Category Archives: ASOR News

2026 Nominees for ASOR Board Elections

Posted on by
detail of Palermo Cathedral

2026 NOMINEES FOR ASOR BOARD ELECTIONS

Trustee Nominations Committee has selected six highly qualified members to stand for election for four open positions on the Board of Trustees. The Board sets the direction for ASOR and provides oversight for our organization. Among other responsibilities, members of the Board agree to attend two meetings each year, to participate thoughtfully in the governance process, and to contribute financially to ASOR.

There are four candidates running for two openings as Membership-elected Trustees for 3-year terms (Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, Timothy Matney, Stephanie Selover, and Stuart Tyson Smith). There are two candidates for two openings as Institutionally-elected Trustees for 3-year terms (Kiersten Neumann and Jason Ur). All ASOR members are eligible to vote in the Membership-elected Trustee Election, while only Institutional Representatives of the 60 ASOR-member schools may vote in the Institutionally-elected Trustee Election. Missions and brief biographies of the nominees will be available in the ballot.

ASOR will conduct the elections by online ballot, and all members and Institutional Representatives will receive the appropriate ballot(s) via email on or around October 10, 2026. We will send out two reminders, and all ballots must be completed by 5:00 PM Eastern Time on Friday, November 13. If you have difficulties completing the online ballot (once they are distributed), please contact Marta Ostovich at programs@asor.org.

Nominees for Membership-elected Trustees
(two to be elected)

Tiffany Earley-Spadoni

Dr. Tiffany Earley-Spadoni is Associate Professor of History at the University of Central Florida and Director of the Kurd Qaburstan Project, an ASOR-affiliated excavation of the ancient city of Qabra in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Her archaeological and historical research focuses on landscapes, urbanism, warfare, empires, and digital approaches. She is the author of Landscapes of Warfare: Urartu and Assyria in the Ancient Middle East, recipient of ASOR’s 2025 Frank Moore Cross Book Award. She has received both the ASOR Mesopotamian Fellowship and the Shepard Urgent Action Grant.

Earley-Spadoni served as Chair of the Early Career Scholars Committee from 2018 to 2024 and also served on the Chairs Coordinating Council and Finance Committee. She currently serves on the Honors and Awards Committee. She received ASOR Membership Service Awards in 2023 and 2024 for her contributions to the organization. She has chaired more than twenty ASOR annual meeting sessions and workshops and founded the Digital Archaeology and History session, now an ASOR Standing Session.

Mission Statement:

Over the past eighteen years, I have participated in ASOR as a member, presenter, session organizer, committee member and chair, mentor, excavation director, grant recipient, and student volunteer. These experiences have given me a strong appreciation for ASOR’s role in advancing research, supporting fieldwork, and fostering scholarly community.

If elected to the Board of Trustees, I will focus on two priorities: advocating for increased grant funding opportunities for ASOR members in light of reduced federal support and supporting ASOR’s early career scholars. I will support expansion of ASOR-administered fellowships, project grants, and travel support. I am also committed to strengthening mentorship, training, and networking programs for early career scholars. These efforts are essential to help members navigate funding challenges and ensure opportunities for the next generation of researchers.

Throughout my ASOR service, I have worked to create opportunities for members to connect, collaborate, and develop new skills. As a trustee, I would build on that experience and work collaboratively to ensure ASOR remains a strong, sustainable, and intellectually vibrant organization for years to come.

photo of Timothy Matney
Timothy Matney

Timothy Matney (BA Institute of Archaeology, London 1987, MA 1991 and PhD 1993 University of Pennsylvania) is Professor of Archaeology at the University of Akron. His areas of research include urbanism, the Early Bronze and Iron Ages, Neo-Assyrian archaeology, geophysics, and rurality in imperial Assyria. Matney co-directed excavations for seven seasons at the Early Bronze Age city of Titriş Höyük with Guillermo Algaze (1994-1999) and directed excavations at Neo-Assyrian administrative center of Ziyaret Tepe (1997-2014). His co-authored volume Ziyaret Tepe: Exploring the Anatolian Frontier of the Assyrian Empire (with J. MacGinnis, D. Wicke, and K. Köroğlu) won the 2019 AIA Felicia A. Holton Book Award for the best work representing archaeology to the public. Matney is currently editing the final publications of both the Titriş Höyük and Ziyaret Tepe excavations. His current ASOR-affiliated fieldwork, started in 2023, the Sebittu Project explores seven small villages in the Neo-Assyrian imperial heartland of the Erbil Plain in the Kurdish Region of Iraq. Matney has been a regular participant at ASOR meetings since giving his first ASOR paper in 1995 and served on the Baghdad Committee at ASOR.

Mission Statement:

As a long-time participant at ASOR, I am always impressed at how many things ASOR does well in its mission to advance archaeology, inform the public, and serve as a steward for cultural heritage in the Near East. One of the biggest challenges that scholars now face in the US are disruptions to decades-old federal support system for archaeological fieldwork (e.g., NSF and NEH) which were the mainstay of many early career academics. ASOR already provides over two dozen grants and fellowships. One question to ask is whether, at this junction, it is possible to find resources for ASOR to do even more to fund fieldwork for those at the start of their careers. Likewise, I have always worked with the local communities where my fieldwork is located to give back knowledge of what our research has revealed about the past. Efforts like giving public lectures in the villages near my field sites, designing permanent displays at regional museums, and training local archaeologists in field techniques are common at many projects. Recently, I decided to take things a step further and build local infrastructure by providing permanent geophysical equipment to the General Directorate in Erbil so that staff, after training, could conduct surveys themselves. In the case of Iraq, this allows local archaeologists to document sites endangered by economic development, changes in land use, and conflict. I would like to help expand ASOR’s active cultural heritage initiatives by finding more resources to foster these kinds of collaborations with our partners in host countries.

