Quest Blog

(info borrowed from a friend…)

September 2018 Illinois Association for Advancement of Archaeology Events

September 4, 7;00 PM

Illinois Valley Archaeological Society Lecture

“Excavation of a Langford Tradition house from Noble-Wieting, McLean County, Illinois”

Dr. G. Logan Miller, assistant professor of anthropology at Illinois State University

During the Mississippian period (1000-1400 AD) the largest prehistoric North American city existed right here in Illinois. The rise and fall of Cahokia reverberated throughout eastern North America, resulting in many population movements and new ways of life in the region. Archaeologists refer to the new lifeways in northern Illinois at this time as the Langford tradition. While most major Langford sites occur along the upper Illinois River and the Chicagoland area, one site that does not fit the pattern is the village of Noble-Wieting in McLean County. Since the early 1900s archaeologists have puzzled over the site’s anomalous nature. Over the past two years Illinois State University and the Illinois State Archaeological Survey returned to this important site to learn more about what drew people to the area. This presentation covers what a recently excavated house structure can tell us about this enigmatic village.

Dr. G. Logan Miller’s research and publications cover topics related to lithic technology and Midwestern prehistory. He has directed archaeological field schools in Illinois and Ohio.

Dickson Mounds Museum Auditorium

The Illinois State Museum—Dickson Mounds is located between Lewistown and Havana off Illinois Routes 78 and 97.

http://www.experienceemiquon.com/…/excavation-langford-trad…

September 10, 7:00 PM

Three Rivers Archaeological Society Lecture

“Archaeology of the Founder’s Family: Investigating the Home of Minerva Peet Fuller”

Dr. William Green

In 2006, Beloit College students, faculty, and staff and community volunteers exposed and excavated part of an 1840s-1850s house site at the parking lot behind the college’s Guest House. The house belonged to Minerva B. Fuller and was home to Minerva, her son Charles, and a Norwegian immigrant young woman named Julia. We recently discovered that Minerva was the sister of Beloit College founder Stephen Peet: her full name was Minerva Beulah Peet Fuller. This presentation summarizes the documentary record and the archaeological findings—structures, pit features, artifacts, and animal bones—and discusses the site’s significance in terms of campus archaeology and family, college, and community history.

Room 102, Godfrey Anthropology Building (Logan Museum),
Beloit College,
Beloit, Wisconsin

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Thursday, September 20, 2018 – 7:30 PM

South Suburban Archaeological Society Lecture

“Rising Up From Indian Country: The Battle of Fort Dearborn & The Birth of Chicago”

Ann Keating, PhD, Professor of History at North Central College

In August 1812, under threat from the Potawatomi, Captain Nathan Heald began the evacuation of 94 people from the isolated outpost of Fort Dearborn to Fort Wayne, hundreds of miles away. The group included several dozen soldiers, as well as nine women and 18 children. After traveling only a mile and a half, they were attacked by 500 Potawatomi warriors. In under an hour, 52 members of Heald’s party were killed, and the rest were taken prisoner. The Potawatomi then burned Fort Dearborn before returning to their villages.
Dr. Keating situates this event within the context of several wider histories that span nearly four decades and will tell a story not only of military conquest but of the lives of people on all sides of the conflict. She will highlight such figures as Jean Baptiste Point de Sable and John Kinzie and will demonstrate that early Chicago was a place of cross-cultural reliance among the French, the Americans, and the Native Americans.
The speaker’s most important contribution to scholarship has been as co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Chicago (Univ. of Chicago Press, 2004), a print and online project.

Marie Irwin Community Center (MICC)
​18120 Highland Avenue,
Homewood, Illinois
http://southsuburbanarchsociety.weebly.com

September 15, 8:30 AM Starting time

East Central Illinois Archaeological Society Event

Illinois Archaeological Survey Annual Conference

Presentations include current research and specialized topics in prehistoric and historical archaeology.

As the Illinois Archaeology Awareness initiative observes: “People have lived in Illinois for over 10,000 years, but only a portion of that history is known from historic documents. Celebrate some of the significant archaeological discoveries and projects that have aided in reconstructing and preserving the history of Illinois since it became a state in 1818.” Paper presentations are 15 minutes in length. Poster presentations will be displayed throughout the day. Beverages and snacks will be provided by the Conference Center throughout the day. Free parking.

Hilton Garden Inn Conference Center, 1501 S. Neill St.,
Champaign, Illinois
https://ilarchsurv.org/news/6631557

September 30, 3:00 PM

Chicago Archaeological Society Lecture

“Woodland Communities in the Mississippi River Valley, Southeast Iowa”

Dr. William Green
In 1990-1994 and again in 2016, fieldwork at Gast Farm in southeast Iowa documented well-preserved Middle Woodland (Havana-Hopewell) and Late Woodland (Weaver) communities. Aerial remote sensing, geophysical survey, deep coring, controlled surface collections, and excavations identified hundreds of features as well as plowed-down mounds and entire community plans. This presentation focuses on changes and continuities in community organization, technology, subsistence, and regional relationships between ca. 200 B.C. and A.D. 600.

