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Now Available Online! “Life on the River” by Hildebrandt and Darcangelo

dcraig · July 24, 2015 ·

Instructors often request Life on the River – The Archaeology of an Early Native American Culture for use in their classrooms only to find out that it is now out of print.

With permission from Heyday Books, Life on the River, by Far Western authors William Hildebrandt and Michael Darcangelo, is now available online for instructors, students, and others curious about Sacramento Valley archaeology.

The book describes archaeological techniques and discoveries found at a Shasta County site, located on the Upper Sacramento River. It details Wintu lifeways just before and during the arrival of Europeans.

Click HERE to open the PDF!

You can also find the book under our Public Outreach and Interpretation page, along with other Far Western outreach projects, PDFs, and videos.

Read the first page…

Chapter I: Introduction

During the summer of 2005, thirty-six acres along the Sacramento River were subdivided into six residential lots. The land lies in Shasta County, about six miles south of Redding, California, within the original homeland of the Wintu Indians. One of the prime lots contained an archaeological site officially registered as CA-SHA-1043 and subsequently given the Wintu name “Kum Bay Xerel” (Shady Oak Village; Figure 1). After several failed attempts to develop construction plans that could avoid the site, the landowner decided that the project should move forward, but only after an archaeological excavation. The excavations were carried out by the authors of this publication and other members of the Far Western Anthropological Research Group, with help from several Wintu tribal members and professional volunteers from throughout northern California…read more!

Film and Booklet Released

dcraig · February 1, 2015 ·

We have just completed two outreach efforts as part of our Ruby Pipeline project—a 32-minute film about Native American participation in archaeological projects, entitled Breaking New Ground: Native Americans in Archaeology; and a full-color, 35-page booklet about the short-lived Nevada town of Vya, entitled Creating Vya: The Dream of Dry Farming in Long Valley, Nevada. To date, the film has been sent to more than 250 native tribes and as many agency archaeologists. The booklet is available through the Bureau of Land Management Surprise Valley Field Office, Black Rock Field Office, and the Black Rock Visitor Station in Gerlach, Nevada.

A Film by Phil Gross. Produced by Kelly McGuire.

Northern Nevada is a landscape of extremes, from parched playas baking in the summer sun to snow-mantled peaks wrapped in winter’s deep freeze. Through this landscape a new gas pipeline would be built, but before construction could begin, archaeological studies would have to be completed along the entire route. Far Western Anthropological Research Group hired members of the region’s Paiute and Shoshone tribal communities and trained them as archaeologists to assist in the mapping, recording, and excavating of archaeological sites located on their ancestral lands. For many, working as archaeologists was a life-changing event. Their understanding of their history grew; their attitudes toward archaeology changed; and they experienced moments of profound spirituality. This is their story.

Far Western at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

dcraig · November 19, 2014 ·

Press release from the Nevada State Museum:

Talk features rare tools used to hunt mammoth, Nov. 22

Taking down a prehistoric mammoth had to require some special talent and tools. Recent finds from the Great Salt Lake Desert are providing new evidence about projectile points in the Great Basin used for hunting more than 12,000 years ago. Anthropologist Daron Duke presents “New Evidence for Mammoth Hunting in the Great Basin from the Great Salt Lake Desert, Utah” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas.

“The Haskett subtype is arguably the oldest projectile point representative of the Western Stemmed Tradition, a Paleoindian stone tool complex,” Duke said. He will present images and discuss technological attributes for a collection of artifacts including one 22.6-centimeter (about eight-inch) showpiece that is the largest complete Haskett specimen yet documented archaeologically, he said. “The technological evidence supports the interpretation of Haskett points as sophisticated throwing/thrusting spear tips for very large game animals.”

The Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas actively engages people in understanding and celebrating Nevada’s natural and cultural heritage. The museum is one of seven managed by the Nevada Division of Museums and History, an agency of the Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. It is open Thursday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the grounds of the Springs Preserve. Visit the museum at 309 S. Valley View Blvd. or on Facebook. Adult admission is $9.95 and includes entrance to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. For more information, contact sirvin@nevadaculture.org or (702) 486-5205.

Now Available Online! “Life on the River” by Hildebrandt and Darcangelo

Read the first page…

Film and Booklet Released

Far Western at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

Talk features rare tools used to hunt mammoth, Nov. 22

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