The Explorers Club, of which I am a member, hosted the fantastic Dr. Sarah Parcak in an online lecture last night: “Human Resilience in Egypt’s Middle Kingdom: Lessons In the Time of a Global Pandemic”. If you don’t follow Dr. Sarah Parcak on Twitter you really need too! She is an amazing Egyptologist, totally revolutionizing the use of remote sensing in archaeology, and very funny.
Here is the blurb on the lecture:
“We are in the midst of tumultuous times: A global pandemic, the rise of nationalism in Europe and the United States, climate change, protests around Black Lives Matter, and likely economic collapse across multiple sectors. Many of us fear for our futures. We lack the perspective that the study of the past can bring us. From archaeological data, we learn that while systems may collapse, they can reform into ones that allow for more equitable societies to exist. A perfect example of this moment in time can be seen in the transition from Egypt’s Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom. Egypt’s Old Kingdom – the great Pyramid Age – collapsed under the weight of social, political, economic, and environmental challenges, with numerous parallels to what our world is experiencing at present. After over 100 years of internal conflict, the Middle Kingdom began.
This period of time is known as ancient Egypt’s renaissance, with amazing developments in art, architecture, and literature. It provides a lens into what might be possible in spite of the challenges that surround us today. This talk will explore how the Old Kingdom collapsed and then evolved into the Middle Kingdom, focusing on cutting edge satellite remote sensing tools and ongoing excavations at the Middle Kingdom capital of El Lisht. It will showcase how human resilience is our greatest asset to survive and thrive in our world’s darkest times.
Sarah Parcak is an Archaeologist and Egyptologist and has worked on excavations across the globe since 1999. Sarah is the author of Satellite Remote Sensing For Archaeology (Routledge 2009) and Archaeology from Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past (Henry Holt 2019), as well as many peer-reviewed academic papers. Sarah is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a National Geographic Society Explorer, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and winner of the 2016 TED Prize. Sarah serves as the Founder and President of Globalxplorer, a non-profit dedicated to using cutting edge technologies to protect and preserve cultural heritage. She co-directs the Joint Lisht Mission with Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities, which focuses on the excavation and survey of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom capital.
Her research has been featured in BBC-Discovery Channel and PBS-Nova documentaries. Sarah’s work as an archaeologist specializes in the use of diverse space and aerial-based platforms to map and model ancient landscapes. This has helped her understand better how and why past cultures grew or collapsed in the face of social, political, economic, and environmental challenges. You can follow Sarah on Twitter @indyfromspace
This event will be streamed live embedded right on our homepage at explorers.org and on our Facebook Live at 7:00 pm on Monday, August 10.” (https://explorers.org/events/detail/human-resilience-in-egypts-middle-kingdom).
To watch a recording of the video please see: https://explorers.org/events/detail/human-resilience-in-egypts-middle-kingdom and