Dear Colleagues and Students,
You are cordially invited to a seminar titled “ From Coins to Data: New History for Ancient Antioch ” organized by the Department of History and in collaboration with the Department of Archaeology.
Date: 27.04.2022
Time: 17.30 (Ankara Time Zone)
Title: “From Coins to Data: New History for Ancient Antioch ”
Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Kristina Neumann
Zoom Meeting Link: Please contact to the department
Abstract:
This talk discusses how digital numismatics facilitates new research into ancient Antioch in Syria. My monograph, Antioch in Syria: A History from Coins (300 BCE-450 CE) (Cambridge University Press, 2021), critically reassesses the capital city by applying the techniques of Exploratory Data Analysis and digital mapping to a database of 300,000 coin finds. Although Antioch’s prominence is famous, a quantitative analysis of coins minted in the city and excavated throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East exposes the gradations of imperial power and local agency mediated within its walls. As imperial governments capitalized upon Antioch’s location and amenities, the citizens developed in their own distinct identities and agency – both financial and political. This research serves as the foundation for the collaborative online exhibit, SYRIOS: Studying Urban Relationships and Identity over Ancient Syria (https://syrios.uh.edu), which teaches public audiences about how digital humanities methodologies enhance the value of coins as historical evidence.
Biography
Kristina Neumann, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Roman/Digital History in the Department of History at the University of Houston. Her research applies 21st-century technologies and innovative methodologies to analyze the ancient past and advance academic and public engagement with this history. She has worked with archaeological projects in Rome, Pompeii, and Israel and is the executive producer of the podcast, Public Historians at Work.