Oct. 17, 2018
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — Dr. Joseph A.M. Gingerich, Ph.D., assistant professor of anthropology in archaeology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of Ohio University, will present “Ice Age Settlers: Colonization, Technology and Material Culture” at Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville on Thursday, Oct. 25. The presentation, part of the Complex’s monthly lecture and film series, will begin at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public
Gingerich will provide an overview of the early colonization of North America by hunter-gatherers during the last Ice Age. By 13,000 years ago, there is widespread evidence of people in North America. Using evidence from archaeological sites in the eastern United States, he will discuss the technology and material culture of these early groups, and compare similarities in prehistoric lifeways across North America during this time period.
Gingerich received his Ph.D. at the University of Wyoming. He is a National Geographic Explorer and a research associate in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution. His research focuses on hunting and gathering societies, New World colonization, human environmental interactions and lithic technology. He has conducted fieldwork in the American Southwest, High Plains and Middle Atlantic Region. Internationally he has worked in France, Kenya and Japan, and recently edited two volumes on the early prehistory of eastern North America, In The Eastern Fluted Point Tradition, Vol. I &II.
Operated by the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex features one of the largest conical burial mounds built by the Adena people between 250 - 150 B.C. and ranks as one of the largest earthen mortuary mounds anywhere in the world. Exhibits and displays in the Delf Norona Museum interpret what is known about the lives of these prehistoric people and the construction of the mound. The complex also houses the West Virginia Archaeological Research and Collections Management Facility.
Admission to Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex is free. The Delf Norona Museum, located at 801 Jefferson Avenue, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and closed Sunday and Monday. Outdoor access closes at 4:30 p.m.
For more information about activities and programs at Grave Creek Mound, contact Andrea Keller, cultural program coordinator, at (304) 843-4128 or andrea.k.keller@wv.gov or visit www.facebook.com/gravecreekmound and www.twitter.com/gravecreekmound.
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