Visiting Scholar to Discuss Prehistoric Findings at JJC

Joliet Junior College plays host to a presentation on recently discovered artifacts from the Mesopotamia region in modern-day Iraq on April 10.

Dr. Hasan Ahmed Qasim will present “The Evolution of Archaeological Research in Duhok Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.” He’s the director of Duhok Antiquities and Museum and a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago.

According to Qasim, archaeological studies have not been adequately conducted in the Mesopotamia. Recent excavations, restorations and surveying have uncovered some unique artifacts from various prehistoric periods, like the Hellenistic, Mitanni and Sumerian. This includes an egg-shaped coffin believed to have never before been reported.

“His interpretation of this is that Sumerian had a belief that human beings or their leader came to earth in an egg and when leaving or after death one should leave in an egg. That is why at that period they were making egg-shaped coffins rather than the general horizontal shaped boxes,” said Osman Cen, assistant professor in JJC’s Department of Natural Sciences.

Qasim’s presentation begins at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10 in Room D2001 at JJC’s Main Campus. The seminar is part of the department’s STEM Scholars series, which are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.