Virtual Voyaging: Computer Simulations and Seafaring
From The Observatory
Date
November 5, 2025
Location
Archaeology Center, Stanford, CA
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On the digital sea, computational models offer a virtual laboratory for testing how people in the past sailed between islands, building communities across the water. This talk showcases two examples of how digital modeling helps us understand ancient seafaring. From the Aegean Bronze Age, spatial analysis offers clues to where people may have fled after the eruption of one of the largest volcanoes in history. From Oceania, paleoclimate data let us explore how past sailors navigated, while their experience offers insight into our present age of rising sea levels and vulnerable supply chains.
Key Speaker: Katie Jarriel
Participants
Stanford Archaeology Center
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The Stanford Archaeology Center is an interdisciplinary hub focused on innovative research and education in archaeology and heritage. We seek to understand the past and also the complex ways in which the archaeological past contributes to contemporary and future worlds. We work to redress the colonial foundations of archaeology through an enduring commitment to ethics and to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. Through dedicated lab facilities, workshops and lectures with distinguished scholars, opportunities for hands-on fieldwork and access to the Stanford University Archaeology Collection, the Center supports excellence in archaeological research and fosters dynamic links between scholars in disparate fields.
