Talks & Seminars
Footmarks - ancient travels and prehistoric footprints - with author Jim Leary
Inspired by RAMM’s ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ exhibition, delve into an exploration of humankind’s earliest form of transport — our own two feet!
Join award winning archaeologist, lecturer and writer Jim Leary and embark on a journey into the deep past. Discover the 3.66 million year old Laetoli footprints, the earliest known examples which were made in Tanzania by an early, bipedal ancestor of humans. Explore the 5000 year old foot hunter gatherer footprints in the Severn Estuary that show children dancing around one another. Hear about the modern scientific techniques shedding light on the movements of ancient travellers, from the movements of individuals to the migration of large waves of people throughout the past.
Jim Leary is an archaeologist and award-winning Senior Lecturer at the University of York, specialising in prehistoric monuments and landscapes. He was formerly a prehistorian with English Heritage and ‘Field Archaeologist in Residence’ at the University of Cambridge. He has directed significant excavations across Britain, including Silbury Hill, the largest Neolithic monument in Europe, Marden Henge, a vast monument between Avebury and Stonehenge, and Cat’s Brain timber hall and long barrow. A passionate walker, he is also fascinated by how people moved around in the past, and the benefits studying past mobilities can bring to archaeology. He has edited two academic volumes on the subject and written a paper for the journal Antiquity.
In his new book – Footmarks – he follows the footsteps of early hunter-gatherers preserved in mud and treads ancient trackways hollowed by feet over time. Passing drovers, wayfarers, and medieval pilgrims, Footmarks reveals how people have always been on the move.
The ‘Are we nearly there yet? A history of transport’ exhibition will be open for viewing between 6 and 6.30pm. Talk starts at 6.30pm
Jim Leary is an archaeologist and award-winning Senior Lecturer at the University of York, specialising in prehistoric monuments and landscapes. He was formerly a prehistorian with English Heritage and ‘Field Archaeologist in Residence’ at the University of Cambridge. He has directed significant excavations across Britain, including Silbury Hill, the largest Neolithic monument in Europe, Marden Henge, a vast monument between Avebury and Stonehenge, and Cat’s Brain timber hall and long barrow. A passionate walker, he is also fascinated by how people moved around in the past, and the benefits studying past mobilities can bring to archaeology. He has edited two academic volumes on the subject and written a paper for the journal Antiquity.
In his new book – Footmarks – he follows the footsteps of early hunter-gatherers preserved in mud and treads ancient trackways hollowed by feet over time. Passing drovers, wayfarers, and medieval pilgrims, Footmarks reveals how people have always been on the move.
The ‘Are we nearly there yet? A history of transport’ exhibition will be open for viewing between 6 and 6.30pm. Talk starts at 6.30pm
