University of Illinois professor to discuss social hierarchy in prehistoric Europe during Randolph lecture

William Parkinson, professor and curator of anthropology at the Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Illinois at Chicago, will discuss his research into social hierarchy in southeastern Europe during a Randolph College lecture. 

“From Farmers to Kings: The Emergence of Social Hierarchy in Prehistoric Europe” will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m. 

Parkinson will also discuss an international exhibition, The First Kings of Europe, he co-curated. The exhibit details the emergence of that hierarchy over several millennia, as early agricultural villages gave rise to tribal kingdoms and monarchies, replacing smaller, more egalitarian social structures with complex state organizations led by royal individuals invested with power.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Lynchburg Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA Lynchburg) and Randolph College’s museum and heritage studies program.