Asheville Adventist Forum Jan. 27, 2024
The Asheville Adventist Forum will convene Saturday, January 27 at 3:00 PM. The speaker will be Oystein LaBianca, an Anthropological Archeologist at Andrews University. LaBianca’s title will be “Biblical archaeology and the Israel-Palestine conflict? A post-colonial perspective on the endeavor to prove the Book by means of the spade.”
Oystein LaBianca is a National Geographic Explorer, Anthropology Professor, and Senior Director of the Hisban Cultural Heritage Project, a community archaeology project centered at Tall Hisban in the country of Jordan. LaBianca was born in Kristiansand, Norway, and immigrated to the United States as a teenager with his family. In 1971, he earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral sciences with an emphasis in anthropology from Andrews University in Michigan.
He holds a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology and archaeology from Brandeis University. In 1980, he joined the Department of Behavioral Sciences at Andrews University as an anthropology instructor; served as chair of that department from 1983-1992; and as associate director of the Andrews University’s Institute of Archaeology from 1992 to present.
LaBianca’s research in Jordan began with studies of long-term human-animal-environment interactions as evidenced by changes over time in animal bone assemblages and related finds uncovered by his excavations and surveys at Tall Hisban. He has also been a leader in introducing community archaeology approaches to archaeological projects in Jordan.
His research has been supported financially by Andrews University Office of Scholarly Research, the National Endowment for the Humanities, National Geographic Society, the American Schools of Oriental Research, the United States Department of State’s Ambassador Fund for Cultural Heritage Preservation, and the Norwegian Research Council. He is a long-time member of the boards of trustees of the American Schools of Oriental Research and the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan.
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