Science Under the Dome
Talk Info
Join us for our Science Under the Dome monthly live talk series. Talks in this series are presented by graduate students and postdoc researchers at CU Boulder.
Run time
1 hour (including time to explore your curiosity and ask questions)
Please be aware
Our talks may incorporate one or several of the following features: bright lights, flashing visuals, loud sounds, or intense motion effects.
This is one of our regular talks. Regular ticket prices apply.
CU Boulder students are admitted FREE on THURSDAY NIGHT TALKS with valid Buff OneCard.
Upcoming Science Under the Dome Talks
Thursday, November 19 at 7pm
Take a seat, close your eyes, and just for a moment imagine a world where clothing never existed. The development of tailored clothing dramatically improved people’s ability to keep warm. Without clothing, human populations would never have solved the adaptive challenges involved in migrating across the world during the last Ice Age, a cold, harsh environment where mammoths and giant sloths roamed the Earth. The sewing needle, therefore, was a vital tool that changed the trajectory of humankind as we know it. More than just keeping warm, sewing needles and awls are embedded with cultural values like adorning the body with beadwork for social and identity expression. Through this immersive experience, you will unravel threads of the past and be transported through the eye of a needle to trace the history of tailored clothing and the sewing toolkit. You will learn more about the initial invention of the sewing toolkit, what people used needles and awls for thousands of years ago, how and why people selected the bones of certain animals over others to craft these delicate tools, and consider what the world would be like if sewing needles were never invented in the first place. Come join me and discover more about where the needle, thread, and hide meet.
Bio:Dr. McKenna Litynski is a Postdoctoral Associate with the Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado Boulder. As an interdisciplinary archaeologist, her work investigates the adaptive processes that enabled past humans to inhabit diverse, and often challenging, environments. Her research approach combines experimental, traditional, and biomolecular approaches. Dr. Litynski’s previous research examined archaeological sewing needles and awls manufactured from animal bone, exploring how these technologies supported thermoregulation and human mobility across diverse environments during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Litynski is currently investigating early human-animal relationships and the emergence of animal domestication and pastoralism in Mongolia. Beyond her research, she is passionate about sharing the stories of the past with the public through engaging presentations, educational programs, and meaningful opportunities for community learning.
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