The Ghosts of Time:
Missing majorities, invisible presents, imagined pasts and the living dead
An essay in consilience

In his inaugural Beacon Lecture, Professor Finlayson retraces his footsteps in a lifetime of exploration, taking us through unimaginable journeys across the vastness of time from the fragmentary world of human origins, through the dark worlds of the Ancient Greeks to those of life forms that have stood the test of time. Archaeology, history, anthropology, evolution, ecology and heritage all merge in this world of the known, the unknown and the unknowable.

About the Speaker

Clive Finlayson is Beacon Professor at the University of Gibraltar. He is Director of the Gibraltar National Museum and of the Gorham’s Cave Complex UNESCO World Heritage Site. He is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto (Canada) and Visiting Professor at Liverpool John Moores University (UK). He is an Elected Member of the European Academy. Clive describes himself as a naturalist with an interest in many different and diverse subjects, from archaeology to ecology, that have contributed to his world view.  His specialist subjects include avian evolutionary ecology and human origins.