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Lectures in Year 2023
December 7, 2023 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM Central Standard Time (US and Canada)
The Memphis Hathor Temple: Recent Work and New Discoveries
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Speaker: Michelle Marlar, Ph.D.
Michelle will talk about the discovery of the temple. In February 2022, the newly formed joint mission team between the HMNS, and the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities began working on the site. As a co-director, she will talk about the project and new findings. Mark your calendar and don’t miss this outstanding lecture!
Speaker Biography: Dr. Michelle Marlar earned her Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology from Baylor University, a Master’s in Ancient Egyptian Art and Archaeology from the University of Memphis, and a PhD in Ancient Egyptian Archaeology and Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Since 2001, she has been working in Egypt. Initially, her focus was the Osiris Temple in Abydos and now, she serves as co-director of a joint American-Egyptian mission at the Memphis Hathor Temple in Mit Rahina. Her goals include conserving, documenting, and excavating artifacts at the sites. She has taught and lectured on various aspects of Egyptian civilization and culture at several schools and colleges in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Texas.
Speaker Biography: Dr. Neil Bockoven is an award-winning geologist, journalist, and author with 35 years of experience in mineral exploration. He earned his doctorate in geoscience from The University of Texas at Austin. His current interests center on the interaction between Early Modern Humans and Neanderthals during the Paleolithic Age and the amazing related discoveries being made through archaeology and ancient DNA analysis. Neil has been a featured speaker at geological and anthropological societies all over the USA. His Paleo Human Mysteries video series has come out recently on YouTube. In addition to his two novels, Moctu and the Mammoth People and The People Eaters, he has also published a related children’s science book titled When We Met Neanderthals. To learn more about Neil, go to his website at https://www.neilbockoven.com, or checkout his Facebook page at authorneilbockoven.
September 7, 2023 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM Central Daylight Time (US and Canada)
The Dinosaur is in the Details
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Speaker: Holly Woodward, Ph.D.
This talk is about how a microscopic focus answers big questions about the fearfully great reptiles. Dr. Woodward will speak about how paleontologists can learn a great deal about how dinosaurs moved and behaved just by studying their skeletons. In addition, when dinosaur bone is examined on the microscopic level, they gain access to even more information about dinosaur lives. Holly will give an introduction on the study of bone tissue microstructure, and what microscopic examination of dinosaur bone tissue reveals about age at death, growth rates, and other growth dynamics. Do not miss this enlightening lecture!
Speaker Biography: Dr. Holly Woodward is a Professor of Anatomy and Paleontology at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a paleohistologist, Holly studies the microscopic structures found within fossil bone tissue to assess growth dynamics, individual variability, and survivorship in dinosaurs like Maiasaura and Tyrannosaurus. To establish a framework for such interpretations, Holly compares biological signals within the bone of modern animals to their documented life histories. In this way, when similar signals are found within fossilized bones of extinct animals, reasonable life history interpretations can be proposed. Holly received her bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University, her M.S. from Texas Tech University, and her Ph.D. from Montana State University. She is a Research Associate at the Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and the Museum of the Rockies, and an Honorary Associate at Museums Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
May 4, 2023 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM Central Daylight Time (US and Canada)
Applying New Genetic Analysis Techniques in Archaeology
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Speaker: Garth C. Clark, Ph.D.
Photo credit: modified from Jillabus @ Wikimedia Commons
During the past decade, rapid advances in technology have improved the ability to recover and analyze DNA in progressively older and smaller samples from ancient archaeological sites. Garth will review recent advances in archaeogenetics (the study of ancient DNA using molecular genetic methods and DNA resources). He will talk about possible upcoming applications of advanced techniques to determine the presence of humans or hominids in North America. Specifically, he will focus on new data from California and Texas sites that indicate dates up to 120,000 BCE. Mark your calendar and do not miss this captivating lecture!
Speaker Biography: Dr. Garth Clark has a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Texas in Austin with specialties in computer programming and biomedical engineering. His work with M.W. Kellogg led to his further specialization in metals analysis and ore origination signatures. In turn, this led him into decades of analyzing coins and other metal objects from Viking, Celtic, and older far eastern archaeology sites. Garth also attended the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and has practiced internal medicine for over 30 years. His unique combination of engineering, computer, and medical backgrounds led him to become involved in designing several labs for medical and genetic research. Currently, he is head of research and CEO of Indyme Genetics.
