Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian examines the life and work of America’s greatest Egyptian archaeologist, George Reisner (1867-1942). His legacy of forty-three years of breathtakingly successful excavations at twenty-three different archaeological sites in Egypt and Sudan (ancient Nubia) included pyramids, colossal statues, gold jewelry, decorated tomb chapels, temples, settlements, fortresses, ceramics, furniture, stone vessels, and hieroglyphic inscriptions everywhere. Leading the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition, Reisner put American Egyptology on the world stage. Manuelian presents Reisner’s undeniable impact and considers his life within the context of Western colonialism, racism, and nationalism. He will also explore new visualization technologies, particularly at the Giza Pyramids, that Reisner’s work makes possible today.
Peter Der Manuelian is Barbara Bell Professor of Egyptology in both the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and the Anthropology Departments at Harvard University, and director of the Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East. He was previously on the curatorial staff of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. His Giza Project at Harvard (http://giza.fas.harvard.edu) aims to collect and present online all past, present, and future archaeological activity at the Giza Pyramids. His research and teaching interests include visualization and digital humanities approaches to the ancient world. Among his publications are Walking Among Pharaohs. George Reisner and The Dawn of Modern Egyptology; Digital Giza. Visualizing the Pyramids; 30 Second Ancient Egypt; Mastabas of Nucleus Cemetery G 2100; Slab Stelae of the Giza Necropolis; Living in the Past: Studies in Archaism of the Egyptian Twenty-sixth Dynasty; and Studies in the Reign of Amenophis II. He has also written a number of childrens’ books.
Photo credit: Lauren Thomas