Flash Talk | The Kelsey Museum Botanical Collections from Karanis: Challenges and Opportunities for Dating Legacy Material with Radiocarbon Analysis

The extensive and exceptionally preserved collections of organic artifacts and ecofacts from Karanis—a Graeco-Roman farming village in the Fayum (Egypt), excavated by the University of Michigan between 1924 and 1935—offer an untapped and unique resource for reevaluating the chronology of the site. Carbon-14 analysis on specimens of stored grains retrieved from 12 Karanis houses reveals a clear disconnect with the current dating of the domestic structures. In this Flash Talk, Laura Motta will discuss the results of such study in relation to the opportunities and challenges of radiocarbon analysis of legacy collections, both in terms of sample selection as well as ethical concerns over destructive analysis and stewardship of cultural heritage.

Kelsey Museum Flash Talks are 15-minute Zoom lectures by Kelsey curators, staff members, researchers, graduate students, and guests talking about their recent research or current projects. Each presentation is followed by 15 minutes of Q&A. Flash Talks are free and open to all visitors. They take place at noon on the first Friday of every month.

To register for this Flash Talk, fill out the form at https://forms.gle/vMmEasN7JZrhBrgp8. Zoom log-in information will be provided upon registration. Please sign up by 9:30 AM the day of the event to ensure you receive a confirmation email containing the access code.