“Tracking the First Americans”
by
Vance Holliday
Monday, October 3, 2022
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. PDT

The question of when people first arrived in the Americas, based on scientific evidence, has been argued for decades and even centuries. For many years the conventional answer was about 13,000 years ago with the appearance of people who made distinctive artifacts called Clovis points (named for a famous archaeological site near Clovis, New Mexico). Other sites have been proposed as being older than Clovis. A few early occupations ~14,000 to ~16,000 years old were about the oldest well-documented sites that were accepted by most (but not all) archaeologists. The White Sands locality changed that for many archaeologists. The site provides convincing evidence that humans were in what is now southern New Mexico between 23,000 and 21,000 years. That is the oldest obvious case we have. Human activity in the form of footprints is quite clear and numerous and the dating is solid. At other sites considered older than Clovis, there are often debates over the age or presence of humans, which is usually based on interpretations of broken rocks or bones as tools.

The time range for the tracks at White Sands is significant because it puts people here during the last Ice Age, which means they were likely here sooner, before the last Ice Age covered essentially all of Canada, from coast to coast (maybe >25,000 years). Getting to the Americas from Asia would be easiest as an Ice Age started or ended because sea level would be lower, and ice wouldn’t full cover Canada. Another noteworthy aspect of the White Sands locality is that the presence of humans is based on the tracks. Very few archaeologists anywhere in the world deal with human tracks, and fewer still deal with tracks as such a critical aspect for arguing that the locality is archaeological.

Vance Holliday received a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin (1972), an M.A. in Museum Science (with a minor in Soil Science) at Texas Tech University (1977), and a PhD in Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder (1982). He was on the Geography faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1986-2002) and is now in both Anthropology and Geosciences at the University of Arizona. His research career began on the Great Plains of the U.S., focused on reconstructing and interpreting the landscapes and environments in which the earliest occupants of North America lived, and how those conditions evolved during the Paleoindian period. Since arriving at the UA he became Director of the Argonaut Archaeological Research Fund, which is devoted to research on the archaeology and geoarchaeology of the Paleoindian period in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. In addition, he has been part of an international project focused on the Upper Paleolithic archaeology and paleoenvironments of southwestern Russia and central Ukraine.

“Mound Building Culture of Mississippi Valley Region”
by
Jan Johansen
Monday, September 12, 2022
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PDT

Jan and Tom Johansen experienced a driving tour of mound sites in the Mississippi Valley in April, 2022. In this Webinar Jan will discuss the Mound Building Culture of the Mississippi Region and highlight mounds visited in the following states: Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa. The entire mound building culture can be organized into 6 periods in North America: Archaic era, Woodland period, Coles Creek culture, Mississippian culture, Fort Ancient culture, and Plaquemine culture. She will discuss these period and associate types of mounds viewed to their period. Poverty Point in Louisiana will especially be highlighted.

“Mayan Civilization- a Look into the Past”
by
Jan Johansen
Monday, August 8, 2022
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PDT

John and Dan Foster and Jan, Tom and Jeremy Johansen, all SAS members had the pleasure of traveling to the Yucatán to visit Maya sites the end of May, 2022. They visited 16 Mayan sites. In this webinar Jan Johansen will discuss the Mayan civilization highlighting the landscape and climate, cosmology, and a brief history of six sites visited.

Jan Johansen is a retired teacher, software development manager, sales representative, consultant, and business manager (taxes and bookkeeping). She has Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from University of Minnesota and an MBA from California State University Northridge. She has been a board member for Sacramento Archeological Society, Inc. (SAS) over 20 years, holding all officer positions. She has been interested in archaeology for years as an avocation and has participated in excavations in Scotland and California. During the Covid period she has been a regular listener to archaeological webinars. Also, she has been fortunate to travel to many parts of the world to investigate ancient cultures.

“Ancient sites in Chile – Highlighting Monte Verde, TAgua Tagua and the Chinchorro”
by
Ruth McElhinney
Monday, July 11, 2022
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. PDT
People have been living in the southwest part of South America for more than eighteen thousand years – and some archaeologists say it could be as much as thirty-three thousand years. Ruth will review excavations in Chile that reflect People have been living in the southwest part of South America for more than eighteen thousand years – and some archaeologists say it could be as much as thirty-three thousand years. Ruth will review excavations in Chile that reflect this ancient presence. More specifically she will discuss the finds from Monte Verde, Tagua Tagua and Chinchorro sites. Monte Verde is renowned for finds dated to 18,300 years ago if not 33,000 years ago. Tagua Tagua has artifacts dated to 11,380. A Chinchorro male mummy bears the earliest tattoo found in the Americas. He has a mustache-like dotted line tattooed above his upper lip; the tattoo dates to c. 2300 BC.

