The New Frontier of Archeology: Religiosity at the Origin of Civilization

A presentation on the latest archeological discoveries and the sense of the Mystery in ancient peoples

with Dr. Giorgio BUCCELLATI, Director, Mesopotamian Lab, Cotsen Institute of Archeology, UCLA, and Dr. Marilyn KELLY-BUCCELLATI, Director, Mozan/Urkesh Archaeological Project

Presented by Crossroads Cultural Center

Archeologists enjoy a very particular and interesting perspective on the religious phenomenon. They can observe religiosity as it surfaced in the most ancient human societies, sometimes at the very dawn of history. Therefore, they are in the position to offer original insights into fascinating questions that for other scholars can only be the object of speculation. For instance, what factors drove mankind's early religious expressions? How does the religious sensibility of those men and women compare to ours? And what was the role of the religious sense in the birth of ancient civilizations? This last question is especially interesting, because for a couple of centuries Western culture has more or less taken for granted that material, economic and geographic factors were dominant in determining the birth of the oldest historical societies, whereas religious factors were secondary or accessory. Recent work, however, has cast some doubt on the conventional picture. Is it possible, for instance, that in some cases religious factors did play a determinant role in the foundation of cities, and that the human search for meaning was in itself an aggregating and 'civilizing' factor? To answer these questions we have invited two distinguished archeologists who have done extensive field work but also have reflected deeply about the role of religiosity in early human societies. The event is open to the public and free of charge.

About this Event

Date: Monday, March 18, 2013
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: New York University
Kimmel Center, Room 905
60 Washington Square South, New York
map

About the Speakers

Dr. Giorgio Buccellati
Professor Emeritus in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures and in the Department of History at UCLA

Dr. Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati
Director of the Mozan/Urkesh Archaeological Project and Visiting Professor at the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, UCLA

Invitation

Download the invitation here.

Article of Interest

Read Giorgio Buccellati's Trinity spermatiké:
The Veiled Perception of a Pagan World (Part I)

Video

Part I

Part II

Photos - click on image below