Long before Lewis and Clarks arrival on the northern plains, Plains Village cultures already showed signs of Euro-American contact, evidenced by changes in material cultures, resource utilization and trade networksas well as outbreaks of wide-spread epidemics. Traditional boundaries were impacted, creating shifts in power, alliances and village patterns.
On Friday, May 25, Erik Holland will present, Changes on the Missouri: Impacts of Euro-American Contact on Plains Villagers, setting the stage for these changes and investigating the various processes, impacts and ramifications of them. His talk is this seasons final Friends of Crow Canyon Distinguished Lecturers Series presentation. The event begins with wine and appetizers at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center at 7 p.m., followed by the lecture at 7:30 p.m.
Erik Holland has been the curator of education at the State Historical Society of North Dakota since April 2011. Previously, he was the site supervisor at the Missouri-Yellowstone Confluence Interpretive Center and the Fort Buford State Historic Site in northwestern North Dakota.
Tickets for the lecture are $30. To purchase tickets, call 564-4396 or 800-422-8975, ext. 136, or email bstrickland@crowcanyon.org.
Proceeds from the Distinguished Lecturers Series benefit the Four Corners Youth Scholarship Fund at Crow Canyon. Sponsors for the event are The Cortez Journal, Vince and Nancy Lee, Barbara Lang and Art Todd, and Zuma Natural Foods.
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center will also be part of an upcoming episode of Time Team America, a popular Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) science-archaeology series produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Time Team America travels across the nation to excavate ancient and historic areas. Using the latest technology and their own expertise, Time Team archaeologists are given 72 hours to uncover secrets of their assigned digs. The series first aired on PBS stations during the summer of 2009.
Time Team archaeologists will join Crow Canyon staff at the Centers current excavation site, the Dillard site, to help answer questions about the Basketmaker III (A.D. 500750) community that formed there more than 1,500 years ago. The Dillard site is located in Indian Camp Ranch, a private residential community near Cortez. Filming will take place in June 2012, and the show is scheduled to air in 2013.