Susanne Gänsicke, Senior Conservator and Head of Antiquities Conservation, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles Double reed pipes, known as auloi, were popular musical instruments in the ancient Mediterranean. In 1921, archaeologists exploring the necropolis of Meroë (northern Sudan)—as part of the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition—found a large collection of auloi in […]
Constantino Brumidi’s Roman-Style Wall Paintings for the US Capitol Dr. Elise Friedland (George Washington University, D.C.) The US Capitol—America’s central federal building—echoes ancient Greece and Rome, not only in its architecture and architectural sculpture, but even in its decorative murals. This talk presents new research on the 1858 fresco cycle in the Senate wing’s Naval […]
The Neolithic is a period of fundamental changes in living circumstances, much of which is tied to the shift from a lifeway based exclusively on hunting, gathering, and collecting wild plants and animals to one where domesticated plant and animals form a significant portion of the diet. For Western Asia, the human remains of early […]
Sienkewicz Lecture on Roman Archaeology Jodi Magness, Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (magness@email.unc.edu) In the first century B.C.E., Herod the Great, who ruled Judea as client king on behalf of Rome, built a fortified palace atop the mountain of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea. […]
Whilst mining for diamonds in 2008, mine workers in Oranjemund, Namibia found over 40 tons of cargo from a shipwreck buried under the sand for centuries. The ship is likely the Portuguese vessel Bom Jesus, which wrecked off the coast of Namibia in 1533 AD, and the artefacts found reveal aspects of European trade and […]
On Friday, November 26, the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments—reopen to the public. See https://bit.ly/HMSCExhibitions for hours and reservations. Muchos Méxicos explores Mexico’s rich history as a […]
On Friday, November 26, the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture—the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, and the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments—reopen to the public. See https://bit.ly/HMSCExhibitions for hours and reservations. Much like today, ancient “consumers” were connected to […]
Abstract: When we think of the pyramids of Egypt, we usually refer to the gigantic pyramids of Giza. These were statements of power in the early ancient Egyptian state. Yet, power does not become effective simply by building monuments. It rests on the ability of rulers to manipulate social relationships. In Egypt, the relationship between […]
Explore the wonders of tropical Indochina on our luxurious tour of Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Mekong River. Begin with two nights in Ho Chi Minh City (still known by many as Saigon), a busy and dynamic metropolis that exudes energy and buzzes with activity. Then embark on a seven-night Mekong River cruise aboard the beautiful […]
In this talk, Rob Weiner will discuss his recent fieldwork throughout the Chaco World, which combines LiDAR, drone aerial photography, and on-the-ground documentation to investigate the history, use, and meaning of monumental roads in Chacoan society. He will focus on new insights regarding the destinations of roads and ritual practices carried out on them, with […]
