Spotlight on selected 2016–17 JGSS Scholars The Jordanian Graduate Student Scholarship (JGSS) was first awarded in 2009. Students must be enrolled in the first year of an M.A. or Ph.D. program in Jordan in a subject related to cultural heritage. Typically, the applicants apply during their first year of graduate study and the award is to help them…
Archaeology
50th Anniversary Lecture by Dr. Barbara A. Porter

The ACOR Video Lecture Series provides accessible discussions of new research into the past and present of Jordan and the broader Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean worlds. This video, adapted from the February 2018 public lecture delivered by ACOR Director Dr. Barbara A. Porter, highlights achievements and memories from ACOR’s 50 years and looks forward…
“Continuity and Change in Mortuary Customs” a public lecture

A public lecture Continuity and change in mortuary customs: the Jordan Valley in the second and first millennia BC A lecture given by Dr. John (Jack) D.M. Green ACOR Associate Director Wednesday April 18, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. About the Lecture: Throughout human history there have been elaborate and simple ways to assist…
ACOR Petra Church Mini-Video

For ACOR’s 50th Anniversary, we have created a series of small videos which highlight projects, people and scholarly work that we are most proud of supporting. One of our major projects has been the Petra Church. Please follow the link to see a two minute YouTube video about this project. This video has been produced…
ACOR @ 50: Past, Present, and Future

A public lecture ACOR @ 50: Past, Present, and Future Wednesday February 28, 2018 at 6:00 p.m. A lecture given by Dr. Barbara A. Porter, ACOR Director Reception to Follow About the Lecture: To inaugurate the ACOR lecture series for our 50th anniversary year, the Director Barbara Porter will reflect on past projects, current accomplishments,…
Southern Jordan’s Medieval Copper Industry

Ian W. N. Jones was an ACOR-CAORC Fellow, Fall 2017. He is a Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. He writes below about his research into copper production in the Feynan region during the Ayyubid period (late 12th to mid 13th century). It is a little ironic that southern Jordan’s Faynan…
Light from the East

Dr. Gary Rollefson, anthropologist and recent National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellow at ACOR, writes below about his ongoing research in the desolate Black Desert of eastern Jordan. In 1980, Alison Betts, a doctoral student at the time, invited me to Jordan’s Black Desert to see what her research area looked like. After climbing to…
Catreena Hamarneh, James A. Sauer Fellow at ACOR, Fall 2017

Catreena Hamarneh is a Jordanian archaeologist and a Ph.D. candidate in Classical Archaeology at Von Humboldt University. In 2017, she was awarded the James A. Sauer ACOR Fellowship. She began her professional career in archaeology working in mosaic conservation and documentation at the Madaba Mosaic School. This inspired her to specialize in mosaic restoration in…
Who Were the People in the Neolithic Black Desert? — An ACOR Video Lecture

The ACOR Video Lecture Series provides accessible discussions of new research into the past and present of Jordan and the broader Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean worlds. This video was adapted from the October 2017 public lecture delivered at ACOR by Dr. Gary Rollefson, ACOR-NEH Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Whitman College. Dr. Rollefson’s…
Ian W. N. Jones, ACOR-CAORC Fellow, Fall 2017

Ian W. N. Jones is a Ph.D. candidate in the Anthropology program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and an ACOR-CAORC Fellow in fall 2017. His research project is titled “Economy, Society, and Small-Scale Industry: Social Approaches to Middle Islamic Copper Production in Southern Jordan.” During his fellowship at ACOR, Ian is focused…
Who Were the People in the Neolithic Black Desert?

An ACOR Public Lecture Who Were the People in the Neolithic Black Desert? Wednesday 18 October 2017 at 6:00 pm Dr. Gary Rollefson ACOR National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow & Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at Whitman College Wednesday 18 October 2017 at 6:00 pm To be followed by a reception About the lecture Before…
Lithics and Learning—Communities of Practice at Kharaneh IV

An ACOR Blog article by recent ACOR fellow Felicia De Peña on her research into stone tool making and experimental archaeology. Felicia was awarded the Kenneth W. Russell Fellowship (2017-2018). For years, I have been drawn to stone tools and the stories that they can tell us about our prehistoric ancestors; from subsistence strategies to…
Include Umm el-Jimal in Tourism Itineraries – An ACOR & USAID SCHEP Video Lecture

The ACOR Video Lecture Series provides accessible discussions of new research into the past and present of Jordan and the broader Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean worlds. This video was adapted from the July 2017 public lecture delivered at ACOR by Dr. Bert de Vries, Professor of Archaeology at Calvin College and Director of the Umm…
Sea Peoples and neo-Hittites — an ACOR Video Lecture by Dr. Timothy P. Harrison

The ACOR Video Lecture Series provides accessible discussions of new research into the past and present of Jordan and the broader Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean worlds. This video was adapted from the May 2017 public lecture delivered by Dr. Timothy Harrison, Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology at the University of Toronto. Please note that…
Vivian Laughlin, 2017—2018 Bikai Fellow

Ms. Vivian A. Laughlin is a Ph. D Candidate in the Institute of Archeology at Andrews University with a concentration in Ancient Near Eastern Archeology and Anthropology. She is the Bikai fellow at ACOR for 2017-2018. Her field research, entitled “Serapis in Hisban: A Historical Narrative of Enculturation of an Ancient Jordanian City,” deals with…