Each year, the Archeological Institute of America (AIA) holds a meeting to bring together professional and vocational archeologists as well as various others who participate in archeology. The conference is meant for the sharing of new developments and ideas in the field.

Typically over 3000 members are in attendance coming from over 30 different countries and many attend to present their recent findings and work to others in their field. This January, Creighton Arts & Sciences seniors Paige Bockman and Gretchen Stricker will be presenting their papers at the annual AIA meeting in Seattle, Wash.

“Getting selected is very exciting and a little terrifying,” Bockman, a Classical and Near Eastern Civilizations and Anthropology major, said. “I’m very honored that my peers like my work and think highly enough of it to want to listen to me talk about it, even though I’m still an undergrad, so it’s also pretty humbling.  I hope they enjoy my presentation. I get some good speaking experience under my belt.”

Bockman’s paper is on the accuracy of the type of society revealed by funerary evidence. She tests the theory that funerary evidence reveals a type of lived society that is more compatible with the ancestors of the people who are buried, because funerary ritual tends to highlight a glorious past instead of what may be a difficult present. Bockman wrote this paper for a class and decided to submit it to the AIA after learning about the presentations from Fine & Performing Arts Resident Assistant Professor and Gallery Director, Erin Averett.

Averett also informed Stricker — a Classical Civilizations, Anthropology and Latin major — about this opportunity. Stricker too, decided to submit a paper. Her paper is about “Temple Boys,” which are limestone or terracotta depictions of young boys seated in a distinct pose. She investigates the religious significance of this distinctive type of statue. Stricker wrote this paper for an archeological dig she participated in.

“I chose Temple Boys as the topic for my paper because they are almost uniquely Cypriot and the site I was at has found a number of examples,” Stricker said.

Stricker said she is also excited to present her paper to the archeology community and looks forward to getting their feedback.

Both Bockman and Stricker encourage students to always submit their work for recognition in their field. They stress that although not every opportunity will work out, the experience in itself will provide a lot of new opportunities and insight.