Ancient Studies Week: In Comis Veritas

Location

Library and Gallery, Albin O. Kuhn

Date & Time

October 14, 2015, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Description

Ancient Studies Week

In Comis Veritas:The Principles of Ancient Roman Hairdressing

Janet Stephens, Independent scholar and hairstylist

Through her groundbreaking research, professional hairdresser and self-trained experimental archaeologist Janet Stephens rediscovered the methods used to recreate ancient Roman hairstyles using only natural hair rather than wigs, as was previously believed to have worn. In this lecture and demonstration she will explain the universal rules governing hair behavior so that you too may recognize the truth in any hairstyle, ancient Roman or modern.

Ancient Roman portraits with their distinctive hairstyles are crucially important to archaeology. These hairstyles help identify historical individuals and to date artifacts.

While the iconography of ancient Roman hairstyles is well established, other important questions remained unanswered—What tools and techniques were used to create these hairstyles? Were Roman hairstyles made from natural hair or were they wigs? Were Roman hairstyles actually real or were they simply imagined by the sculptor?

Bio:

Janet Stephens is a professional hairdresser in Baltimore Maryland. She is a self-trained experimental archaeologist specializing in the technical recreation of ancient Mediterranean hairstyles. Her groundbreaking 2008 article, “Ancient Roman hairdressing: on (hair) pins and needles” was published in the prestigious Journal of Roman Archaeology. She presents her work internationally at museums, universities and archaeological conferences. Her work has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, NPR, the BBC, and she has created dozens of historical hairdressing tutorials for her popular YouTube channel. She holds a B.A. in Dramatic Arts from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington.

Sponsored by the Ancient Studies Department and the Dresher Center for the Humanities.