ISM Presents Dr. Joan M. Cichon: The Uses of Mythology in Understanding Ancient Cultures

Summary: In this presentation, Joan will discuss the use of mythology within the field of archaeomythology, a discipline founded by the great Lithuanian archaeologist Marija Gimbutas. Citing examples from her recent work, Matriarchy in Bronze Age Crete: A Perspective from Archaeomythology and Modern Matriarchal Studies, Joan will illustrate how mythology is one of the tools scholars within the broader field of archaeomythology can use to understand both the material and spiritual realities of cultures which have left no decipherable written records.

Bio Joan M. Cichon , Ph.D., a retired history professor and reference librarian and oneof the founding board members of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology, earned her doctorate in Philosophy and Religion from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her recently published book is entitled Matriarchy in Bronze Age Crete: A Perspective from Archaeomythology and Modern Matriarchal Studies (Oxford: Archaeopress,2022). Joan has published articles on the Cretan Mother Goddess, the…