Native American High Altitude Living presentation July 31
Archaeological talk In Dubois
July 27, 2010
David Hurst Thomas, author and current curator of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, will talk about a Central Nevada Native American high altitude residential site in an evening lecture in Dubois on July 31.
The Dubois Museum-sponsored talk, "Thoughts on Alta Toquima", will be heldat 7 p.m. in the Dennison Lodge in the Dubois Museum complex.
The Alta Toquima site, located at 11,000 feet on Mt. Jefferson in central Nevada, is almost identical to the "High Rise Village" site in the Wind River Mountains near Dubois. That site is also located above 11,000 feet.
Thomas and Wyoming archaeologist Richard Adams, who discovered the High Rise Village site in 2006, have compared notes and concluded both residential sites were constructed by Shoshone Indians about 1,500 years ago.
Only a few high-altitude village sites were previously thought to exist, but archaeologists now believe they were part of a common survival strategy for the Shoshone Indians.
Despite the 500 miles that separate Altima Toquima and the High Rise Village site, dwellings at the sites appear to have been similar in construction. Stone tools and weapons found at the site are also similar.
Thomas, a specialist in Native American archaeology, holds four degrees from the University of California, Davis, including a Ph.D. He also earned a Doctor of Science Degree from The University of the South. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, University of California, Davis, University of Florida, University of Nevada and the City College of New York. He has lectured in more than forty countries.
Thomas has written 30 books, edited 90 additional volumes, and written more than one-hundred scientific papers. His most recent book is the award-winning Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity.
Dr. Robert L. Bettinger, another top name in Native American high altitude living will also be part of the Dubois Museum's free event.
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