Public Lectures

Most recent public lectures are video-recorded. Click the title for the speaker name, a full description of the talk, and a transcript.

Video: Homo sapiens Meets Neanderthals: The End of a World

Hallam L. Movius, Jr. Lecture Series Lecture by Jean-Jacques Hublin, Professor at the Collège de France (Paris), Emeritus Professor at the Max Planck Society The arrival of Homo sapiens in the mid-latitudes of Eurasia 48,000 to 45,000 years ago and the...
neanderthal and speaker at podium.

Video: The Archaeology of Boston's Revolutionary Past

Join Boston City Archaeologist Joe Bagley for a presentation on archaeological research that is deepening our understanding of Boston’s role in the American Revolution. Bagley shares new findings on the impact of the Siege of Boston and the 1775 Battle of...
historic view of charlestown battle and speaker.

Video: One Woman's Fight to Protect Ancient Maya Legacy

2025 Tatiana Proskouriakoff Lecture When the looting and illicit trade of cultural artifacts surged In the 1960s, one voice rose in defense of archaeological sites in the Americas—Clemency Coggins. A pioneering art historian and legendary figure in Maya...
smiling coggins in her home with books in the background.

Video: Exploring Human Origins at Kenya’s Lake Turkana

2025 Hallam L. Movius, Jr. Lecture by Louise Leakey, Director, Koobi Fora Research Project; Research Professor, Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University; National Geographic Explorer at Large Kenya’s fossil-rich Turkana Basin has been—for over...
leakey at podium in front of screen.