SAS Webinar
“Analysis of teeth from historic San Francisco Bay”
by
Diana Malarchik
and
“Analysis of teeth of prehistoric canid”
by
Jessica Morales
Saturday April 12, 2025
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM PT

In 2023 U C Davis scholars, Diana Malarchik and Jessica Morales gave presentations on their research. Through their presentations we were schooled in the use of teeth to identify diet and mobility in both humans and canines. Now two years later we will hear from the same students on the final results of their studies. They are finishing their dissertations and will be graduating this spring.

On April 8, 2023 Diana, a graduate student at University of California Davis discussed her research of human skeletal teeth buried in San Francisco Cemeteries (Golden Gate City, Yerba Bueno and the Big Four (Calvary, Laurel Hill, Masonic and Odd Fellows)) and Santa Clara Medical Center Cemetery. She observed that teeth reflected economic differences between economic groups. She noted differences in the duration of breast feeding and the time of weaning by analyzing nitrogen isotopes in the first molar. Finally analysis of enamel identified ingestion of heavy metals such as mercury and lead by children. Now two years later what else has she discovered? She will update us.

Diana Malarchik is a PhD candidate at University of California Davis. She received a BA, Secondary Education and MA, Biological Anthropology from the University of Nevada, Reno. She worked as an associate archaeologist for ECORP Environmental Consultants and as an associate bioarchaeologist for PAE Environmental Services from 2018 to 2019. She has a professional publication in Dental Anthropology Journal and has given multiple professional presentations. In addition, she was a 7th Grade instructor in Reno, NV.

Jessica Morales also presented on April 8, 2023, on her dissertation research regarding the potential use of dogs for hunting in precontact California. She has continued to refine her research. She has been striving to identify domestic dogs from other canids by examining their diets through stable isotope analysis and other archaeometric analyses. What else has she learned about dogs and were they used for hunting? Come and find out.

Jessica is a PhD candidate at University of California, Davis. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology from California State University, Los Angeles, CA. She has laboratory skills including faunal analysis in both vertebrates and invertebrates (shellfish) and over a decade of field experience throughout California. In addition, she has served as a teaching assistant or crew chief for various field schools, such as the UCD field school “Proyecto Arcaico Cuenca del Titicaca” in Puno, Peru in 2019 and CSULA field school at Point Mugu State Park, Ventura, CA, 2014 – 2018. In the private sector, she has worked as an archaeologist for Material Culture

SAS Webinar
Saturday, February 8, 2025
2:00 – 3:30 PM PT

Scholar Presentations
2:00 – 2:30 PM PT – “Slavia Field School in Poland” by Annabell Garcia, Cal State University San Bernardino
2:45 – 3:30 PM PT –“Excavation at Kaillachuro, Peru” by Morgan Hall, University of California, Davis student
3:30 – 4:15 PM PT –– “Blue Oak Ranch Reserve Field School, UCD“ by Erin Mooneyham, University of California, Davis student

“Slavia Field School in Poland” by Annabell Garcia
Bella will relate her experience at the Mortuary Archaeology Field School in Giecz, Poland.

“Excavation at Kaillachuro, Peru”, UCD; “Excavation at Kaillachuro, Peru” by Morgan Hall
Morgan will summarize the preliminary faunal analysis from the site of Kaillachuro in the Lake Titicaca region of southern Peru. The findings from this field season will build into further dissertation research by her.

“Blue Oak Ranch Reserve Field School,” by Erin Mooneyham
Erin will discuss the excavation and its finds from the 2024 field school.

SAS Webinar
Saturday, January 11, 2025
2:00 – 3:30 PM PT
“California Fluted Points, Fantasies and Fables”
By
Michael F. Rondeau,
Archaeologist, sole proprietor of Rondeau Archeological
at Pena Archaeology Facility (607 Pena Dr. Suite 600; Davis, CA) and via Zoom

What characterizes fluted points and where are they found in the Far West? The CalFLUTED (California Fluted Lanceolate Uniform Testing and Evaluation Database) project has been an undertaking by Michael F. Rondeau to analyze fluted points in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. His book, “Fluted Points of the Far West” resulting from this project provides first large-scale overview of fluted points in the far western United States detailing their attributes, trends in production, and range of variability. In this talk Mike will discuss the goals, findings and implications of CalFLUTED project and will present basic facts and surprise findings regarding fluted points in California and the Far West. Project findings and resultant data are used to test commonly held fluted point beliefs. Questions will be welcomed.

