Lecture | Archaeology Now—The Marsh Arab Story: Ancient Cultures, Modern Lives
The Marsh Arab Story: Ancient Cultures, Modern Lives
The Marsh Arab Story: Ancient Cultures, Modern Lives
The Marsh Arab Story: Ancient Cultures, Modern Lives
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Archaeology Now—The Marsh Arab Story: Ancient Cultures, Modern Lives
Two great rivers—the Tigris and the Euphrates—created the largest wetland ecosystem in Western Eurasia. Civilization was born in this vast fertile region some 5,000 years ago. The Marsh Arabs, the ancient cultural group that populates this region, developed a unique way of life centered on this lush environment that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Beginning in the 1990s, the existence and identity of this culture were threatened by ecological destruction due to warfare, climate change, and damming. Learn more about the story at this talk.
About the Presenter
Zaid Alrawi is a landscape archaeologist and the Southern Mesopotamia projects manager at the University of Pennsylvania. Archaeology Now is the Houston affiliate of the nationwide organization the Archaeological Institute of America.
Free Tickets
Admission is free with your ticket.
Plan Your Visit
The lecture takes place in Brown Auditorium Theater in the Law Building. On Thursdays, the Museum is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with free general admission.
Related Event | Friday, May 5, 7 p.m.
Film Screening | Archaeology Now—Miracle on the Marshes of Iraq
General admission to the MFAH is free on Thursdays, courtesy of Shell Oil Company.
All Learning and Interpretation programs at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, receive generous support from Macey and Harry Reasoner; the Claire and Theodore Morse Foundation; and the Texas Commission on the Arts. Endowment funds are provided by the Louise Jarrett Moran Bequest; Caroline Wiess Law; Windgate Foundation; the William Randolph Hearst Foundation; Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff; the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Fondren Foundation; BMC Software, Inc.; the Wallace Foundation; the Neal Myers and Ken Black Children’s Art Fund; Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Ballard; Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Tate; the Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation; Virginia and Ira Jackson; the Favrot Fund; CFP Foundation; Neiman Marcus Youth Arts Education; gifts in memory of John Wynne; gifts in memory of Peter Lotz; and gifts in honor of Beth Schneider.