Next Meeting – March 12th

All our monthly meetings and presentations are free and open to the public. Our next meeting will be held in person and on Zoom on Wednesday, March 12th, at 7:00 p.m. in the lyceum at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. After a brief business meeting, John Kappelman will present “Adaptive foraging behaviors in the Horn of Africa during the Toba Supereruption.” A reception will start things off at 6:30 p.m. in the CSWS foyer.

Perhaps the most consequential event in the evolution of our species occurred during the late Middle Stone Age when modern humans dispersed out of Africa and expanded their range to populate the entire planet. New archaeological excavations in the lowlands of northwest Ethiopia near the start point of the hypothesized dispersal routes reveal how people 74,000 years ago adapted to a highly seasonal environment aided by the likely adoption of the bow and arrow with an emphasis on hunting and especially fishing. The site was occupied during the Toba supereruption, one of the largest super volcanoes in Earth history. The behavioral flexibility required to survive seasonally arid conditions in general, and the apparent short-term effects of the Toba supereruption in particular were probably key to the most recent dispersal and subsequent worldwide expansion of modern humans.

John Kappelman was born and raised on a small family farm in southwestern Idaho. He received a B.S. in Geology and Geophysics from Yale University, and an M.A. in Anthropology and Ph.D. in Anthropology and Earth and Planetary Sciences, both from Harvard University. He recently retired after serving for 35 years as a professor in the Departments of Anthropology and Earth and Planetary Sciences at the University of Texas, Austin.  He continues his association with UT Austin as Professor Emeritus. The primary focus of his research is ape and human origins and evolution, with particular emphasis in paleoecology and functional morphology, and stratigraphy and geochronology. He conducts field and laboratory research in paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleomagnetism, and laboratory research in functional morphology and computer imaging. He has worked all around the world and runs current field projects in Kenya and Ethiopia. He and his lab members have built many websites including eSkeletons, eLucy, eFossils, and eAnthro Labs. For the past 20 years, he split his time between Austin and Pagosa Springs and now hangs his spurs full time at the Frying Pan Lazy K ranch outside of Pagosa Springs.

Link to Join Webinar

https://fortlewis.zoom.us/j/97612418790

Meeting ID: 976 1241 8790

Upcoming Online Programs from the Old Pueblo Archaeological Center in Tucson

February 20 – The Closest Neighbors of Paquime

March 20 – Crossing the Akimel to Snaketown: The Ancestral Connection to Modern Day O’Odham

Lifelong Learning Programs

These upcoming programs take place at FLC, Noble Hall, Room 130, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.

March 13 – Charles Riggs, FLC Anthropology Professor, “Respectful Practice in Archaeological Research: Different Approaches to archaeology and Curation”

April 17 – Jackson Clark, owner of Toh-Atin Gallery, “Saving Navajo Weaving: Influence of Navajo Traders in the evolution of the Navajo Rug in the Late 1800’s”

The San Juan Basin Archaeological Society (SJBAS) is a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation. SJBAS consists of people who are interested in the archaeology, culture, and early history of the Four Corners region. We have members of all ages and backgrounds, some with extensive training in archaeology and others with more limited knowledge, but a strong desire to learn.

Our mission is to advocate for and promote public awareness and preservation of archaeological, cultural, and historical resources, primarily of the Four Corners region of the American Southwest.

Members are eligible to participate in SJBAS field trips and they receive a monthly newsletter, the Moki Messenger, with information about current SJBAS activities and other matters of archaeological and historical interest.

We support and endow the John W. Sanders Internship and Education Fund. This fund provides ongoing internships for Fort Lewis College students at the Center of Southwest Studies. Donations are welcome to these 501(C)(3) funds: Donate.