Ancient American events this week March 4-10, 2013

Learn more about Native American history by attending the following lectures this week:

March 5, 7:00 PM
"Penetrating The Darkness of Time"
"The past disappears into the darkness of time. But occasionally, rare glimpses of bygone environments, animals, and human activities survive in locations where preservative conditions exist. That is why archaeologists love bogs, dry caves, and permafrost. In this presentation, after showing spectacular examples from areas throughout the world, I discuss Florida's water-saturated sites and explain how they have increased our knowledge of the state's ancient inhabitants."
Barbara Purdy
Barbara A. Purdy is Professor Emerita of Anthropology and Curator Emerita in Archaeology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. Her primary archaeological research interests are stone tool technology, water-saturated sites, Paleoamericans, and the early European contact period. She is the author or editor of twelve books about Florida history and prehistory.
Flagler Room @ Flagler College
74 King St,
St Augustine, Florida
http://saaa.shutterfly.com

March 5, 7:00 PM
Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center Lecture
"Wisconsin's First Farmers: Native Americans 1300 AD"
Western Wisconsin has a long and rich history of Native American archaeology. Beginning with big game hunters at the end of the ice age 13,000 years ago, people adapted to the region's rich natural resources, learning how to cultivate a number of native crops. Starting about 700 years ago, Native American farmers were planting fields of corn, beans, and squash, living in large agricultural villages along the Mississippi River terraces in the La Crosse region. This talk will discuss the prehistory of Western Wisconsin, focusing on the latest research into the farming villages that were here between 1300 and 1600 AD. For more information about this lecture contact the Vernon County Historical Society.
Dr. Constance Arzigian, UW-La Crosse, Archaeological Studies Program and Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center
Vernon County Historical Society
Normal School Museum
410 S. Center Ave.,
Viroqua, Wisconsin
http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/EventsDisplays/public.htm

March 5, 7:00 PM
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society Lecture
Gail LaDage
LaDage will present her research for her recently published book Zeke Flora: Legacy in Rings. Zeke Flora arrived in Durango, Colorado at the height of the Depression with twenty-three cents in his pocket, a wife and two small children to support and the dream of a better life. Amateur archaeology helped distract many locals from hard times, and Zeke gained skills rapidly. During the 1930's he received fame--and infamy--in the fields of archaeology and dendrochronology. Notorious pothunter or remarkable contributor? Zeke's story will be revealed by his personal albums, family oral histories and the professional community dating from the 1930's to the present day.
After careers as a professional marathon runner, an elementary school counselor and play therapist working with many Native American children, Gail published a book and two professional articles on an endangered rock art site in Waterflow, New Mexico. Research then led her to question the criticism by professional archaeologists of Zeke Flora's work, done in the 1930's. Dr. Jeffrey Dean encouraged her to write a book on Flora's work, and wrote the Foreword for Zeke Flora: Legacy in Rings. For more information on LaDage’s talk or the Chapter, please contact Diane McBride at 970-560-1643.
First United Methodist Church of Cortez,
515 Park Street
Durango, Colorado

March 5, 7:30 PM
Carlos Museum Lecture
"On the Turquoise Trail—From the American Southwest to Moctezuma’s Court"
Turquoise has a fascinating history of discovery and use linking ancient North America and Mexico. Wherever it could be wrested from the earth,this precious blue-green gemstone was highly prized for its compelling range of colors and attractive textures and is still much sought after today. The significance and status of turquoise in the Aztec world is reflected in the masterpieces that were fashioned by skilled artisans serving in the Royal Court of the Emperor Moctezuma.
Dr. Colin McEwan, Director of Pre-Columbian Studies at the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, will explain how the scientific study of finely wrought turquoise on pre-Hispanic mosaics offers key insights into its cultural meanings among the indigenous cultures of the Americas.
Carlos Museum Lecture Hall
Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University
571 South Kilgo Circle
Atlanta, Georgia
http://www.carlos.emory.edu/visit/calendar#/?i=1

March 5, 6:15 PM
Archaeology Café (Tucson) Lecture
"Cooking Pots and Culture in the Zuni Region"
Matt writes, “Food and cooking are some of the most important and conservative aspects of culture. Thus, archaeological examinations of cooking technology can often tell us quite a bit about the social and historical relationships among individuals and communities. Using an example from the Zuni region, I illustrate how detailed analyses focused on the production techniques and use of ceramic cooking and serving vessels can provide a perspective on population movement and the changing social landscape during a period of rapid aggregation in the late 13th century.”
Casa Vicente
375 S. Stone Avenue,
Tucson, Arizona
http://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/event/archaeology-cafe-tucson-cookin...

