1The Coroplastic Studies Interest Group (CSIG), an interest group of the Archaeological Institute of America, met at the 121^st Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies in Washington, DC (January 3–6, 2020). The meeting was attended mainly by group members, who discussed the CSIG’s main activities in 2019. In addition, each participant was given a chance to speak about his/her own research on terracottas. The discussion also extended to the group’s forthcoming activities at the 122^nd Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies that will be held in Boston. A point brought up yet again was the difficulty of attracting other AIA members and scholars in general to panels/workshops centered uniquely on terracottas. Those in attendance concluded that colloquia and other events that introduce figurines into interdisciplinary discussion would most likely attract larger audiences, ones interested in coroplastic, as well as other topics. A colloquium on workshops and artisans in the ancient Mediterranean that would include the makers not only of figurines and ceramics, but also of statues, objects in metal etc., was proposed for 2021. The purpose of the colloquium would be to discuss both the process of production and the role of the artisan in it.

2Also brought up at the meeting was the possibility of organizing an workshop at AIA 2021 that would address the display of teracottas at museums. Its purpose would be to bring attention to the fact that the current manner of exhibiting terracottas, normally in large groups separate from other objects, is less than ideal, as it isolates such objects from other items offered with them at sanctuaries and tombs. With this goal in mind, the Coroplastic Studies Interest Group will soon start preparing its activities for AIA 2021.

CSIG Work-in-Progress

3In January 2019, Erica Angliker (ICS- London) and Michael Anthony Fowler (Eastern Tennessee State University) organized the colloquium “Archaeology of Ritual in the Ancient Mediterranean: Recent Finds and Interpretative Approaches” that was sponsored by the Coroplastic Studies Interest Group and that took place at the 120^th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America and the Society for Classical Studies in San Diego, CA; Clemente Marconi served as discussant. The panel featured six case studies spanning several cultural groups and sites in the Mediterranean and diverse materials ranging in date from the Early Helladic Period to the Roman Imperial era. Each contribution was related to the issue of archaeologically lower-profile rituals, i.e., rituals that are performed in contexts less clearly demarcated as cultic or personal, mundane, or occasional in nature (See “Recent Papers on Coroplastic Topics” in this issue).

4The original papers serve as the basis for a homonymous collected volume Archaeology of Ritual in the Ancient Mediterranean and will be joined by six additional contributions on the topic. The manuscript, which is currently being edited by Drs. Angliker and Fowler, will be submitted for review to Éditions De Boccard by summer 2020.