History

Focusing on the Iranian sailor-turned-farmer, Soleiman, this film highlights the plight of Lake Urmia, the largest lake in the Middle East. Located in the northwestern corner of Iran and surrounded by ancient sites up to 9000 years old, Lake Urmia has become a salt plain. The desiccation of this lake poses serious environmental challenges. The film takes a tour of the area, following Soleiman and his new life as a farmer. The viewer sees rusting ships, blowing clouds of salt and plant damage that are the legacy of a once thriving lake.

(1) We launched The Archaeology Channel as our streaming media website exactly 20 years ago, in July 2000.  Now hosting hundreds of videos, TAC still relies on membership contributions, now more than ever.  This short promo explains why and how you can support us.  (2) As archaeologists have traced our history, we’ve overwhelmingly heard the masculine narrative.  We’ve been taught that men were the only ones doing anything worthwhile. This film introduces the female anthropologists who dared to ask, “Where’s the other half of the species?”

(1) Chloe Duckworth interviews Dr. Emma Cunliffe, who works for Blue Shield International to help protect cultural heritage in times of war and to assist the superheroes around the world who work on the ground to protect their heritage. (2) Some places are so soulful that they can be not just seen, but felt within. This documentary describes such a place, called “Palsambe Monoliths” in India. Each monolith is carved from a single stone. The temples date back to the 6th and 7th centuries AD.

Produced in 2020 by Archaeological Legacy Institute

(1) In his workshop, master sculptor Artak Hambardzumyan of Yerevan, Armenia, continues an ancient tradition and demonstrates his rare stone-cutting skills by making eight khachkars, or Armenian cross-stones, for clients in Ukraine. (2) In this ArchaeoDuck interview, Chloe chats with Dr. David Connolly, the founder of the British Archaeological Jobs and Resources (BAJR) website, who has lots of tips for a career in archaeology, along with some fabulous anecdotes from his own colorful career.

Produced in 2020 by Archaeological Legacy Institute

(1) In this episode of the ArchaeoDuck series, Chloe Duckworth and her colleague travel around southern Spain, visiting museums to take samples of archaeological glass from their collections. (2) In this drama from Iran, an expert in handicrafts comes to Shiraz to do research on traditional mirror work and to meet a renowned master craftsman. He is awed by the master’s works in the city’s heritage sites. He is also preoccupied with poetic mirror metaphors, and coincidentally has a chance meeting with a young woman in a bazaar.

Produced in 2020 by Archaeological Legacy Institute

(1) In this episode of the ArchaeoDuck series, Chloe Duckworth introduces us to her dig at the Alhambra in Spain and to some of her field crew.  (2) The archaeology of the peopling of the Americas has undergone a paradigm shift.  The story of the first humans here is more complex and dates significantly earlier than what was thought back in the 90s.  This film details the archaeology that has led to this point and what data we still need to detail the actual story.  The Gault Site in Texas is a prism through which to understand this change in thinking.

(1) In this episode of the ArchaeoDuck series, Chloe Duckworth takes us to the National Museum of Denmark, where C. J. Thomsen in the 19th century began dividing prehistory into the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages.  (2) The Medieval castle of Caveirac in France today is part of the City Hall, so it is not individually discernable.  However, historical research, including 3D modeling, has enabled a better understanding and a virtual reconstruction of many of the stages of the castle throughout its history.

Produced in 2020 by Archaeological Legacy Institute

OLLI, the Osher lifelong Learning Institute, presents Kim Stanley Robinson and his lecture 'John Muir.'