Ruth McElhinney, a retired economic development, community relations and legislative professional has a keen avocational interest in history, anthropology and archaeology. She has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Archeological Society, Inc. for more than twenty years. She has participated in archaeological excavations and lab work in Italy, Mississippi, and California; has attended historical classes at Oxford; co-led classes for the Renaissance Society, a lifelong learning community sponsored by Sacramento State University; and served as a board member of Friends of San Juan (San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua). She has traveled widely, visiting archaeological sites in Great Britain, Ireland, Meso-America, and South Africa.

“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.

“Stone Tools at Nelson Bay Cave South Africa”
by Sara Watson, PhD candidate UC Davis
Saturday, May 14, 2022
2:00 p.m.
Looking at material from South Africa, one of the likely places where our species may have developed, Sara Watson in her dissertation is investigating the emergence of new behaviors starting from some 65,000 years ago. She is addressing some of the earliest use of small tools (or microliths) by Prehistoric Hunter-Gatherers. Such kind of stone technology is thought to be part of a broader conceptual change in the way humans conceived their hunting weapons. This project has involved field work and study of stone tools from the sites of Knysna Eastern Heads Cave and Montau Cave and Nelson Bay Cave in South Africa.

Sara Watson is a PhD student in the Department of Anthropology at University of California, Davis. She received her B.A. (Summa cum Laude) in Anthropology at University of Texas at Arlington and a Masters in Anthropology at University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on human decision-making surrounding stone tool production 50,000 to 20,000 years ago in southern Africa. Her work thus far has resulted in two publications (two as first author), and three manuscripts in preparation (all as first author).

“Lost Cultures of South America (Peru)”
by
Jan Johansen, SAS
Saturday, April 9, 2022
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. PST
We know about the ancient Egyptians and their pyramids; the Greeks and their sculptures and temples; and everybody knows about the Maya and their famous calendar and the Inca who were overthrown by the Spanish. But other ancient peoples get short mention in world history. Jan Johansen will discuss archaeological evidence that highlights lost cultures of Peru.
Jan Johansen, member of Sacramento Archeological Society, Inc., past president and current vice-president has been interested in archaeology for years as an avocation. Before she generally retired she had several careers: teacher, software developer/manager, sales representative, project/program manager, and bookkeeper/accountant. She has traveled fairly extensively focusing on ancient cultures and their history. In South America she has visited Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, and Columbia. Her experiences there have tuned her interest in lost cultures of South America.

Tunna Nossi’ Kaiva’ Gwaa
“The Place Where The Antelope Go To Dream” by
Morgan Hall and Parinita Kumari, University of California, Davis
Saturday, March 12, 2022
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. PST
University of California, Davis sponsors a field school at the site of Tunna’ Nossi’ Kaiva’ Gwaa in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest on the ancestral lands of the Numu (Northern Paiute) and Washoe tribes. In 2021, the focus of the field school was to collaborate with the Bridgeport Indian Colony in an effort to learn about an ancient communal hunting complex. This site is especially rich in surface lithics. The goal of the research is to study the evolution of cooperative hunting dynamics in the Great Basin through the examination of large-scale trap complexes and rock rings, which we identified using pedestrian surveys, surface mapping, site recording, and laboratory analysis. Both Morgan Hall and Parinita Kumari received scholarships to attend the school. They will relate their experiences at the site.
Morgan Hall is a senior at University of California, Davis majoring in Anthropology and a 2021 SAS scholarship recipient. She has been an officer in the UC Davis Anthropology Club and hopes to pursue a career in Cultural resource management.
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Parinita Kumari is a senior at University of California, Davis majoring in Evolutionary Anthropology and a 2021 SAS scholarship recipient. Her senior honors thesis involves the analysis of projectile point type distributions to determine whether or not biodiversity is a driver of cultural diversity.