Conversations of the Golden Empires: Modern Discoveries of an Ancient Land

Ages: 16+ years

In the second instalment of our Conversations of the Golden Empires series, experts share how the combination of natural sciences and Peruvian archaeology can broaden our understanding of society, culture, life and death.

Australian Museum Chief Scientist, Prof. Kris Helgen, and our guest expert in Andean archaeology, Dr Jacob Bongers, dive into the fascinating realm of Incan and Pre-Columbian Peru, exploring the region's vertical landscape and unearthing the archaeological secrets within.

Join us for this exciting discussion, led by host of ABC Radio National's Big Ideas, Natasha Mitchell, as we uncover how Peru's astounding biodiversity helped to shape the lives of its ancient peoples.

Professor Kris Helgen is Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI). Prior to joining the AM in 2020, Kris was professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He has focused his research primarily on fieldwork with living animals and research in museum collections to document the richness of life, understand global change, and contribute to important problems in biomedicine. Originally from Minnesota, Kris gained his undergraduate degree in Biology at Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Zoology as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Adelaide. From 2008-2017, he served as Curator-in-Charge of Mammals at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Dr Jacob L. Bongers is a Lecturer and Tutor at the University of Sydney. He holds a Ph.D. in archaeology from the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. Bongers investigates how Indigenous communities respond to political and environmental change. His doctoral research examined how groups in southern Peru confronted successive waves of Inca and European rule through mortuary practices. His current, multidisciplinary research leverages archaeological science and geospatial technology to advance understandings of past land-use strategies and how societies adapted to diverse environments through time. He has conducted archaeological fieldwork in Portugal, Chile, Ethiopia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and Peru.

Natasha Mitchell is a multi-award-winning science and culture journalist, radio presenter, podcaster, and documentary maker. She is host of ABC Radio National's flagship Big Ideas program, was founding host and producer of the blockbuster radio show and podcast All in the Mind for a decade, hosted the ABC's daily social affairs program Life Matters, and was founding host and producer of Science Friction, awarded best Science and Medicine podcast at the Australian Podcast Awards.

Natasha served as vice president of the World Federation of Science Journalists and was recipient of a prestigious Knight Fellowship at MIT/Harvard. her journalism has received numerous accolades, including overall Grand Prize and four Gold World Medals at the New York Radio Festivals. She has facilitated many public forums around Australia, including four science dialogues with the Dalai Lama and guests. She has an engineering degree with first class honours and a postgraduate qualification in science communication.