Lecture Series Continues

Date: January 14, 2014
Contact: Karl Cordova, 520 723-3172

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—January 14th, 2014

Karl Cordova, Superintendent [phone]

Casa Grande Ruins Lecture Series held Weekly at Monument

COOLIDGE, AZ– On Wednesday Jan 22^nd, at noon, Dr. Doug Gann, a preservation archeologist with Archaeology Southwest in Tucson, will present Archaeology through a Virtual Lens - Southern Arizona and Beyond. This presentation will focus on virtual modeling of archeological sites in the Southwest. Dr. Gann's work is based on more than 30 years of experience in archaeological fieldwork, research, and public interpretation. As Archaeology Southwest's digital media specialist, Dr. Gann develops applications from a diverse set of new media tools for interactive exhibit design and archaeological interpretation. Doug has created numerous interactive museum exhibits and three-dimensional computer models, including the interactive exhibit "Rio Nuevo, Rio Viejo: 10,000 Years of Tucson History", on display at the Arizona Historical Society. Doug will share highlights from "Chaco's Legacy" – an interactive exhibit that explores the archaeology of the Chaco phenomenon in museums and online contexts as well as visualizations of ancient Hohokam Villages of the Tucson and Phoenix Basins.

On Wednesday Jan 29^th, at noon, Dr. Todd Bostwick, will present Native American Salt Procurement, Use, and Rituals in the American Southwest. Dr. Bostwick ,who has been conducting archaeological research in the American Southwest for 34 years, will discuss how salt, necessary for human survival, has been a valuable trade item throughout human history. For the Maya, salt was considered white gold. In the American Southwest, salt procurement involved dangerous journeys and was closely associated with ritual activities, sacred landscapes and a deity called Salt Woman. Salt was obtained from the Gulf of California, from lakeshores, and from buried deposits. This presentation discusses several Native American salt procurement sites in Arizona and the southwest. Dr. Bostwick will summarize the oral traditions of Salt Woman and examine evidence of prehistoric salt mining including numerous well preserved artifacts recovered from a Sinaqua salt mine in Camp Verde. Dr. Bostwick was the Phoenix City Archaeologist at Pueblo Grande Museum for 21 years before retiring in 2010 and is currently the Director of Archaeology at the Verde Valley Archaeology Center as well as a Senior Research Archaeologist for PaleoWest Archaeology.

Future lecture topics include: Arizona monuments, archeo-astronomy, prehistoric irrigation, trade, and more! The Casa Grande Ruins lecture series is in partnership with the Friends of Casa Grande Ruins and is open to the public with general admission fees. Lectures take place every Wednesday at noon, from Jan 15th-March 26th at the Casa Grande Ruins visitor center auditorium located at 1100 W. Ruins Drive, Coolidge, AZ.

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument protects the multi-story 'Great House' and the ruins of other ancient structures built by the people of the Sonoran Desert over 800 years ago. Established as the nation's first archeological reserve in 1892, the Ruins sparked the beginning of the archeological preservation movement in America. The Monument is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. except for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Directions and additional information are available on the Monument's website. For more information, please visit www.nps.gov/cagr/, or call [phone].

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