To study archeology means to study the activity of humans in the past.
What can we learn from studying the buildings, the artifacts, the cultural landscapes of past civilizations? And how far back in the past do you go? Many centuries ago? Or just a few decades?
Based on a special exhibition that’s in its final few days at the Kelsey Museum of Archeology, perhaps the answer is both.
Photographer Susan Webb’s exhibit “Red Rock and Rust Belt” shows the connections between two cities that are separated by thousands of miles and many centuries: the ancient site of Petra established around 312 B.C. in what is now Jordan -- and Detroit, especially the Detroit of the industrial 20th century.
What can we learn by studying these two cities in side-by-side photographs?
Susan Webb, who has basically had a camera in her hand since her Dad gave her a Kodak Brownie when she was just eight, joined us today to talk about her exhibit.
Listen to the full interview above.