Stephanie Selover

Stephanie Selover (MA and PhD, University of Chicago; BA, Stanford University) is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures and an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Washington. Her research interests and publications focus on the domestic and technological archaeology of Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age Anatolia, the domestic archaeology of Iron Age Jordan, the archaeology of warfare and violence in prehistoric Anatolia, and the effects of modern politics on the archaeology of the Middle East. She has excavated archaeological sites in Jordan, Türkiye, Syria, Israel, Italy, and the United States. She is currently Co-Director of the excavations at Çadır Höyük in Türkiye and Field Director at Khirbat al-Balua in Jordan.

Mission Statement:

I have been a member of ASOR since 2007 and attended nearly all annual meetings since then. I am also a member of the Committee on Archaeological Research and Policy and the Committee on Growth, Innovation, and Visibility.

As an archaeologist and professor, I believe it is the duty of archaeology not only to interpret the past, but also to make it as accessible to as many people as possible. As an undergraduate, I was able to participate in my first excavations because of scholarships provided through my university. Those opportunities allowed me to discover my passion for archaeology and cultural heritage, a passion that has not abated to this day.

I firmly believe that archaeology should be accessible to anyone who wishes to participate, and I have always worked to help students find the financial resources necessary to attend field schools. I also believe strongly in the importance of community in archaeology. Excavations should be, first and foremost, part of and responsive to, the local community, with its interests and needs serving as a foundation for excavation goals.

If elected, I hope to continue supporting ASOR’s commitment to being a safe, open, and welcoming organization for all people, improving financial accessibility and support for students, and providing opportunities and funding for better incorporating local communities into archaeological research and practice.

Stuart Tyson Smith

Stuart Tyson Smith is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara (M.S. Ed. from USC and M.A. and Ph.D. in Archaeology from UCLA). At UCSB, he has served as Chair of Anthropology and Director of the Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research. Ancient Egyptian colonialism, intercultural interaction, identity, and the origins of the Napatan state, whose rulers conquered Egypt becoming Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty, provide the focus of his current archaeological research. He has published on the dynamics of Egyptian imperialism and royal ideology, the use of sealings in administration, death and burial in ancient Egypt and Nubia, and the ethnic, social and economic dynamics of interaction and colonialism between ancient Egypt and Nubia. In a new line of research, he applies a postcolonial critique to modern views of ancient Egypt as not truly African and Nubia as its subordinate. Smith’s material specialization lies in ceramic analysis, including the chemical characterization of absorbed residues. He is also an active field archaeologist, having excavated in Egypt and since 1997 directed archaeological projects in Sudanese Nubia, in particular at Tombos with Sudanese archaeologist Prof. Mohamed Faroug Ali (Africa Institute, UAE) and bioarchaeologist Prof. Michele Buzon (Purdue). With fieldwork in Sudan made untenable by the civil war, he has joined Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Essam Nagy and Prof. Danielle Candelora (Holy Cross) as co-Director of the Osiris-Ptah Nebankh Project, a Nubian (Kushite) chapel at Karnak Temple in Luxor, Egypt.

Mission Statement:

I have been increasingly involved in ASOR with the organization’s broadening of regional focus from its traditional emphasis on the Levant to the wider Mediterranean world, western and central Asia, and especially for me north Africa. I also appreciate the increasing engagement with theoretical perspectives that cross cut regional specialties, making ASOR a welcoming place for often marginalized areas of study like Nubiology. As a scholar focused on Africa, I have also been impressed by the ASOR’s commitment to making a difference in the context of this expanded focus by pursuing donations and supporting local scholars, particularly in places with critical needs like the recent initiatives in Libya and Sudan, helping to preserve heritage and repair the damage of civil war. One of my goals as a member of ASOR’s Board of Trustees would be to continue to foster and develop this larger regional focus, which I feel strongly benefits the organization as a whole. Promoting diversity in our field is also a priority for me, especially in these trying times. I would work to maintain and develop endowments for supporting the participation of students from underrepresented groups and indigenous students and scholars from the regions we study who do not have the resources to attend the annual meetings and acquire training and expertise through fieldwork.

Nominees for Institutionally-elected Trustees
(two to be elected):

Kiersten Neumann

Kiersten Neumann is an art historian, archaeologist, curator, and educator specializing in ancient West Asia, with a focus on Assyria and Persia and their connections with Arabia. She is Curator of the Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures (ISAC) Museum, Research Associate at ISAC, and Lecturer in the Department of Art History at the University of Chicago. Her work explores sensory experience, ritualized practice, and visual culture, as well as museum practice, collecting histories, provenance research, and cultural heritage preservation. She has curated numerous exhibitions at the ISAC Museum, including most recently Artifacts Also Die (2023) and Megiddo: A City Unearthed, A Past Imagined (2025–26), and the reinstallation of the museum’s permanent galleries (2019). She is co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of the Senses in the Ancient Near East (2022) and Scribal Worlds: Scholarship and classification in cuneiform cultures (2026). She has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Turkey (Tell Tayinat) and Greece (Athenian Agora), and is part of the Nineveh East Archaeological Project, a collaboration between the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and ISAC. She also collaborates on international museum, art, and cultural heritage projects, and works with diaspora artists and communities to advocate for and renew engagement with the heritage of West Asia. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she earned her B.A. and M.A. from the University of British Columbia and her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley (2014).

