Spring Break
Lecture offers new take on women from past
Austin Reed, Staff Writer, atreed@smu.edu
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News
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Thursday marked another session in the Fred Wendorf Distinguished Lecture Series in McCord Auditorium in Dallas Hall. The night's feature speaker was Dr. Olga Soffer, who offered a different take on the history of ancient women in "In Praise of 'Older' Women: Women's Work and Women's Lives 25,000 Years Ago."
Dr. Soffer is a Professor of Anthropology and the Head of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When she was introduced to the audience, it was remarked that when it came to studying anthropology, she had taken the "road less traveled." She worked as an executive in the fashion industry for a decade, using her paychecks to study art on the side. Over the years, her studies of art eventually morphed into anthropology studies, ending in her receiving multiple Ph.D.s from NYU.
Dr. Soffer began by describing how her travels to Russia were similar to a homecoming experience for her. Her family's ancestors hailed from Russia but were forced to leave in 1917 as a result of the Russian Revolution. Her studies in anthropology eventually led her back to the Central Russian Plains, where numerous excavation sites were to be found.
Dr. Soffer's research is primarily on the role of the female in ancient history. She believes that there was much more depth to the female role in society as opposed to popular beliefs of rugged, masculine alpha males always doing everything. During her time in Russia, she found campsites where evidence was found that females did indeed have a larger role in society.
Instead of turning to obvious archaeological items such as mammoth bones and ancient weapons, Dr. Soffer focused more on the small items surrounding the Paleolithic "campsite" areas that were excavated.
She analyzed anything from rabbit bones to plant remains, and discovered surprising results. One in particular was imprints that were originally believed to be thumbprints and palmprints left from the prehistoric humans, but after careful examination, were found to be the imprints left by ancient textile clothing.
Dr. Soffer is a Professor of Anthropology and the Head of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When she was introduced to the audience, it was remarked that when it came to studying anthropology, she had taken the "road less traveled." She worked as an executive in the fashion industry for a decade, using her paychecks to study art on the side. Over the years, her studies of art eventually morphed into anthropology studies, ending in her receiving multiple Ph.D.s from NYU.
Dr. Soffer began by describing how her travels to Russia were similar to a homecoming experience for her. Her family's ancestors hailed from Russia but were forced to leave in 1917 as a result of the Russian Revolution. Her studies in anthropology eventually led her back to the Central Russian Plains, where numerous excavation sites were to be found.
Dr. Soffer's research is primarily on the role of the female in ancient history. She believes that there was much more depth to the female role in society as opposed to popular beliefs of rugged, masculine alpha males always doing everything. During her time in Russia, she found campsites where evidence was found that females did indeed have a larger role in society.
Instead of turning to obvious archaeological items such as mammoth bones and ancient weapons, Dr. Soffer focused more on the small items surrounding the Paleolithic "campsite" areas that were excavated.
She analyzed anything from rabbit bones to plant remains, and discovered surprising results. One in particular was imprints that were originally believed to be thumbprints and palmprints left from the prehistoric humans, but after careful examination, were found to be the imprints left by ancient textile clothing.
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