Speaker – Kathryn Grossman, Assistant Professor, NC State Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Hosted by MEAS Seminar Committee

Title – Society Against the State in Prehistoric Cyprus: the Politics of Village Life at Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia

Abstract – Archaeological research at the site of Makounta-Voules-Mersinoudia in northwestern Cyprus has produced evidence of occupation from 3000 to 1600 BC. Since 2018, excavations by an NCSU team have focused on exploring the remains of a settlement and an associated cemetery. Our work has produced insights into the nature of prehistoric Cypriot village life while at the same time raising new questions about politics and social organization on the island.

About the Speaker – Kathryn Grossman is an archaeologist and zooarchaeologist with expertise in the complex societies of Southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean. Grossman’s current research focuses on resistance to state-making, the biographies of early cities, and human/non-human animal relationships in early complex societies. She directs the Makounta-Voules Archaeological Project and has been a senior staff member on archaeological projects across Syria, Cyprus, Egypt, and Iraq. Grossman also is currently co-authoring the final report on excavations at Tell Qarqur, Syria, where she worked from 2006 to 2010.

At NC State, Grossman currently teach courses in Introductory Archaeology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Egyptian Archaeology, and Archaeological Field Methods. Before coming to NC State, she taught at MIT and Bradley University.