Mission Statement:

Joining ASOR’s Board of Trustees in 2024 opened a new window onto the organization and deepened my interest in serving. I now chair the Development Committee; co-chair the Program Committee and the new Friends of ASOR Committee; and serve on the Executive and Finance Committees, the Chairs Coordinating Council, and the editorial advisory committee of The Ancient Near East Today. Seeing how a concern raised by a single committee member moves through every level of the organization has been invaluable. When I first ran for the Board, I hoped to bring greater recognition to the museum world: this year’s plenary speaker is Kim Benzel, Curator in Charge of Ancient West Asian Art at The Met; more support is now available to members working with collections; and the Museum Professionals Working Group I co-founded in 2022 continues to meet each year at the Annual Meeting. I also wanted to build partnerships with scholars across the regions at the heart of ASOR’s work, which led me to establish the Tigris Travel Grant in 2024; it has now brought five scholars from Iraq and its Kurdistan Region to the Annual Meeting.

ASOR has always stood out to me for its collegiality as much as its scholarship, yet our field is marked by deep rifts right now, felt across our membership. I believe more strongly than ever that we need policies members can have confidence in and that reflect our shared values and ethical commitments. On the Program Committee, I’ve worked to apply our Policy on Professional Conduct consistently and transparently, and I’m encouraged by the work of the Taskforce now reviewing it. To members who feel unheard, my ask is simply to get involved—to join a committee, talk to trustees, and bring your perspective to the conversations that lead to change. Through it all, I remain heartened by ASOR’s growth: its expanding geographical and chronological reach traces a map with increasingly blurred boundaries, one that better reflects what our research keeps showing—an ancient world of widespread trade and contact over land and sea, with communities and their heritage continuing into the present.

Jason Ur

Jason Ur is Stephen Phillips Professor of Archaeology and Ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University. He specializes in early urbanism, landscape archaeology, and remote sensing, particularly the use of declassified US intelligence imagery. He was trained in Anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania (BA 1994) and in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago (PhD 2004). He has directed field surveys in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran. He is the author of Urbanism and Cultural Landscapes in Northeastern Syria: The Tell Hamoukar Survey, 1999-2001 (2010). Since 2012, he has directed the CAP-affiliated Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey, an archaeological survey in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. He is also preparing a history of Mesopotamian cities.

Ur joined ASOR as a student member in the late 1990s. He held the ASOR Mesopotamian Fellowship in 2000-2001 and served on the Committee on Mesopotamian Civilization from 2009-2013. He was the plenary speaker at the 2014 ASOR annual meeting. He organized and chaired the Settlement and Society in the Ancient Near East session from 2008-2010. The Archaeology of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq session, which he founded and chaired from 2017-2019, is now a Standing Session. He was first elected to ASOR’s Board of Trustees as Harvard’s Institutional Trustee in 2021 and has also served on the Board’s Executive Committee since 2025.

Mission Statement:

As a member of ASOR’s Board of Trustees, I will continue to promote its mission to create and disseminate knowledge of the history and culture of the societies of the Near East, past and present. I advocate for a geographically-inclusive ASOR that involves broader areas of West Asia beyond ASOR’s traditional areas of strength, and a comparative anthropological perspective to complement its culture-historical emphases. I am particularly interested to amplify new voices in ASOR: those of our research partners in the Middle East, and those of the next generation of scholars in our graduate and undergraduate classrooms. Finally, I hope to advocate for digital methods of research and outreach, with the goal of making ASOR members’ scholarship more accessible to our colleagues, to the public, to stakeholders in the countries where we conduct our research, and to future generations.

Browse the News Archive

ECS Fall Brown Bag: Beyond the Tenure Track

Posted on by
Sunset at Brac Island Croatia

Early Career Scholars Fall Brown Bag: Beyond the Tenure Track

Panel Discussion: Beyond the Tenure Track

What does an archaeology career look like outside a traditional academic appointment? Join ASOR’s Early Career Scholars on October 16, 2026 at 12:00pm ET via Zoom for the Fall Brown Bag, “Beyond the Tenure Track,” a panel on career paths and opportunities outside of academia.

 

This discussion features panelists Zuzana Chovanec, Anashya Srinivasan, and Amanda Hope Haley—professionals working in public-facing archaeology writing, cultural resource management, the U.S. Department of State, and the tourism sector. They’ll share how they built their careers, what their work looks like day to day, and how the skills you’re developing now can translate into a range of pathways. Whether you’re a student thinking about your first job or an early career scholar looking for some advice, we hope to see you there!

The event, a part of our Brown Bag lunch series, is FREE for the ASOR community, but registration is required.

Register Now

Browse the News Archive

News from ASOR’s President and Looking for Your Input

Posted on by

News from ASOR’s President and Looking for Your Input

October 5, 2026

Dear All,

As our profession grows and changes, one of my highest priorities as ASOR president is to involve you, our members, directly in the discussion and decision-making about ASOR’s important policies and initiatives. With the Annual Meeting approaching, I want to share some information about what to expect there and what has been happening at ASOR over the summer.

Please take a look at the Annual Meeting schedule and find the exciting talks that interest you most. I want to draw your attention to two new parts of the meeting:

Meet Your Board Members: On Friday, November 20, at 10:20 am, ASOR’s Board members will be in the Grand Ballroom to informally talk to you and hear your thoughts and ideas about all things ASOR-related. Grab your coffee or tea and come say hello.

Share Your Thoughts: Later that day at the Members’ Meeting (12:55-1:55 pm, Waldorf Room), I have set aside time for members of the Taskforce on the Review of the Code of Professional Conduct to answer questions from members. This Code, a guide for all Board and committee actions, serves as the foundation for how ASOR members contribute to ASOR’s mission and steers the actions on extremely complex and timely issues. It is also intended to be updated on a regular basis, which the Taskforce has been asked to consider. While I have initiated discussion at this level, I know that we will need time and lots more input from ASOR members before we are ready to bring a revised document to the Board. 

I am looking to you for help. Please read the Code of Professional Conduct and send us your thoughts in the anonymous survey that was sent via email today. I hope the Taskforce can get as many questions answered as possible during the meeting, but if not there, we can set up another venue to discuss the issues with ASOR members.