April 6, 2023 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM Central Daylight Time (US and Canada)
What Is, and Isn’t a Dinosaur?
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Speaker: Thomas Holtz, Jr., Ph.D.
Dinosaurs are among the most famous of ancient organisms. But what are they, really? Are all fossil reptiles dinosaurs? (No!) How do we define what a dinosaur is, and how do we recognize whether an animal is (or isn’t) one? Paleontologist, Dr. Tom Holtz explores these issues, and how our concept of “dinosaur” has changed over time. Mark your calendar and don’t miss this fascinating and educational lecture!
Speaker Biography: Dr. Thomas R. Holtz, Jr. is a Principal Lecturer in Vertebrate Paleontology at the Department of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park. His research focuses on the origin, evolution, adaptations, and behavior of carnivorous dinosaurs, and especially of tyrannosauroids (Tyrannosaurus rex and its kin). He received his Bachelor’s degree from the Department of Earth & Planetary Geology at Johns Hopkins in 1987 and his Ph.D. from the Department of Geology & Geophysics at Yale in 1992. Currently, Tom is also a Research Associate of the Department of Paleobiology at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History and serves on the Scientific Council of Maryland Academy of Science, which operates the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, MD. In addition to his dinosaur research, Tom has been active in scientific outreach. He has been a consultant on museum exhibits around the world, and on numerous documentaries, an author of the award-winning popular audience books, and the current editor of the “Life of the Past” series at Indiana University Press.
March 2, 2023 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
The Golden Age of the Knights of St. John?
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Speaker: Bob Moore
Founded in 1099 AD, the “Knights of Malta” are known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and by several other names. They have been a semi-independent military force for over 900 years. Throughout their existence, they have been in the middle of changing European history. Unlike their more famous fellow knights, the order of the Knights Templar, they survive today. You will be surprised to learn the location of their US Southwest command seat. Mark your calendar and don’t miss this fascinating lecture!
Speaker Biography: Robert ‘Bob’ Moore, Co-Founder of E-MLS, is a retired Certified Financial Planner and avocational archaeologist who loves travel, history, and paleontology. He graduated from Michigan Technological Institute with degrees in geology and computer science. He earned his CFP through the University of Houston. Bob regularly speaks on a variety of paleontological and archaeological topics. He is a Mentor Docent at the Houston Museum of Natural Science (HMNS) and volunteers for Special Exhibits, and the Paleontology Hall and Lab. He participates in both paleontological and archaeological digs for the HMNS, the Burpee Museum of Natural History and other organizations around the world. Bob has been featured in one National Geographic Special.
February 2, 2023 (Thursday) at 7:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
Before the Pharaohs:
Breaking New Ground in Egypt’s Ancient Prehistory
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Speaker: Sanaa El-Sayed
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Miss Sanna's lecture will focus on the creation of the MUVP in 2010, the home of the first dedicated vertebrate paleontology program in the Middle East. Sanaa will also talk about her role in the amazing history of the MUVP, her incredible journey as one of the first women in the Middle East to become a vertebrate paleontologist and the first woman in the region to lead a scientific paper on the subject. Sanaa’s career has helped to set an example for young female Egyptian scientists, empowering them to follow their dreams regardless of preexisting customs and traditions. You will learn about her personal discoveries and contributions to paleontology. So, mark your calendar. You do not want to miss this inspirational lecture!
Speaker Biography: Miss Sanaa El-Sayed, co-founder, and past Vice Director of MUVP in Egypt, is currently a PhD student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and the Museum of Paleontology at the University of Michigan, USA. Sanaa is the first female National Geographic Explorer in Egypt and the Middle East in the area of paleontology, as well as the first female in the Middle East to lead an international peer-reviewed paper in vertebrate paleontology. That research, which described and named a giant catfish fossil (Qarmoutus) from the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Wadi Al-Hitan “Valley of the Whales” in 2017, caught the attention of the international media. Since 2011, Miss El-Sayed has been involved in more than 40 vertebrate paleontological field projects in Egypt, supported by competitive awards from the National Geographic Society, the Leakey Foundation, and other scientific organizations. Sanaa is currently working on multiple research projects. Due to her outreach efforts as a female role model, MUVP now includes three female graduate students. In addition, there have now been roughly one hundred female volunteers and undergrad students in MUVP over the years. Sanaa’s work and inspirational story gained worldwide media attention (National Geographic, Discover Magazine, BBC, etc.) and her story was selected to be represented in several books.