The original version of this article contained multiple errors and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.
Compared to the 24-century-old violin-shaped figurine a UCLA archaeologist excavated from the Early Bronze Age, 40 years seems like a paltry number.
Nestled on the ground floor of Fowler Museum, the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA is unknown to many students. The Institute celebrated its 40th anniversary in a series of two-week-long events that culminated in an open house this past weekend.
The open house provided an opportunity for interested community members to visit all the labs and look at the research being conducted.
Although the Institute hosts an open house every year, this year the Institute inaugurated the Lloyd Cotsen Prize for Lifetime Achievement in World Archaeology.
“The award involves an anonymous nomination process and will be given every three years,” said Abigail Levine, a student affairs officer of the Cotsen Institute and one of the organizers of the anniversary celebration.
Professor Ofer Bar-Yosef is the senior laureate of the Cotsen Prize this year and received $40,000, while Carolina Mallol, the Junior Laureate of the Cotsen Prize this year, received $10,000.
The open house featured a children’s room with different arts and crafts activities, so they could have fun with the various artistic techniques, Levine said.
Before the event, Kara Cooney, Egyptologist and assistant professor of Egyptian art and architecture, said she planned to bring her 3-year-old son along to the open house again this year. Last year, she said her son enjoyed watching flintknapping, a process in which experts shape flint stones to create tools.
UCLA archaeologists work in many different departments, Cooney said, including the Department of Art History, the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures and the Department of Classics.
“(Cotsen is where) we come together and discuss antiquity,” she said.
Correction: The open house was held this past weekend.