Here are a couple of other things that happened at ASOR over the summer:

Title IX Changes: As ASOR president, I signed a letter to the US Department of Education suggesting that the proposed changes eliminating peer review in the Title IX grant application reviews were not needed nor helpful. Both of ASOR’s overseas centers apply and receive Title IX funding. If you would like to see the letter, please let me know. I decided that writing this letter was not a contradiction of ASOR’s policy of not making political statements, as ASOR could offer expertise on this particular issue.

“Orphaned” Objects: I also signed a letter in collaboration with the Archaeological Institute of America suggesting that the proposed changes to policies on the publication of “orphaned” objects (those with no known history after 1970) was contrary to ASOR policies, which were put in place to help combat illegal excavations. This proposal was made within UNIDROIT (an international independent organization that helps to create uniform legal standards for global commerce). If you are interested in the joint letter, I can also share that with you.

ASOR Website: If you have had a chance to look at the website, please thank Jared, Moni, Marta and the committee that has been cleaning up the pages to make them more useful. The committee is also working with other ASOR committees to expand the usefulness of the site and you will see more changes in the coming months.

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you in Chicago,

Jane DeRose Evans, ASOR President

Browse the News Archive

Mesopotamian Fellowship Report: Ella Egberts

Posted on by

The Iraqi Western Desert PLACES Project: Pleistocene Landscapes and Early Human Behavior in the Shbicha Region

Dr. Ella Egberts, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 2025/2026 Mesopotamian Fellowship Recipient

At the heart of southwest Asia, in the north of the Arabian Peninsula, lies the Iraqi Western Desert (Figure 1). Southwest Asia has long been recognized as a key region for studying human evolution and behavioral adaptation (Solecki 1963; Hershkovitz et al. 2018; Grouchett et al. 2021). Repeated climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene (ca. 2.58 million–11,700 years ago) shifted the landscapes of southwest Asia between wetter and drier environments, shaping early human presence, dispersals and adaptations. It is here that we find early evidence of Homo sapiens outside Africa, and where they most likely first encountered Neanderthals. Increasingly complex and diverse technologies — and the connections between the human groups who made them — can be traced across this large region and beyond. In other words, some pivotal steps in our human story played out here, and over a hundred years of Paleolithic research in the Levant, Zagros and the Arabian Peninsula has done much to reveal them. Yet, sitting right in the middle of this well-studied arc, the Iraqi Western Desert has remained largely unexplored. 

Figure 1. Location and topographical setting of the study area. Left, a map of southwest Asia showing the location of the Iraqi Western Desert along the northern extent of the Arabian Desert. The location of Shbicha region is also indicated. The map on the right shows a Google satellite image overlain with a FABDEM digital elevation model, to illustrate the topography of the Shbicha region. Dark dots represent the location of sites identified during the 2024 fieldwork; white dots represent the sites identified during the 2025 fieldwork (© E. Egberts).

The Geomorphological and Paleolithic Survey of the Western Desert of Iraq addresses this gap by assessing the presence of Paleolithic material, establishing its landscape context, and recontextualizing historic finds. Given the vast expanse of the desert, the survey currently employs a targeted reconnaissance approach. The multi-scale multi-method survey consists of broadly reconstructing the geomorphological history (how the landscape formed and changed over time) of various regions of the desert based on high-resolution satellite images, elevation data, and geological datasets, before zooming in on a regional landscape survey, investigating areas of archaeological potential and paleoenvironmental interest. This includes potential paleo-lakes, wadis, stratigraphic profiles, springs, potential raw material sites, and high-points in the landscape. Selected points of interest are visited and surveyed through fieldwalking, and selected sites are subjected to intensive, systematic survey.

This ASOR Mesopotamian Fellowship built on results from a Pilot Project funded by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI). With the identification of seven new Paleolithic findspots and several paleo-lakes, the BISI supported pilot study (conducted in 2024) identified the Shbicha (Al-Shabakah) region (Figure 1) as having a high potential for preserving Paleolithic material and Pleistocene landscape features (Egberts et al. 2025). With this Fellowship, the aim was to identify and investigate additional sites, conduct in-depth technological and typological artefact analyses, develop hypotheses regarding Pleistocene landscape preservation and Paleolithic findspots, and train Iraqi students through fieldwork participation, workshops and lectures.

The fieldwork, carried out in November 2025, identified eight new Paleolithic sites (Figures 1 and 2). These consist of mostly mixed assemblages with sporadic Lower Paleolithic finds and substantial Middle Paleolithic material (Figure 3).

Figure 2. The landscape of the Iraqi Western Desert around Shbicha (© E. Egberts).

Remarkable is the discovery of several (Initial) Upper Paleolithic lithic concentrations. Two sites, Shbicha 2 and 3, were selected for more detailed investigations, including systematic collection of lithics (Figure 4), detailed technological and typological artefact analyses, and integration of these results with hypotheses of Pleistocene landscape preservation.

Figure 3. Me picking up a piece (left), and professor Philip van Peer examining lithics in the field (right).
These photos illustrate that wow-moment when you find a particularly interesting artefact during survey (© E. Egberts).
Figure 4. Some taking a break during the systematic survey whilst others can’t stop (© E. Egberts).

Focusing on these sites proved to be an excellent decision. In a wadi, alongside the surface finds of Shbicha 3, we discovered a recently eroded sediment profile with lithics in stratigraphy (Figure 5). The rich Paleolithic surface assemblages provide large and easily accessible datasets for technological and typological analyses of lithics, providing insights into broad age ranges and technological and typological affinities between lithic assemblages across the wider region (Figures 6-9). However, absolute dating of these important archaeological records requires stratified finds. The discovery of this profile, with lithics preserved in stratigraphy, offers an exciting opportunity to build the first absolute chronological framework for Palaeolithic material from the Iraqi Western Desert — and, more broadly, the first direct dating of such material from inland northern Arabia.