Michael F. Rondeau is a noted lithics expert specializing in western North American fluted projectile points and their related technology. He has been Research Director of the Archaeological Study Center at the California State University, Sacramento, and an archaeologist for the Office of Historic Preservation, California State Department of Parks and Recreation, and the California State Department of Transportation. He is currently sole proprietor of Rondeau Archeological in Sacramento, specializing in technological lithic analysis and research. Current studies include the California Fluted Lanceolate Uniform Testing and Evaluation Database (CalFLUTED) project. In 2023 he published Fluted Points of the Far West through the University of Utah Press summarizing results of CalFLUTED project.

Sacramento Archeological Society, Inc.’s
Annual Meeting & Webinar

Saturday, December 7, 2024
1:00 – 6:00+ PM PT
“Archaeological Research on Norse in Greenland”
By
Christyann Darwent, Professor of Archaeology, UC Davis
at U.C. Davis campus, Room 302 Young Hall, and via Zoom
The Annual Meeting will be conducted in person at the U.C. Davis campus, in Room 302 Young Hall, and broadcasted via Zoom starting at 2:00 PM PT with a presentation by Christyann Darwent, UCD Professor, and formally conclude after the SAS Annual Meeting. After which all attendees are invited to attend a dinner to socialize at a local restaurant.

The schedule for the event is as follows:
1:00 – Set up, meet and greet (If you are unable to attend in person, you may join the webinar starting as early as 1:45 PM.)
2:00 – Featured talk “Archaeological Research on Norse in Greenland” by Christyann Darwent
3:30 – SAS Annual Meeting
5:00 – Socialize at restaurant

“Archaeological Research on Norse in Greenland” by Christyann Darwent
The historical records of Norse settlement and life in Greenland between 986 and 1400 are relatively scarce compared to similar Viking-Norse occupations in the British Isles and Iceland for example. Saga accounts provide some insight, but most of what is known about Norse (and Inuit) in Greenland comes from archaeological investigations of the Eastern and Western Settlements. Bioarchaeological analysis, zooarchaeology, and archaeometric methods such as stable isotope analysis and ancient DNA have enhanced our understanding of changes in Norse hunting practices, diet, and economics (e.g., walrus ivory trade). In addition, recent studies of textiles provide insight into religious practices and gender roles. This talk will review recent archaeological findings and how these support or challenge previous understandings of more than 400 years of Greenlandic Norse life.
Christyann Darwent, Professor of Archaeology in the Department of Anthropology at University of California Davis (UCD) is a zooarchaeologist interested in how humans adapt to arid, high arctic environments and coastal ecosystems. Professor Darwent’s focus lies primarily in animal skeletal remains from archaeological sites and how these remains can shed light on past human subsistence economies and past environments. In support of this interest she manages the Zooarchaeology Lab and Comparative Skeletal Collection at UCD, which includes the Peter D. Schulz Osteoichthyology collection.

Over the past 25 years her arctic field research has taken her to western Alaska, northwestern Greenland, and the high arctic islands of Nunavut. In collaboration with Bowdoin College and the Greenland National Museum, research continued at the site of Iita in northwestern Greenland with support of the National Science Foundation in 2016.

Dr. Darwent received her B.Sc. in Archaeology at the University of Calgary, Canada, M.A. in Archaeology at Simon Fraser University, Canada, and Ph.D. in Anthropology at University of Missouri-Columbia. She teaches upper, lower and graduate level courses in Anthropology including Introduction to Archaeology, Indigenous Arctic Peoples, Vikings, Zooarchaeology, Archaeological Theory and Method, and Personal Identification in Forensic Science and has also taught for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

SAS Webinar
“Some Astronomy in Classical Hohokam and Mimbres Locations”
by
Robert Garfinkle, FRAS
Saturday, November 9, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PT
During the classical period of the Hohokam and Mimbres tribes of the Anasazi Native Americans of Arizona and New Mexico, the Hohokam built the Casa Grande structure (now ruins in Coolidge, AZ) and used it for astronomical observations. In the year 1054 CE, the Mimbres observed a bright new star visible for 23 days in the daytime sky that actually was the Super Nova, now known as the Crab Nebula (M-i). Robert’s PowerPoint presentation will cover these hundreds of year-old events.”

