Donny George Youkhanna

Donny George Youkhanna (Arabic: , ) (October 23, 1950 – March 11, 2011) was an Iraqi-Assyrian archaeologist, anthropologist, author, curator, and scholar, and a visiting professor at Stony Brook University in New York.

Biography Youkhanna was born in Habbaniyah, Iraq in 1950 to Assyrian parents from northern Iraq. He was fluent in Aramaic, Arabic, and English.

Youkhanna was the Director General of Iraq's National Museum, Chairman of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and the President of the Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. He conducted excavations in the Bekhme Dam area, Nineveh, and Tell Umm al-Aqarib as well as working on many restoration projects in Babylon, Nimrud, Nineveh, Ur and Baghdad. He authored two books on the structural design and stone industries of Tell es Sawwan, and gave several presentations on the current museum conditions and historical archaeological sites of Iraq.

Dr. George, who dropped his last name for professional purposes, was instrumental in recovering over half of the 15,000 Mesopotamian artifacts looted from the National Museum in Baghdad during the invasion. A majority of the artefacts date back to 6,000 years from the ancient empires of Assyria and Babylonia.

He became the international face of the plight of ancient sites and artefacts in Iraq, many of which were stolen or destroyed during the invasion. In December 2008, Youkhanna was decisive in preventing the sale of royal Neo-Assyrian earrings from the world-famous Nimrud treasures at Christie's art auction in New York.

Due to threats from unknown militia groups during the US occupation of Iraq, Youkhanna was forced to flee Iraq with his family first to Syria and then to the United States in 2006, to take up a position as visiting professor at Stony Brook University in New York. Director General of Research and Studies, 2000–03 Director General of the Iraqi Museums, 2003-05 Co-Author of Antiquities under Siege, Cultural Heritage in Iraq, 2008 Co-Author of Catastrophe, The Looting and Destructions of Iraq's Past, 2008 Author of Architecture of the Sixth Millennium B.C. in Tell Es-Sawwan Author of The Stone Industries in Tell Es-Sawwan, 'Book in Process'

Publications Stores in Ancient Mesopotamia, 1985. A New Acheulian hand Axe from the Iraqi Western Desert in the Iraq Museum, 1993 Proverbs in Ancient Mesopotamia, 1994 The Architecture of the Sixth Millennium BC in Tell Esswwan, 1997 Precision Craftsmanship of the Nimrud Gold Material, 2002 Full Account on the Iraqi Museums and Archaeological sites, 2004

Conferences Recontre Assyriologic, Heidelberg, Germany, 1992 Recontre Assyriologic, London, UK, 2004 International Conference on the Excavations at the Ancient city of Nimrud, London, 2004 International Conference for the Protection of the Iraqi Antiquities, Istanbul, Turkey, 2004 Interpol International Regional Conference for the Protection of the Iraq Antiquities, Amman, Jordan. 2004 International Council of Museums ICOM Conference, Seoul, South Korea, 2004 Archaeological Institute of America, Boston, USA, 2004 International Conference for the Protection of Iraqi Antiquities, Washington DC, USA, 2005 Iraq Cultural Committee at UNESCO, Paris, France U.S. Institute of Peace, Washington DC, 2008

Lectures Belgium: Brussels National Museum Britain: University of London, the British Museum Denmark: National Museum in Copenhagen Germany: University of Berlin , Pergamum Museum, Heidelberg University, Goethe University Frankfurt, LMU Munich, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz Jordan: Department of Antiquities, German Archaeological Institute in Amman Italy: Sapienza University of Rome Japan: University of Kukushikan, Japanese Society for the Antiquities of the Middle East Spain: University Autónoma de Madrid Sweden: University of Gothenburg, Museum of World Culture, Museum of Mediterranean and the Middle East USA: University of Chicago, Harvard University, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Museums of Fine Art in Boston, Pennsylvania Museum, Iraqi Embassy in Washington DC, Yeshiva University, State University of Arizona, South Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, Bowers Museum of Art in Santa Ana, Denver Museum of Science and Nature, South Methodist University in Taos, New Mexico and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado, CSU Stanislaus, Turlock, Gustavus Adolphus College