Figure 5. The sedimentary sequence bearing lithic artefacts (© E. Egberts).
Figure 6. Archaeology students washing and processing lithics (© E. Egberts).
Figure 7. A table full of classified lithic artefacts (© E. Egberts).
Figure 8. Dr Andreas Nymark conducting lithic analysis by a make-shift desk lamp in the excavation house (© E. Egberts).
Figure 9. Dr Stefan Smith photographing lithic artefacts using his home-made rotational device for 3D recording (© E. Egberts).

The discovery of these stratified lithics is a major step forward: it confirms that Pleistocene deposits capable of preserving Palaeolithic archaeology survive in the region, and feeds directly into our hypotheses on landscape preservation. Excavating this profile in the future could recover an in-situ assemblage. We’re extremely grateful to ASOR for making this discovery possible. The results underscore the region’s major research potential, and this Fellowship has given us exactly the evidence needed to direct future work.

We are grateful to the Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage for the research permit and for their support of the work. 

Egberts, E., et al. 2025. New evidence for Pleistocene hominin presence in the north-east Arabian Desert, Iraq. Antiquity, 99(408), p. e51. doi:10.15184/aqy.2025.10171.

Groucutt H.S., et al. 2021. Multiple hominin dispersals into Southwest Asia over the past 400,000 years. Nature, 597(7876), 376–380. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03863-y

Hershkovitz I., et al. 2018. The earliest modern humans outside Africa. Science 359, 456-459. DOI:10.1126/science.aap8369

Solecki, R.S., 1963. Prehistory in Shanidar Valley, Northern Iraq: Fresh insights into Near Eastern prehistory from the Middle Paleolithic to the Proto-Neolithic are obtained. Science139, 179-193.

Browse the News Archive

Fieldwork Report: Sydney Pickens

Posted on by
pickens-banner

A Day in the Life at Çadır Höyük

Sydney A. Pickens, 2026 Strange/Midkiff Families Scholarship Recipient

I spent the month of July in Türkiye as a member of the Çadır Höyük Archaeological Excavation Project, located near Peyniryemez Village in Sorgun, Yozgat Province. Çadır Höyük is a tell, or artificial mound, in central Türkiye that was formed by 6,000 years of human settlement. The project explores how small rural communities adapted their subsistence strategies in response to environmental change and imperial control. During my time at the site, I supported this exploration through systematic excavation, documentation, and laboratory analysis.  

The Çadir Höyük Archaeological Mound, facing south.
The Çadir Höyük Archaeological Mound, facing south.

Up With the Sun 

Most mornings, my eyes would flutter open at 5:15am in response to the familiar cadence of Donnie Trumpet’s Nothing Came to Me. On other days, it was the 5:00am recitation of the Adhan—the Islamic call to prayer—reverberating throughout the village. Yet on other days—and by far my favorite—it was the jangling bells of bleating sheep being herded across the central Anatolian hills.  

Sheep at sunrise.
Sheep at sunrise.

My subsequent morning routine was the same most days: drag self out of bed, wash face, brush teeth, get dressed, indulge in Çocokrem spread on bread—sometimes with a sprinkle of granola for an added flare—out the door and in the van by 6:00am, on site ready to work by 6:15am.  

On Site 

The arrival at the Çadır Höyük Archaeological Mound is stunning. My first morning on site and each morning thereafter, I beamed as I watched the sun dance across the lake. Making its first reappearance at the site in nearly a decade, the lake foreshadowed a productive field season and simultaneously affirmed the project’s emphasis on the impacts of environmental change. On our hike up and around the mound each morning, we were greeted by the wagging tail of Paşa, our friendly neighborhood Anatolian Shepard and adopted mascot for the project. More often than not, he would follow us up the mound, find a nice shady spot, and oversee excavation progress.  

Paşa, trench overlord.

Paşa, trench overlord.

I spent the first two weeks of the project working in the Late Chalcolithic Period (ca. 4250–3000 BCE) trenches SES-1, SES-2, and LSS-5 training intensively under the supervision of my advisor, Dr. Laurel Darcy Hackley. Working at the bottom of the mound demanded that I move slowly, work carefully, and notice the most minute changes in soil textures and colors because removing the smallest 1–2cm layer could destroy hundreds of years of the occupational record. It taught me to look intently, ask questions, and make possible meaning out of potential traces until additional evidence appeared to support or contrast it. It activated my imagination, pushing me to see what was, and served as great archaeological skills training.  

Darcy and I discussing the plan of action in LSS-5.
Darcy and I discussing the plan of action in LSS-5.

When week three rolled around and I was catapulted into the role of co-trench supervisor with my colleague Haleigh Keane, I was nervous, but ready. We resumed excavations of LSS-8, a previously opened 4×10 meter trench in southwestern corner of the tell spanning the Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages. Our primary goals were to investigate a pit feature in the northwest corner of the trench and to remove walls that had been previously documented in hopes of beginning excavations of the next occupation phase. Our most exciting find came from that pit—a small ceramic sheep’s head, dated firmly to the Hittite period by its wide eyes, pronounced nose, and quirky smile. 

Haleigh and I showing our work in LSS-8 on my last day in the field, after partially removing feature walls.
Hittite sheep head recovered from the pit in LSS-8.
Hittite sheep head recovered from the pit in LSS-8.

