About: Claire Lyons

I joined the Department of Antiquities as curator two years ago, after spending quite a few years as a curator for history of archaeology at the Getty Research Institute. There I built collections relating to the rediscovery of antiquity in different world traditions, including Mexico. My PhD is actually in classical archaeology, with a focus on Magna Graecia—the Greek colonial areas of southern Italy and Sicily. This background helped me appreciate the parallels with colonial New Spain. The finds being made in Mexico City are an archaeologist's dream, and having been bitten by the Aztec "bug," I will absolutely find good reasons to continue research and travels there.