March 5, 3:55 PM
"LiDAR Research on Earthworks"
William Romain
Warner Library
Classroom 175
Ohio State University at Newark
http://newark.osu.edu/earthworks/Pages/default.aspx

March 6, 12:00 PM
"Knotted Cord Records and Documents in Colonial Peru: Is this ‘Rosetta’ Khipu?"
Gary Urton, Dumbarton Oaks Professor of Pre-Columbian Studies in the Archaeology program and Chairman of the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University
Presented by the Andes Initiative at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies
Center for Government and International Studies South,
S-216, 1730 Cambridge Street,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/151

March 6, 6:00 PM
"Inca Archaeology, Ice Mummies and the Anthropology of Sacred Mountains"
Dr. Constanza Ceruti, an Argentine high-altitude archaeologist, will speak in the Special Collections Room of the library on the UNG Campus about the burial rituals of the Inca and pre-Inca mummies found high in the Andes of Argentina. The speaker will take the audience around the world exploring the diversity of cultural traditions and rituals devoted to the mountains, from the mighty Himalayan peaks, to the legendary volcanoes of Polynesia and from the snowcapped hills in Scandinavia to the mountaintop shrines of the Inca and the Aztec civilizations in Latin America. She will share her personal experience in the exploration of Mount Llullaillaco in the Andes, where she co-discovered three perfectly preserved Inca ice mummies.
North Georgia College & State University,
Dahlonega, Georgia
http://thesga.org/about-the-sga/upcoming-sga-events/

March 6, 7:00 PM
Illinois State Museum Lecture
"The Grand Island Archaeology: Twelve Years of Research on Lake Superior's South Shore"
Grand Island is the largest island on the south shore of Lake Superior. Located just off shore from the small community of Munising, Michigan, the island has been continuously occupied from 2,000 B.C. to the present and has played a key role in both the prehistory and history of the region. The Grand Island Archaeological Research Project is a cooperative program between Illinois State University and the Hiawatha National Forest as archaeologists investigate sites that cover the entire human history of Grand Island in order to understand the specific activities of the people who lived and used the resources of the island. For the first time, the focus during the 2012 field season was the western side of the island where a multi-component site (Archaic through Woodland Periods) was investigated.
Dr. James Skibo, Illinois State University
ISM Research & Collections Center,
1011 E. Ash Street
Springfield, Illinois
http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/rcc/events.html?EventID=1820

March 7, 7:30 PM
Saginaw Valley Chapter; Michigan Archaeological Society Lecture
"The Clunie Site"
Since 1999, the Castle Museum of Saginaw County History has been conducting archaeological research in the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, in Saginaw County. Archaeologist Jeff Sommer will provide an overview of this project, focusing on recent excavations at the Clunie site, a late Prehistoric site (ca. AD 1400-1650) located on the lower Tittabawassee River.
Castle Museum of Saginaw County History,
500 Federal Ave,
Saginaw, Michigan
http://www.miarch.org/chapters/saginaw.html

March 7, 7:00 PM
"Florida's First Arrivals: How We Know What We Know!"
"Travel Through Time: Exploring Florida's Past" series celebrating Florida Archaeology Month presents Steve Koski of the University of Miami who will share with the public an exploration of local archaeological treasures: Little Salt Spring and Warm Mineral Springs!
Charlotte County Historical Center,
22959 Bayshore Road,
Charlotte Harbor, Florida
http://www.flpublicarchaeology.org/swrc/eventDetail.php?eventID=144&even...