At 9am, the call for paydos! would reverberate around the site as the message spread like wildfire from trench to trench. Time to head down the mound to the break tent for second breakfast, the cherished mid-morning meal following hours of heavy physical labor. The project Bekçi, Ali, orchestrated the production, circulating all the sandwich fixings around the massive circle of excavators. First came the bread, followed by the spreads—mustard, mayo, and tomato. I always opted for a mustard and tomato combo. Next came the sliced salami and cheese, followed by tomato, cucumber, and leafy greens, and finally, the star of the show, black olives. YUM.  

The Second Breakfast of Champions.
The Second Breakfast of Champions.

After second breakfast, we’d hike back up the mound to resume fieldwork until 12:30pm. Thereafter we’d give the trench a good sweep, clean up the site, and end the field day by 1pm. I’d customarily take the van home, hop in the shower, and squeeze in a pre-lunch nap if I could manage it. 

After the Field 

“Yemeeeeek!” Music to my ears. Like clockwork, people would begin filing out of their rooms and into the kitchen to help carry out food and set tables. At some point during lunch, the Project Director, Dr. Sharon Steadman would communicate any announcements for the day and reveal what time lab hours would begin: 4:30 or 5pm. We all hoped for 5pm; the fate of our post-lunch naps depended on it. When 4:30 or 5pm rolled around, we’d head to the lab to receive our assignments and begin work. I rotated lab tasks during the first two weeks or so to get oriented to the project. Pottery washing became a welcome rest and respite from the late afternoon heat. Seated beneath the shade of plum trees and laundry hanging on the line, I chatted with team members with the backdrop of cows on the move walking through the village streets. 

Once I assumed the role of trench supervisor, lab hours took the shape of completing the day’s field notes, documenting field catalog numbers (FCNs) and objects on feature and locus sheets and making plans for the next day’s excavations. 

FCN sheet for LSS-8.
FCN sheet for LSS-8.

The evening call for dinner came at 7pm. Again, the entire dig site would burst with excited energy, looking forward to the culinary creations of our dig chef, Tuğba, and the pastry stylings of her daughter and sous chef, Buğlem. The meals were by far the best I’ve ever had on any excavation project.  

Examples of Tuğba and Buğlem’s culinary creations.
Examples of Tuğba and Buğlem’s culinary creations.

We’d end the night with laughs over çay, board and/or card games, and sometimes even a Tango, a Lindy Hop, or two. By 10pm, I was in bed and ready to start it all again the next morning.  

Sydney A. Pickens graduated from the University of Memphis in August with Master’s degree in Art History, concentrating in Egyptian Art and Archaeology. She has since matriculated as a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where she is pursuing a PhD in Ancient Egyptian and Nubian Studies.  

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Fieldwork Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

Browse the News Archive

Vice President’s Report to ASOR Members

Posted on by

Vice President’s Report to ASOR Members

September 2026

Dear ASOR Friends,

I hope you all had a wonderful summer, perhaps having had the opportunity to get into the field, and hopefully some kind of relaxing break. As many of us gear up to return to school (and some in the United States already have), I have been filling out various “Doodle Polls” and setting up meetings with various committees leading up to the Annual Meeting in November.

One of my roles, as Vice-President of ASOR, is to lead the Chair Coordinating Council (CCC), which is explicitly charged with “monitoring the activities” of ASOR’s standing committees. While this is technically true, I prefer to think of the CCC as a means of facilitating conversations between the different committees, and an opportunity for each committee chair to share the exciting and important work that ASOR members are doing. It is a real privilege to chair the CCC, and I have a difficult time limiting our monthly meetings to just the one hour I promise everyone. The reports and discussions are so interesting and there is just so much good work that goes on.

Volunteering through one of the eight standing committees is one of major ways that ASOR members can play a role in the organization. In thinking about my own participation in ASOR, I remembered how I had been encouraged by other members throughout my career. As an undergraduate, David Hopkins and Larry Herr asked me to compile an index for Biblical Archaeologist, Tim Harrison suggested that I become more involved in ASOR Canada, Jeff Blakeley reached out to me to become a monographs editor, and Chuck Jones nudged me to take over as chair of the Publications Committee and then follow after him as Vice President. I am not sure that it ever would have occurred to me to volunteer for any of this work without having been explicitly asked by another member. So, I thought I would write to all of you, to give all of you a nudge to consider volunteering for one of the standing committees.

The committees really do very different kinds of work, and it may not be clear to all ASOR members what that work is, or even that these committees exist. More information about these committees, including current chairs and members, can be found on the ASOR website. Beyond these standing committees, ASOR also benefits from the work of affiliated research centers, our overseas committees, ASOR Canada, boards of our various publications, and ad hoc committees that are established by the President to achieve specific goals.

If you read ASOR’s newsletters (and if you are reading this, you probably do), or follow our social media, you’ll notice periodic requests for volunteers for these committees. If service on any of these sounds interesting to you, please answer those calls. But you also don’t have to wait for such a call. If you want to get more involved with ASOR, please reach out to any of the committee chairs, or to me as Vice President, either over email or in person at the Annual Meeting. Different bylaws and mandates govern the committees, some of which also include instructions on membership. Reaching out directly is really helpful, since even if there isn’t room on a committee at the moment you express interest, there likely will be soon.

I hope that you will consider participating in one of these committees. We are always looking for people with different kinds of experiences, backgrounds, and specialization. Regardless, I look forward to seeing you all at the Annual Meeting in Chicago this November.

With best wishes,

Kevin McGeough
Vice President

Browse the News Archive

Fieldwork Report: Zainab Hweij

Posted on by
pic 7-group photo

From Research to Reality: My Journey to the Balu’a Regional Archaeological Project

Zainab O. Hweij, 2026 Strange/Midkiff Families Fieldwork Scholarship

For months, I wasn’t sure this excavation season would happen.

