About
Lauren Talalay's research focuses on two distinct and different aspects of material culture and the ancient world: 1) the symbolic uses of the human form in Neolithic Greece, and 2) the past as a commodity in modern society. Her studies of Neolithic Greece concentrate primarily on ways in which early cultures perceived the human body and how anthropomorphic figurines mediated sex, gender, and other identities. Her studies on the "usable" past as a commodity explore how ancient Greek, Roman, Near Eastern, and Egyptian images are employed in modern advertising and political cartoons. Additional projects include archaeological fieldwork at several sites in the Mediterranean, including Franchthi Cave, Greece, and Plakari, on the island of Euboea. She is currently writing a book on the largely unpublished photographs and writings of George R. Swain, a Michigan photographer who traveled throughout the Mediterranean from 1919 to 1926.
