About the Lecture
Archaeology is not just about the past but also is quite relevant to the world today. It can fill key gaps in recent history that have been ignored by written records, it can help preserve and conserve the world’s historical heritage, it can strengthen tourism and economic opportunities, it can help build ethnic pride (although this has its dangers, too!), and it can serve modern communities in a variety of ways such as providing expert testimony in land disputes. It also can offer new understandings of waste disposal, homelessness, border crossings, and the use of forensics. Moreover, archaeology’s long time perspective can provide fresh insights into issues such as sustainability, resilience, and adaptation to changing ecological and cultural conditions. While archaeology clearly cannot solve the huge problems facing peoples around the globe, this lecture shows how it can shed some useful light on these problems.
About the Speaker
Jeremy Sabloff is Christopher H. Browne
Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, Emeritus, and former director of the
University of Pennsylvania Museum (1994-2004). An archaeologist, he recently
retired as president of the Santa Fe Institute, where he continues as a member
of the external faculty. He has written or edited 21 books and monographs on
ancient Maya civilization, the rise of complex societies and cities, the
history of archaeology, and the relevance of archaeology in the modern world.
He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American
Philosophical Society, as well as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences and the Society of Antiquaries (London). The Society for American
Archaeology honored him with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and he is a
recipient of the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s Lucy Wharton Drexel Medal.
For More Information
sponsored by the
Hendrix College Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Contact Jamie Groat at groatj@hendrix.edu or 501-450-1373.
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