Like many archaeologists working in the Middle East, our plans were overshadowed by the uncertainty created by the regional political situation. Every week seemed to bring new questions about whether the field season would be postponed or canceled. Yet throughout this period, Dr. Monique Roddy (co-director of the project ) remained remarkably optimistic, encouraging the team and continuing to prepare for the season. Her confidence gave me hope that I would soon have the opportunity I had been working toward for months.

When I finally arrived at the Mujeb Hotel and met the team members, all of that uncertainty disappeared. The excitement of beginning another excavation season quickly replaced months of anticipation. Looking back now, that first evening feels like the beginning of one of the most rewarding archaeological experiences of my career.

My name is Zainab O. Hweij, and I am a Jordanian archaeologist with master’s degree from the University of Jordan. My research focuses on the visual culture and religious iconography of the Iron Age southern Levant, and I hope to pursue doctoral research on Iron Age stamp seals and visual communication. Because of these interests, participating in an excavation at Khirbat al-Balu’a was a perfect opportunity to gain firsthand experience with Iron Age archaeology.

The Balu’a Regional Archaeological Project (BRAP) investigates Khirbat al-Balu’a, one of Jordan’s significant archaeological sites in the ancient kingdom of Moab. Directed by Drs. Kent Bramlett, Monique Roddy, and Friedbert Ninow, the project brings together specialists and students from around the world to investigate the site’s long occupational history, in the Iron Age and later periods. Working within such an international and multidisciplinary team provided an inspiring environment in which to learn.

Interestingly, I first discovered BRAP while researching a completely different site. During my master’s research and while preparing ideas for my future PhD, I spent considerable time reading about Tall al-‘Umayri and the Madaba Plains Project. As I explored publications and project websites, I came across BRAP and became fascinated by the work being conducted at Khirbat al-Balu’a.

I applied to join the project, but there was one significant obstacle: funding. As an early-career archaeologist, the costs associated with international fieldwork were beyond what I could afford on my own. Receiving a 2026 Strange/Midkiff Families Fieldwork Scholarship transformed what seemed like an impossible opportunity into reality. The scholarship removed the financial barrier that would otherwise have prevented me from participating, and for that I am deeply grateful.

The excavation began with new friendships. At the Mujeb Hotel, I met archaeologists from different countries, each bringing their own experiences and perspectives. My roommate, Sarah Watson, immediately made me feel welcome, and before long our conversations continued from breakfast to the end of each excavation day. These friendships became one of the highlights of the season.

For much of the excavation, I worked as a square supervisor in the Khan area alongside Omar and Mary, while Amar and Salam worked with us in the field every day. Supervising a square required balancing excavation with careful documentation, recording contexts, directing excavation strategies, and constantly discussing interpretations with colleagues. Archaeology is often imagined as the discovery of spectacular artifacts, but I learned once again that it is really about patience, observation, and teamwork. Every layer removed, every stone recorded, and every pottery sherd documented contributed another piece to the history of the site.

Because my academic research focuses on the Iron Age, I hoped to gain direct experience excavating Iron Age architecture. I spoke with Dr. Ian Jones about my research interests, and he immediately supported the idea. Thanks to his encouragement and the generosity of the project directors, I was given the opportunity to spend a week excavating in the Iron Age domestic area alongside the German team that joined the project later in the season.

That week was especially meaningful. Instead of studying Iron Age material only through publications and museum collections, I was able to excavate architectural remains and contexts firsthand.

Beyond the archaeology itself, BRAP reminded me that fieldwork is built on community. Every day involved cooperation, shared problem-solving, and learning from people with different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Whether discussing pottery after excavation, comparing interpretations in the field, or simply sharing stories over dinner, I left the project with new knowledge, lasting friendships, and renewed motivation for my future career.

The Strange/Midkiff Families Fieldwork Scholarship made all of this possible. It did more than provide financial support, it opened the door to an experience that strengthened my archaeological skills, connected me with an incredible international team, and brought me one step closer to my goal of becoming a specialist in Iron Age archaeology. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be part of the 2026 Balu’a Regional Archaeological Project, and I look forward to carrying the lessons I learned there into my future research.

Zainab O. Hweij has a Master’s in Archaeology from the University of Jordan, with research interests in the visual culture and religious iconography of the Iron Age southern Levant.

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Fieldwork Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

Browse the News Archive

Fieldwork Report: Leticia Rodriguez

Posted on by
rodriguezbanner-1920x400

Fieldwork Report: Leticia Rodriguez

Leticia Rodriguez, 2025 Strange/Midkiff Families Scholarship Recipient

In 2005, excavations began at the site of Antiochia ad Cragum, a city founded in the mid-first century CE and located along the rugged coastline of western Rough Cilicia (modern Türkiye). Among other civic and religious structures, Antiochia ad Cragum is home to three baths: a poorly preserved bath at the foot of the Anticragus, the Great Bath located within the city, and the Small Bath. The Small Bath, dated to the second century CE, is located about 50 meters east from the main entry point to the city, and just off the ancient, primary coastal road. In a 1967 survey of buildings at Antiochia ad Cragum, Gerhard Huber recorded a bath complex with a central hall, and banks of rooms on the north and south sides: this type of bath complex is one known from other sites in Rough Cilicia, such as at Anamur and Syedra.

With Huber’s plan as a guide, we began excavations at the Small Bath in 2018. In seven seasons of excavation, we have begun to understand the bath in its original form, adding to, and in some cases correcting Huber’s plan, and we have revealed evidence that provides a picture of how the complex was used in later periods when it no longer acted as a bathing facility, and how these functions contributed to Antiochia’s role in the later Roman economy in the region.

Tea break in the Small Bath.
Tea break in the Small Bath.