Bob Garfinkle is an author and a recognized independent scholar on the history of astronomy and observing the night sky. His first book, Star-Hopping: Your Visa to Viewing the Universe, was published in 1994 by Cambridge University Press. This best-selling book was republished as both a hardback and paperback in 1997. He co-authored another best-selling book, Advanced Skywatching, also in 1997. This book has been translated into German and Spanish. Bob spent 30 years writing his 3-volume lunar observers’ reference book, Luna Cognita. It was published by Springer in 2020.
He is the Historian for the BAA’s Lunar Section and is a longtime member of the Antique Telescope Society. In 1998, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. In May 2018, Bob was notified that the International Astronomical Union had renamed Minor Planet 2000 EY70 to be “31862 Garfinkle” in his honor.
Bob received his first BA in History (1975) and a second BA in English Literature (1994) from Cal State University-Hayward. He is a Past President of the California Writers Club (2010-12) and Mayor of Union City, CA. Bob is also the former Vice-President and Membership Chair of the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum in Fremont, CA.

“A Critical Test of the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis?”
by
Vance Holliday, Professor Emeritus University of Arizona
Monday, October 7, 2024
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM PT
The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (YDIH) is a collection of ideas proposed to explain terminal Pleistocene environmental change across North America and other continents at the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) stadial and the beginning of the YD Chronozone (YDC). While the specific details of the YDIH vary from publication to publication, the general premise is that at 12.9 ka North America and other continents were subjected to some sort of extraterrestrial ‘event’ (either supernova shockwave; meteoritic, cometary, or very low-density object – impact(s); bolide airburst(s); or some combination thereof). The term ‘impact’ in “YDIH” represents all these possible cosmic events. That event supposedly caused climate changes that define the onset of the YD stadial. More significantly, YDIH proponents claim that the proposed impact at the beginning of the Younger, among other claims. A comprehensive and self-consistent statement that describes the YDIH, clarifies confusing/contradictory data, arguments, and interpretations, does not exist.

Dr. Vance Holliday is both an archaeologist and geologist who has spent much of his career reconstructing and interpreting the landscapes and environments in which past societies lived and how these conditions evolved. Until he retired he was Executive Director of School of Anthropology and Department of Geosciences at University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Among others he taught Quaternary Geology and Geoarchaeology. This talk presents a critical review of the data and interpretations used to both promote the YDIH and counter critics of the YDIH. For more detailed information see https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012825223001915?via%3Dihub

The presentations will be presented via Zoom. The webinar will start at 5:00 PM PT and formally conclude at 6:00 PM. You may join starting at 4:45 PM to say “Hello” and participate in a social time.

“Stuck in Pits: Uncovering the Secrets of Ice Age”
by
Mairen Balise, Raymond Alf Museum of Paleontology
Saturday, September 14, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PT
Have you considered the relationship between predators found in Rancho La Brea, California (commonly known as La Brea Tar Pits) and the Ice Age? Mairen Balise, Raymond Alf Museum of Paleontology will discuss current thoughts about the lives of the powerful predators found in these pits. The La Brea Tar Pits is an active paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; brea in Spanish) has seeped up from the ground for tens of thousands of years. Over many centuries, the bones of trapped animals have been preserved.

“Mimbres Culture – Past and Present”
by
Mogollon Tour Participants
Saturday, August 10, 2024
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PT
Learn about the Mimbres Culture as it flourished in southwestern New Mexico and adjacent areas in Arizona and northern Mexico. The roots of Mimbres culture beginning around 200 CE when residents lived in pit houses. Between 1000 CE and 1130 CE, the Classic Mimbres period people produced the famous Mimbres Black-on-white pottery and lived in pueblo villages. After 1130 CE potters stopped making the Black-on-white pottery and dispersed.

Several participants of the June SAS Mogollon Tour will discuss Mimbres culture as it developed, ended and lives on today. This panel will highlight their visits to several major Mimbres sites including Mimbres Old Town, Mattocks, Elk Ridge, Mitchell, Treasure Hill, and Gila Cliff Dwellings. Pictures of beautiful Mimbres pottery from two museums will also be included. Rock art from Pony Hills and China Draw will be featured. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into the Mimbres aspect of the Mogollon Culture.