John Hodgson's poem Transition is inspired by a prehistoric necklace excavated by pioneering archaeologist Dorothy Garrod (1892-1968) from Mount Carmel in Israel in the 1930s, and now in the collection of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Garrod became the first female professor in the history of the University of Cambridge.
John writes,
"Dorothy Garrod admits that the assembly of the necklace, originally at least, was a guess, there being no evidence for any thread to tie the assembly together. Equally there is no evidence beyond precedents that straight men make better professors of archaeology or knappers of flint or carvers of bone. The Natufian culture was a transition between nomadic and more settled existences. The era of gendered work privilege may be equally transitory in the historical record."
This track is part of the Museum Remix: Unheard project. Find out more at: www.museums.cam.ac.uk/museumremix
You can find out more about Dorothy Garrod and the necklace at: www.museums.cam.ac.uk/magic/necklaces-mount-carmel
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