Indeed, the 2025 season focused primarily on exploring the bath’s later industrial phases. In previous seasons we discovered a ceramic kiln built adjacent to the bath’s main entrance corridor, and evidence for wine and olive oil production within the walls of the bath’s main hall and cold rooms (explored in an article by this author and Emlyn Dodd, in preparation); in the 2024 season we discovered in the south bank of rooms a glass furnace. The goals of this summer were to complete excavation of the glass furnace, and open the westernmost room on the south bank (Room 8), the room in closest proximity to the presumed location of the bath’s praefurnium. Investigations here did not disappoint as we uncovered what appear to be a series of small kilns built seemingly in succession. With a small team and the season coming to end, however, we were not able to complete excavation of this particular area, but we look forward to doing so next year.

Room 8 prior to exposure of kilns.
Room 8 prior to exposure of kilns.

Antiochia ad Cragum is a field school that has historically brought in students and volunteers from North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. As acting supervisor of the Small Bath excavations since 2021, and now Field Director of the site, I have had the privilege of teaching students field techniques and recording. It has been rewarding to guide undergraduates and graduate students as they explore their own research questions related to our excavations at the Small Bath through poster projects and papers, while also exploring my own research interests in collaboration with Turkish and non-Turkish colleagues in the form of publications and lectures for the public and academic communities. 

Students excavating a presumed flue of the glass furnace.
Students excavating a presumed flue of the glass furnace.
Students learning how to take elevations with the help of Project Director Dr Michael Hoff.
Students learning how to take elevations with the help of Project Director Dr Michael Hoff.

While I have done this in my official roles with the project, I am also a mom with two small children who has had to bring my kids with me to Türkiye every season. I have many colleagues who can identify with this position, and who know well that it can be quite complicated for many reasons, including financial. ASOR recognizes that such personal factors should not be a barrier to academic research and growth, especially to early-career scholars such as myself; I am grateful to ASOR and a summer fieldwork scholarship made possible by the late Mrs. Carolyn Midkiff Strange for the support that allowed me to continue my work at Antiochia ad Cragum for the 2025 season and, I hope, many seasons to come.          

With the other Small Bath supervisor.
With the other Small Bath supervisor.

Leticia R. Rodriguez is an Assistant Professor of Art History, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle East at the University of Houston. She has excavated at Antiochia ad Cragum since 2019.

Want to help more students and early career archaeologists get into the field? Donate to the cause today by selecting “Fieldwork Scholarships” as your gift purpose!

Browse the News Archive

Membership and Outreach Committee Seeks New Members

Posted on by

Membership and Outreach Committee Seeks New Members

The Membership and Outreach Committee seeks nominations (including self-nominations) from ASOR members who are interested in serving on the committee. Committee members will serve a three-year term (January 1, 2027 – December 31, 2029) with the option to renew for a second term. Committee members are expected to attend monthly meetings via Zoom and an in-person meeting at the ASOR Annual Meeting each year. Nominees must fill out the online form by October 16, 2026.

The Committee on Membership and Outreach takes responsibility for discussing matters regarding ASOR institutional and individual memberships, including (but not limited to) strategies for membership growth, appropriate membership benefits, the most fitting way to categorize individual memberships (student, recent graduate, etc.), greater enfranchisement of ASOR’s international members, and resources that members might like ASOR to provide. The committee also oversees ASOR’s outreach efforts. In addition, it advises the ASOR staff about the presentation and content of several of ASOR’s digital platforms, including ASOR social media, the ASOR LinkedIn page, ASORTv, and ASOR’s e-magazine News@ASOR.

In order to receive full consideration by the committee, the online form must be submitted by noon ET on October 16, 2026. For questions and concerns, please contact Laura Mazow, Committee Chair (mazowl@ecu.edu).

Browse the News Archive

Join ASOR’s Board of Trustees

Posted on by

CALL FOR TRUSTEE NOMINATIONS

The Trustee Nominations Committee announces an open call for nominations and self nominations for the ASOR Board of Trustees (Class of 2029). Trustees will serve a three-year term, starting January 1, 2027. There are three primary responsibilities of the members of the Board of Trustees:

  • Governance: Being aware of issues brought forward to the Board, attending two meetings per year (at your own expense), and bringing issues of concern to the Board.
  • Fundraising and financial management: Leading in development by thinking of new opportunities, leading in giving, and providing oversight on the audited financial statements. We ask that individual trustees aspire to contribute $500 or more annually.
  • Strategic planning and policy development: Leading especially in measures that accord with ASOR’s mission.

We anticipate two openings for Membership-Elected Trustees. Any full ASOR member may be considered for nomination as an Membership-Elected Trustee. If there is someone that you would like the committee to consider—including yourself—please send the person’s name and email address to Marta Ostovich in the ASOR office. Please check with the nominee as to whether they are interested in serving on the ASOR Board of Trustees before sending in their name. If you have any questions about the responsibilities and satisfactions of being a board member, please email Kathryn Grossman, Chair of the Trustee Nominations Committee.

The ASOR office, or a representative from the Nominations Committee, will contact all nominees to describe the responsibilities in greater detail, and to make sure that the nominee is willing to have his or her name discussed by the Trustee Nominations Committee. Please note that nominees will need to submit a brief biography and a mission (or vision) statement for what they would like to accomplish as a trustee to be considered by the Nominations Committee. A sample of these statements can be found in last year’s “Meet Your Board Nominees” webpage. Brief biographies and mission statements should be ca. 200 words each and submitted via e-mail to Marta Ostovich by noon EDT on Monday, September 21, 2026.

After receiving the names of nominees, the Nominations Committee will vote on which individuals will stand for election, and the election will take place by electronic ballot over four consecutive weeks in October and November. ASOR is once again conducting online voting to ensure that more of our members are able to participate in this important process. The ASOR office will work with any person who is not able to complete an electronic ballot to ensure that everyone is included.

Browse the News Archive