The earliest evidence of artwork made by modern humans, Aurignacian art, was created more than 35,000 years ago and has been found in French, German, and Romanian archaeological sites. Randall White will discuss the rich corpus of Aurignacian painting, engraving, bas-relief sculpture, musical instruments, and personal ornamentation that was studied before World War I
in southwest France, along with recent discoveries from classic Aurignacian sites. He will also highlight how the combined study of archives, long-forgotten museum collections—and even back dirt (excavated material)—is contributing
new discoveries and contextual data about early Eurasian expressive culture.

This event will be livestreamed on the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture Facebook page. A recording of this program will be available on our YouTube channel approximately three weeks after the lecture.

This event is free and open to the public. There is free event parking at 52 Oxford Street Garage.

Learn more about Modern Humans’ Earliest Artwork and Music: New European Discoveries.