Far Western Anthropological Research Group

Ch-ch-changes in the soil #FieldworkFriday

The Deadline to register for the Society for California Archaeology Annual Meeting has been extended to March 1st. https://scahome.org/meetings/annual-meeting-2/ Far Western Principal Investigator, Brian Byrd will be a Plenary Speaker with Muwekma Ohlone MLD at 9:00 am on Friday March 5:... Community-Based Archaeology at Síi Túupentak in the San Francisco Bay Area: Integrated Perspectives on Collaborative Research at a Major Protohistoric Native American Settlement By Brian F. Byrd and Monica V. Arellano Collaborative research between Native American tribes and archaeologists has increased in recent years. We present an example of a collaborative archaeological study in the southeast Bay Area by the Muwekma Ohlone Tribal leadership joined by an interdisciplinary team of archaeological researchers led by Far Western. The talk describes the nature and breadth of this collaborative effort, highlighting the Tribe’s initiative in addressing ancestral remains and funerary regalia, as well as their perspective on overall project goals. This includes consideration of the questions being asked of the archaeological record, how these interests and goals were operationalized within the context of a CRM-driven development project, and how the results would be contextualized to the broader community. The talk also summarizes novel project insights, with particular emphasis on the lifeways of Síi Túupentak ‘s ancestral Ohlone inhabitants during the four centuries prior to forced relocation in 1805 due to Spanish colonization. This discussion touches on the nature of economic adaptations, health, socio-political organization, and trade in the region just prior to and during Spanish colonization. We conclude with a reconsideration of the project in terms of lessons learned, what to build upon, and what we might consider doing differently in the future.

Today, February 19th 11AM What connects a 12,000-year-old campfire, Hill Air Force Base, and mammoths? Find out at noon Mountain Time on Friday, February 19 for a fascinating story -- with Q & A -- about discoveries in Utah's West Desert, including Haskett Points that may help to answer the question of what killed megafauna in the Great Basin. Join an all-star panel for diverse perspectives and a live Q & A featuring Daron Duke, Principal Investigator at Far Western Anthropological Research Group; Tyler Faith, Curator of Archaeology at NHMU and Assistant Professor, Anthropology, University of Utah; and Anya Kitterman, Cultural Resource Manager/Archaeologist at Hill Air Force Base. We will add the livestream to the discussion in this event as soon as we go live. Submit your questions in advance via comments!

Places like this #fieldworkfriday

Take a virtual field trip with Dr. D.Craig Young, Far Western Principal and Geoarchaeologist, as he maps the Majuba obsidian source.

This survey has our name on it! The Palace Hotel (aka the Far Western Tavern) is currently being considered by the California State Historic Resources Commission for state historic designation. The hotel was a destination for Swiss-Italian immigrants who traveled to Guadalupe and the surrounding area. Built in 1912 for Swiss-Italian immigrant Ercolina Forni and her husband Ernest, Ercolina ran the Palace Hotel alone after Ernest moved to Northern California in 1920. The prope...rty is significant for its association with the commercial development of the city of Guadalupe and its association with the working life of Ercolina Forni. http://parks.ca.gov/newsrelease/920

November 25, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. WATCH PARTY and FORUM in honor of Native American Heritage Month hosted by the Society for California Archaeology (SCA) in partnership with the Department of Anthropology at Washington State University! "Gather" is a important documentary that focuses on the resilience of indigenous foodways throughout history and provides an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural i...dentities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. For more information about the film, please visit: https://gather.film/about/. This event is open to the public and will provide opportunities to engage in live chat discussions and ask questions of panelists afterwards. Join the SCA and broader community as we watch this film together! DETAILS: 5:00 p.m. Watch party/ Film Screening: We will be screening Gather: the film via StorySpaces. Prior to the event: Please RSVP to our event page by navigating here: https://story-spaces.com/events/gather-l7dlby. To access the virtual cinema you will need a ticket for the screening event. The screening is live, so please be on time! (You will nee to be signed into Storyspaces to access the screening room). You can come 30 minutes early before the film starts (chats will be open!) 6:30 p.m. Forum The Watch party will be followed by a FORUM about this important film at 6:30 p.m. with an introduction from Shannon Tushingham, incoming SCA President, and discussants, including: Suntayea Steinruck, Gregg Castro, Samuel Gensaw III, Casey Baulne, Maya Harjo and Sara Moncada. To join us for the Gather Film Forum, simply navigate to the ZOOM webinar. Attendees can sign on 30 mins in advance. The audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and leave comments via chat. The Gather Film Forum begins Nov 25, 2020 06:30 PM Pacific Time. Register in advance at: https://wsu.zoom.us/webi/register/WN_QgxXpvuLRuaVVDdXo9WlUw

Far Western wishes spatial scientists everywhere a Happy GIS Day! #gisday #gisday2020 #gis #fwgis Esri

