Nancy Bernard's fascination for things ancient never grows old. From the time she picked up the first Stone Age tool, she's wanted to unravel who used it for what, where and why. For nearly 40 years as director and co-founder of Archaeological Associates of Greenwich, Bernard has endeavored to share her passion for the study of ancient people through what they left behind. To students she teaches as part of AAG's outreach she asks, "How did we get the first cities? Jericho was the first only 10,000 years ago. How did that happen?"
To learn more about Nancy Bernard's passion for archaeology and how it plays out in her life and in Greenwich, we took a Time Out with her.
Q: What is AAG and what was its origin?
A: When I first arrived in Greenwich in 1974 from California, I met Cece Saunders and we put together this little organization. In California, UCLA had developed a Prehistoric People Program for school-age children that explained how mankind evolved from just using a small pebble tool to a complicated Neolithic tool. Cece and I offered "A Day of Archaeology" at the Bush Holley House with three speakers. I got permission from UCLA to bring a set of Stone Age tools to Greenwich for the presentation. About 60 people attended and after my talk I passed the Stone Age tools around. I asked if anyone wanted to take this Prehistoric People Program into Greenwich schools. Eight people volunteered, and three teachers said they'd like us to come to their schools. Part of the "Day of Archaeology" was for our attendees to experience a dig at the Greenwich shore. Then Cece and I thought, "Why not get speakers to talk to us about various archeological sites?" So the AAG came to be as a nonprofit organization. We first met in private homes, then Brunswick School, then the Bruce Museum. They are delighted to have us today. Each year the AAG offers our members and guests a series of six lectures by prominent speakers on archaeological subjects. And we now have four docents who go out to the schools with the hands-on ancient artifacts program.
Q: How many members do you have in AAG?
Q: What got you interested in archaeology? What is your background in this field?
A: At Stanford University I was always fascinated by ancient times, but they didn't have archaeology courses at that time. My husband, Allan, and I had moved to Los Angeles. I had three boys in school when I met Ernestine Elster, a graduate student and later prominent professor, who suggested I look into UCLA's program called the Early Man Project. I did and joined several enthusiastic women who met in the basement of Haines Hall to catalog an enormous amount of stone tools that UCLA Chancellor Murphy had obtained from the British Museum's Wellcome Collection. As we cataloged these artifacts, we became experts in Stone-Age tools. Soon, our leader thought "Why not teach youngsters how people have progressed using the tools as illustration?" and that's how the Early Man Project began in Los Angeles and I brought it to Greenwich when we moved East, renaming it the Prehistoric People Program.
Q: Did this lead to your going on digs? What are some favorite expeditions?
A: Ernestine invited a few of my new Connecticut friends on a mission to Greece, where we worked in Thessaly on Stone-Age tools that had been stored in a warehouse during the Greek troubles of the '70s. At another site in Boeotia, near Thebes, we helped catalog tools that the diggers had not finished. Best remembered was sitting on picnic tables, sorting Stone-Age tools and looking out over fields where long ago, Alexander the Great had come to fight the Persians. On weekends, there were excursions to Delphi and lesser-known sites on the island of Euboea. Another year, Ernestine led a group to Italy, near Manfredonia, where we catalog leavings of an archaeological team that had excavated Scaloria Cave. Dr. Elster, is currently visiting assistant professor at UCLA's Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and editor of the book on Scaloria Cave, soon to be published.
Q: The AAG has had a number of interesting lectures over the years. Who have been some of your favorites?
A: Egyptologist Bob Brier, Mr. Mummy, is a delight. He's a senior research fellow at Long Island University. He's coming to speak to us again on May 15, 2014. Several times we had professor Andrew Moore -- the next president of the Archaeological Institute of America and Professor Katherine "Kathy" Schwab, professor at Fairfield University. In the '90s, I served on the national board of the AIA and met many marvelous archaeologists who have come to speak to the AAG.
Q: What is your current outreach with your Prehistoric People Program in schools across town?
A: The AAG's Prehistoric People Program has four docents (Ethel Scully, Neal Konstantin, Marcie Carino and myself) who go out to both private and public schools in Connecticut and suburban New York. These classes usually fit in the sixth-grade level and are part of the Bruce Museum's "Brucemobile." They are scheduled through Julie Williamson in the Bruce Museum's Education Department. Since 1976, we've reached over 70,000 students. We also offer assembly programs; these are for larger groups in the school's library or auditorium. Most popular is the Egypt lecture, but we also offer First Cities, Greece and/or Rome. It's fun to open the eyes of young people to the world's first city at Jericho 10,000 years ago.
Q: How do you see the face of archaeology changed in the field over the years?
A: I'm not in the field, so I can't answer that exactly. But an archaeologist in the field today has a laptop by his or her side. Excavators bring this person what they find and a pattern starts to appear using a computer. That's a big difference from earlier digs and we talk about that in the Prehistoric People presentation.
Q: How do you see the world conflicts affecting the field of archeology -- as in Egypt and Syria?
A: UCLA's Giorgio Buccellati of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology has a stunning site, Urkesh, in northeastern Syria. He's not able to get back to it right now. But he's developed a supportive community that surrounds the site and they Skype him frequently to tell him what is going on. Coming up on Nov. 21 we have a speaker who will answer this question. Neil Asher Silberman will address: "Buried Treasures & Battling Nations: Archaeology in an Age of Global Upheaval."
Q: What other programs have you lined up?
A: On Oct. 17, we have a program on Peru's impressive monuments at Pukara, a little-known site. Anthropology professor Elizabeth Klarich will speak on, "Excavations, Archives & Artisans: 21st Century Archaeology in Peru's Lake Titicaca Basin." She'll highlight an archaeological project that began there in 2000.
Q: How do you join?
A: They can email me at email@example.com. Or they can send a check for $50 to Archaeological Associates of Greenwich, 33 Byram Drive, Greenwich, CT 06830-7007. With membership they receive six issues of AAG News. They can also read my blog (http://archaeologybriefs.blogspot.com/) I share interesting information I receive from various organizations from Chicago, Italy and South Africa. I try to have things on Japan, India, Northern Europe, Africa and the Near East. I also receive comments from all over the world.
Q: What are your archaeological travel plans for the future?
A: I used to lead small group tours for the Bruce Museum and the AAG in the 1980s and 1990s. Each trip emphasized archaeology in France, Scotland, England, Wales, Ireland, Sicily and Malta. Now I'm a participant in archaeological expedition traveling with the AIA, Archeological Tours National Geographic or College Tours. These are marvelous. With the right group, traveling is the best education.