“Seasonality and harvesting practices for pre-contact site in Alameda-11”
by
Marcela Barron, University of California. Davis graduate student
Saturday, June 11, 2022
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. PDT
Bulk samples from a shell midden deposit were collected on a precontact site in CA-ALA-11, an estuarine site in the city of Alameda on the San Francisco Bay in December/January 2020-2021, but no seasonality studies were undertaken. Marcela as part of her PhD dissertation is examining the stable isotope signature in the growth rings of the shell, with the last growth ring corresponding to the season of harvest. By analyzing a large sample she will be able to determine the seasonal occupation of the site.
Marcela graduated with a B.A in Anthropology from California State University Channel Islands and is now a graduate student at University of California, Davis. She has been working in California cultural resource management for several years for firms including Aspen Environmental Group, Rincon Consultants, SWCA Environmental Consultants and Environ Inc. She brings significant practical experience and laboratory experience to this project.
“Experimental Reproduction of Bone Tools – An Attempt to Quantify Relative Complexity of Bone Projectile Points From Middle/Late Stone Age Africa”
by
Sean Begg, University of California. Davis graduate
Saturday, June 11, 2022
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. PST
Tool usage in Middle/Late Stone Age Africa involved stone and bone materials. Projectile points made from bone are conventionally regarded as indicative of behavioral modernity. They may have been less complex than previously thought. Sean Begg will discuss his work researching this topic.
Sean Begg graduated from University of California, Davis in 2021 with a Bachelor of Sciences in Anthropology and was awarded an SAS scholarship in 2021. At U. C., Davis he worked at the Center for Experimental Archaeology to examine and reproduce bone tools from Middle/Late Stone Age, Africa. He also prepared bone and teeth samples from a Bronze Age site in the Ukraine for stable isotope analysis to reconstruct ancient diets.