TODAY: Webinar sponsored by the Society of Black Archaeologists, Indigenous Archaeology Collective, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, and Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies, Black and Indigenous Storytellers as Counter-History. TODAY from 4-6 pm EDT (1-3 pst) and is sponsored by the Cotsen Institute for Archaeology. Registration for the event can be accessed here: https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_HXSihZjSSP2AgkgFCz1y2w November 11th ...from 4-6 pm EDT [1-3 pm PST) Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us//register/WN_HXSihZjSSP2AgkgFCz1y2w See more

The University of Utah Press book launch Nov 11 With Grit and Determination A Century of Change for Women in Great Basin and American Archaeology ... Edited by Suzanne Eskenazi and Nicole M. Herzog Spanning more than one hundred years of women's careers and lives, this collection illuminates what it was and is to be a female archaeologist. These personal accounts of researchers, ethnographers, and field archaeologists in the private, public, and academic sectors highlight the unique role women have played in the development of American and Great Basin archaeology. Written by women trained or working in the Great Basin, these accounts reflect the broader landscape of American archaeology, offering a glimpse into a larger narrative about making one’s way in a historically male field. Their authentic and intimate narratives inspire us to look at challenges not as roadblocks, but as opportunities for lifelong growth and success.

Thought-provoking study coming from our UC Davis colleagues with imperative proteomic work from Far Western Principal Investigator, Tammy Buonasera. Our findings have made me rethink the most basic organizational structure of ancient hunter-gatherer groups, and human groups more generally, Haas said. [L]ikely because of [historic] sexist assumptions about division of labor in western society archaeological findings of females with hunting tools just didn't fit prevailin...g worldviews. It took a strong case to help us recognize that the archaeological pattern indicated actual female hunting behavior. - Dr. Randall Haas, University of CA at Davis. Full article from Science Advances https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/45/eabd0310

Join SCA tonight for an Archaeology Month event with Far Western Senior Archaeologist Tammy Buonasera as one of the discussants!

For thousands of years, the land on which our campus is located has been the home of Patwin people. Today, there are three federally recognized Patwin tribes: C...achil DeHe Band of Wintun Indians of the Colusa Indian Community, Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, and Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation. The Patwin people have remained committed to the stewardship of this land over many centuries. This campus is Patwin land and remains an important part of Patwin heritage and identity. Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates the beauty, strength, and joy of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, past and present. Indigenous Peoples’ Day acknowledges the rich and diverse histories of Native American people and renounces the false narrative that Columbus’ discovered America. We ask you to join us in uplifting Native voices and peoples, today and everyday. The Native American Contemplative Garden in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden was developed with Patwin Elder Bill Wright and his family and honors the Patwin ancestors who lived on this land. It offers encouragement to American Indian students, telling them that they belong here, that they belong in higher education -- and they can say, "I'm a part of this." #IndigenousPeoplesDay Resources: - Follow the Native American Academic Student Success Center The Native Nest - Support students by giving to the Native American Retention Initiative (NARI) link in bio. https://give.ucdavis.edu/VCSA/SNARI06

Happy Indigenous People's Day! Honoring history and culture here in Yurok Country! #IndigenousPeoplesDay #IndigenousLand #culture

Today is #IndigenousPeoplesDay. Many people think that Native American cultures of western California disappeared soon after Spanish invasion, but this is not the case. Instead, Native communities and traditions have continued to be maintained to this day despite the many hardships and challenges endured during Spanish colonization and later Mexican and American rule. This presentation focuses on the first chapter in this long story of Native community strength and durabilit...y - initial Spanish colonization efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area and the responses of local Native Americans. Through visualization, we highlight widespread initial resistance and the persistence of traditional Native villages in the Bay Area despite Spanish efforts to quickly relocate everyone to their new colonial settlements. The visualization app highlights variability in the pace of Spanish colonial impact in the region. Using mission baptismal data and Dr. Randall Milliken’s Community Distribution Model, the app shows the timing of disruption of traditional native communities both in the Bay Area and elsewhere in western California.

This Indigenous Peoples Day News From Native California is launching a new website! A special thank you to Rudy Ortega and Ray Rivera of the Fernandeno Tataviam... Band of Mission Indians for their amazing work designing and developing the new site! Check it out here - http://newsfromnativecalifornia.com/

Welcome Fall #FieldworkFriday

Love seeing (past and present) Far Westerers on this board!

Addressing the core issues at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Far Western Geoarchaeology Jack Meyer and archaeologist Steve Lindley set up the mobile core lab to examine soil samples. When archaeologists dig through the layers of earth carefully, the different soils and buried surfaces can be visually seen. Cores do the same thing, like inserting a straw into a layer cake. Each four-foot section of the core is pulled up in two-inch-diameter plastic liners, sliced down the center, and splayed open to reveal the stratigraphic layers.

We are happy to share that Jay King has been elected the new President of Far Western! Jay has worked as an archaeologist in California and the Great Basin since 1991; began working at Far Western in 1999 and became a principal at the company in 2015. His archaeological work has been published in American Antiquity, the Journal of Archaeological Science, the American Museum of Natural History Anthropological Papers, the Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, and other outlets. He is also a GIS and database specialist, having worked on a wide range of cultural resources data-management projects for clients such as Caltrans, the Bureau of Land Management, and the California Historical Resources Information Centers. Congratulations, Jay!