Why Archaeology Matters, Not Just for the Reasons You Think
From The Observatory
Date
November 5, 2025
Location
University of Colorado Boulder
Area
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Archaeologists normally suggest that the discipline’s main strength is in telling us about past events that escape the written historical record. In this lecture I will argue that we can also embrace how archaeology provides us with creative ways to think about a wide range of contemporary issues. Drawing on examples ranging from the excavation of the first Viking boat burial found on the UK mainland to studies of a Bronze Age gold worker, this lecture sets out how a collaborative archaeology can help us think differently not only about the worlds of the past but also about those of today and tomorrow.
Key Speaker: Oliver Harris
Participants
University of Colorado Boulder Department of Anthropology
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Anthropology is the study of humans and our biological relatives across time and space. It is the only field to address the diversity of the human experience in its biological, cultural, and historical contexts. The discipline necessarily incorporates a wide range of theoretical and methodological traditions, drawing on and contributing to approaches in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. It is the breadth of our vision of what it means to be human, as well as the breadth of our theoretical and methodological approaches, that constitute our unique mission and role within the university. We feel it is of crucial importance to communicate this broad vision of diversity and complexity to students so that they come to have a deeper understanding of what it means to be human.
