of this unusual
mass grave. ~



Tommy J. Sandvig
Center for Ancient Studies and Archaeology
Willamette University
(503) 370-6654
tsandvig at willamette.edu
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