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World
History is Uncovered at
New York University Presentation
ISTANBUL, TURKEY, October 25, 2002 – The Center
for Ancient Studies at New York University will host “Turkey:
Guardian of the Past” Nov. 2 at the Cantor
Film Center at New York University.
Beginning at 10:00 AM, the day-long presentation
will explore the latest archaeological discoveries and
preservation efforts in Turkey, the country recognized
worldwide as the cradle of civilization.
Co-sponsored by Archaeology Magazine, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry
of Tourism of the Republic of Turkey and moderated by
James Russell, the former president of the Archaeological
Institute of America, the program will feature lectures
by the foremost experts in the field of archaeology.
The
reformulation of social and economic life that occurred
in Turkey’s Black Sea Region during the “Neolithic
Revolution” and how recent archaeological discoveries
have challenged past theories surrounding this evolution
are topics being addressed by Mehmet Ozdogan, professor
in the Prehistory Department at Istanbul University.
As
co-director of the New York University sponsored excavations
at Aphrodisias, Guest speaker Christopher Ratté,
associate professor of classics and fine arts at New York
University, will talk about recent discoveries of a settlement
in Aphrodisias dating back to prehistoric times.
Gil
Stein, director of the Oriental Institute at the University
of Chicago, will discuss excavations at Hacinebi, a Mesopotamian
colony in Turkey. Stein directed the excavations at the
6,000-year-old site, from 1992-1997, which have recovered
evidence of an establishment of an Uruk trading colony
in the midst of this pre-existing Anatolian settlement.
Current
excavations at Gordion are uncovering a rich picture of
the Galatian way of life.
As director of these efforts, Mary Voigt, professor
at the College of William and Mary will share discoveries
relating to the Hellenistic period at Gordion in the second
and third centuries.
Cemal
Pulak, assistant professor at Texas A&M University
and Vice President of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology
in Turkey will lecture about the Uluburun shipwreck and
the discoveries of one of the wealthiest and largest known
assemblages of Late Bronze Age items found in the Mediterranean.
In
his illustrated presentation, William Aylward, assistant
professor of classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
will present highlights from the rescue excavation at
Zeugma from a nearly devastating flood in 2000 and present
preliminary results of the study and publication program
now in progress.
Turkey,
the site of two wonders of the ancient world, is a present-day
marvel - the cradle of civilization, the very center of
world history and a modern Westward-looking republic.
It is a country of fascinating contrasts, where antiquity
is juxtaposed with the contemporary, the familiar with
the exotic; where sun-swept beaches beckon less than an
hour away from snow-capped mountains and everywhere visitors
are treated to the extraordinary warmth of the Turkish
people.
For
information, call 1-877-FOR-TURKEY or contact the Turkish
Tourism Offices in Washington, D.C. at 202-612-6800 or
in New York at 212-687-2194, and visit www.tourismturkey.org or www.turizm.gov.tr.
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Media
Contacts:
Brenda Urban (brendau@lhammond.com)
Shelley
Clark (shelleyc@lhammond.com)
LOU
HAMMOND & ASSOCIATES
212-891-0222/0204
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