March 7, 7:00 PM
Arkansas Archaeological Society; Ark-Homa Chapter.
"Multi-Sensor Remote Sensing & Mapping at Spiro: Discovering Intrasite Organization"
Scott Hammerstedt, Oklahoma Archeological Survey, will discuss the results of technologies providing compelling evidence of population density, structures, activity areas, and historic disturbances. Sponsored by the AAS Ark-Homa Chapter.
Math-Science Bldg, Room 211
University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. Arkansas
http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/archinfo/archmonthevents2013.html

March 9, 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Pre-Columbian Society at the Penn Museum Workshop
"Andean Textile Workshop: Khipu and Pre-Khipu Making"
Dr. Jeffrey C. Splitstoser, Textile Specialist for the Huaca Prieta Archaeological Project, and Dr. Anne Tiballi, Director of Archaeological Textile Studies for the California Institute for Peruvian Studies will offer a workshop on making and interpreting Inka Khipu (quipu) and the wrapped batons or sticks that are believed to be pre-khipu; precursors of the Khipu. Participants will devise a pattern to execute on the wrapped sticks and make khipu with birth date or other significant information on it. The workshop will include an introduction to yarn spin/ply analysis, as yarn qualities are important to the codification of information in the khipu, and will include all materials.
Pre-registration Required at lynnmatlakinik@aol.com, or call 732-681-8426 for information.
There will be a charge of $20.00 for the workshop, or $10.00 for students.
Penn Museum
Room 345
3260 South Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
http://www.precolumbian.org/nextmeeting.HTM

March 9, 1:30 PM
Pre-Columbian Society at the Penn Museum Lecture
"Are 2,000-Years-Old Wrapped Batons and Wrapped Cords from Cerrillos, Peru, Pre-Khipus, Precursors of Inka Khipu?
Jeffrey C. Splitstoser, PhD, Textile Specialist for the Huaca Prieta Archaeological Project
During excavations in 2003 at the Paracas site of Cerrillos, an important discovery was made of short wooden rods wrapped with colored, camelid-hair yarn. Attached to, and dangling from, them are sets of pattern-wrapped cords. The wrapping of both cords and batons created multiple patterns based on yarn color, yarn structure, and band width, and they might have implications for our understanding of the nature and development of khipu knotted-string devices that served as the primary recordkeeping tool for the Inka, and possibly Wari Empires.
Jeffrey C. Splitstoser is currently the Textile Specialist for the Huaca Prieta Archaeological Project directed by Dr. Tom Dillehay. Splitstoser is a research associate of the Institute of Andean Studies, the Vice President of the Boundary End Archaeology Research Center in Barnardsville, North Carolina, and the editor, with Dr. George Stuart, of its peer-reviewed journal, Ancient America. He provides consultation on Andean textiles for the National Museum of the American Indian.
Penn Museum
Room 345
3260 South Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
http://www.precolumbian.org/nextmeeting.HTM

March 9, 11:00 AM
San Diego Archaeology Society Lecture
"Seafaring, Spear Points, and the Peopling of the New World: Perspectives from the California Coast"
Dr. Todd Braje
Little more than a decade ago, most archaeologists believed they knew when and how the Americas were first settled. Today, there are more questions than answers about the origins of the First Americans. I discuss the implications of recent research along the Pacific Coast of North America focusing primarily on technological evidence in the form of distinctive stemmed projectile points found in early sites around the Pacific Rim. This is a projectile technology quite different from the fluted points of the Clovis and Folsom traditions. These data suggest that the Pacific Coast and California was at the epicenter of Paleoindian origins and may link the initial colonization of the Americas to one of the most significant maritime migrations in human history.
Dr. Braje is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at San Diego State University. He earned his Ph.D. in 2007 from the University of Oregon, Department of Anthropology (Archaeology). His dissertation: Archaeology, Human Impacts, and Historical Ecology on San Miguel Island, California was followed up with a book published in 2010, Modern Oceans, Ancient Sites: Archaeology and Marine Conservation on San Miguel Island, California.
Los Peñasquitos Ranch House
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
12122 Canyonside Park Driveway
San Diego, California
http://www.sandiegoarchaeologicalsociety.com/index.php/eventsmain/upcomi...

Courtesy Mike Ruggeri.