The Archaeological and Anthropological Society of Victoria is a group that promotes the study of archaeology, anthropology, ethno-archaeology and ethno-history in both Australia and further abroad. Lectures, from a range of talented presenters, are held every third Thursday of the month at 6:30pm at the Kathleen Syme Library & Community Centre (251 Faraday St, Carlton), and are also accessible online via Zoom.

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Spirit of Place: Waves of Industry across Port Melbourne

Presented by Dr David Radcliffe
Professor Emeritus, Purdue University

Although the story of post-war manufacturing in Port Melbourne, including Fishermans Bend, is well known, very little has been written about its antecedents. Through a series of vignettes, this presentation explores the waves of industry that washed over this area from the 1850s to the 1950s. It spans factories making ships biscuits, candles, town gas, sugar, coffee and spices, glassware and bottles, starch, chemicals and spirits in the 19^th century and enterprising engineering firms designing innovative milling and factory equipment, winches and excavators, machinery and industrial cranes and aircraft to defend the country during the first half of the 20^th century. The emphasis is on people and place rather than technology. This cultural heritage is significant in the context of the Innovation Precinct and Advanced Manufacturing initiatives envisaged for the Fishermans Bend Renewal District.

Biography

A mechanical engineer, David Radcliffe had a 40-year academic career in Australia and the US. For much of this time, he studied engineering practice in small and large manufacturing contexts focused on product design. His first collaboration with anthropologists studying industrial practices was at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre in Silicon Valley in 1992. The talk is based on David’s new book, Making It Here.

Zoom transmission depends on our resources, & agreement of the lecturer.
Register with this link, and you will be emailed your code :
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwrcOyorTktGdXNP_9cW8YV-P8xKyvn1xmM

Please register well before the lecture, and note it is Melbourne time (AEST). 
You can join from 6:15 onwards. Please adjust your settings to ‘Mute’ once the presentation begins.

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Voyages towards the sub-Antarctic islands: new narratives in the 19th century sealing industry

Presented by Raquel Nolasco
PhD Candidate, La Trobe University

This talk will present a new perspective on the narratives from the 19^th century sealing industry from the sub-Antarctic region. Understanding that the relations established during the hunt for skins and oil involved more than humans’ economic interests, it will seek to bring to light the contribution that many characters (sealers, marine species, and objects) gave to the history of the sealing industry. This talk is an invitation to travel to distant lands with harsh environments, adverse situations, uncertainties, disturbances to islands native life, and how archaeology can give a new perspective to this story.

Biography
Raquel Nolasco is an archaeologist with an undergraduate and master’s degree in archaeology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. Her master’s research was on the sealing contexts from the 19^th century from the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica focusing on hunting and processing techniques and methods of marine mammals and the use of Symmetrical Archaeology concepts.

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Equestrian Connections: Exploring Inter-Regional Contacts in Iron Age Veneto

Presented by Ronak Alburz
PhD Candidate, University of Melbourne

Although the story of post-war manufacturing in Port Melbourne, including Fishermans Bend, is well known, very little has been written about its antecedents. Through a series of vignettes, this presentation explores the waves of industry that washed over this area from the 1850s to the 1950s. It spans factories making ships biscuits, candles, town gas, sugar, coffee and spices, glassware and bottles, starch, chemicals and spirits in the 19^th century and enterprising engineering firms designing innovative milling and factory equipment, winches and excavators, machinery and industrial cranes and aircraft to defend the country during the first half of the 20^th century. The emphasis is on people and place rather than technology. This cultural heritage is significant in the context of the Innovation Precinct and Advanced Manufacturing initiatives envisaged for the Fishermans Bend Renewal District.

While a notable cultural division persisted between Central Europe and the Mediterranean until the Roman era, the similarities in horse culture across the southern and eastern regions of the Pannonian basin, the Southeast Alpine area, and Veneto during the Iron Age suggest the existence of inter-regional contacts. Various hypotheses have been proposed regarding the trade or exchange of horses, particularly between Pannonia and Veneto; however, the precise nature of these contacts and the agents facilitating these cultural exchanges remain elusive.
Given the challenges in portraying the Veneti as merely dealers of Eastern horses, this project explores the development of Venetic horse culture within the diverse socio-cultural landscape of Iron Age Veneto. This landscape includes the establishment of urban centers, the rise of equestrian social hierarchies (the Equites class), and the re-introduction of inhumation rites, which suggest external influences and a diverse ethnic composition in Early Iron Age Veneto. The project investigates whether shared traits in horse-related traditions developed independently or reflect the influence of Pannonian (Vekerzug) horse culture on Veneto, possibly through direct interaction or via Slovene territory. Additionally, the study examines the importance of Caput Adriae and the Balkan branches of the Amber Road as alternative routes for both trade and cultural exchange into Italy.

Biography

Ronak Alburz is a second-year PhD student at the University of Melbourne. She earned her BA in Information Technology from York University (Toronto) in 2013 and worked in the IT industry until 2020. She then transitioned to postgraduate studies in Classics and Archaeology. Ronak is primarily interested in cross-cultural encounters in the Iron Age, focusing on the transmission of knowledge (both ideological and technical), cult practices, and human mobility from the East to the West, particularly to Italy.

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Notices

Post Office Boxes

We advise all members that AASV now has two mailing addresses. Membership address: PO Box 200, Benalla VIC 3672.

General Correspondence and Artefact subscription enquiries: PO Box 203, Carlton VIC 3053.