Bill Green is the director of the Logan Museum of Anthropology at Beloit College in Wisconsin. Bill grew up in Chicago and got into archaeology in 1970 in Pike County, Illinois. After doing field schools in England and Israel and graduating from Grinnell College, he returned to Illinois to work on surveys and excavations in Fulton, Peoria, and Schuyler counties. He then entered graduate school in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and became a staff archaeologist at the Wisconsin Historical Society. He earned his doctorate in 1987 with a study of Late Woodland cultures in western Illinois, and he served as the State Archaeologist of Iowa from 1988 to 2001. His research interests range widely across Midwest and Plains archaeology and ethnobotany.

Evanston Public Library
1703 Orrington Avenue,
Evanston, Illinois

FRIENDS OF THE IAAA SEPTEMBER LECTURES

September 5, 7:00 PM

Illinois State Museum Lecture

“Saving the Heart of the World: Emergency Stabilization of Double Ditch Indian Village State Historic Site”

Brooke Morgan, Curator of Anthropology, Illinois State Museum

Double Ditch Indian Village State Historic Site is a large Mandan earthlodge village located on the Missouri River about eight miles north of Bismarck, North Dakota. Mandans lived in the village for nearly 300 years (AD 1490-1785) and were the center of an expansive trade network. Ditch enclosures, earthlodge impressions, and large midden mounds are well-preserved to this day, and the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a result of catastrophic flooding of the Missouri River in 2011, Double Ditch started eroding and human remains were uncovered. In cooperation with the Three Affiliated Tribes, the State Historical Society of North Dakota undertook a bank stabilization project in 2016 to prevent further erosion and preserve this incredible site for future generations.
Illinois State Museum Auditorium
Springfield, Illinois
http://www.illinoisstatemuseum.org/…/saving-heart-world-eme…

September 5, 7:00 PM

Mound City Archaeological Society Lecture

Lessons on Breaking New Grounds in South American Archaeology

The Loro ceramic style of south coastal Peru c. 650–1000 CE has received little scholarly attention because it had been considered the hallmark of the defeat of the Nasca culture. Deborah Spivak will present an overview of her interdisciplinary research on Loro ceramics, particularly focusing on the challenges of excavation and data collection.

AT&T Foundation Multipurpose Room Museum, Missouri History Museum

Forest Park, St, Louis, Missouri

http://mohistory.org/…/lessons-on-breaking-new-grounds-in-s…

September 6, 6:00 PM

Allerton Park and Retreat Center Lecture

“The 2017 and 2018 Archaeological Investigations at Robert Allerton Park”

Allerton Mansion
515 Old Timber Road,
Monticello, Illinois
https://www.facebook.com/events/1847436785371505/\

September 30, 3:00pm

Milwaukee Society AIA Lecture

“The Middle Mississippian Colony at Trempealeau”

Ernie Boszhardt, Independent Scholar

Coinciding with the dawn of the Middle Mississippian Culture at the ancient city of Cahokia nearly 1,000 years ago, a group canoed over 500 miles up the Mississippi River to establish a settlement at Trempealeau, Wisconsin. Antiquarian records alluded to distinct platform mounds and exotic ceramics, but only recently has the age, extent, and purpose of Trempealeau’s very early Mississippian expression been thoroughly explored. Ongoing excavations since 2010 have revealed that the Cahokians carried ceramic vessels and a variety of flint stones from their homeland along with their architecture and religion to this far-flung yet short-lived outpost; and why they came to Trempealeau.

Robert “Ernie” Boszhardt is a Wisconsin archaeologist with over 40 years of experience. His research has focused on the unglaciated Driftless Area of western Wisconsin where he has studied and written extensively about nearly all aspects of that region’s archaeological heritage, including Paleoindian, Hopewell, Effigy Mounds, Oneota, rock art, and most recently Middle Mississippian. He currently is co-owner of Driftless Pathways LLC. with his wife Danielle Benden who together direct the Trempealeau Archaeology Project.
Boszhardt-authored books on the Trempealeau research and regional rock art will be available for purchase and signing at the tal

Sabin Hall Room G90 on the UWM Campus (3413 North Downer, corner of Newport and Downer Avenues)
https://aia-milwaukee.uwm.edu/lectures/

IAAA Tumblr Page

https://iaaaevents.tumblr.com

Who would you trust to run the numbers to put you safely into Earth’s orbit and get you safely back? (without an electronic computer)

In 1962, these word were a testimony to the skill of Katherine Johnson (NASA human compute-r), who Astronaut John Glenn trusted to get him safely (as possible) in to orbit and insisted that she validate the calculations made by the electronic computer’s calculations before he was ready to launch.

Today we help her celebrate, as NASA puts it ; ) , her 100th trip around the sun!

#Happy100Katherine!

Today, retired @NASA_Langley mathematician Katherine Johnson makes her 100th trip around the Sun as she celebrates her birthday! Send her birthday wishes using #Happy100Katherine & learn about her calculations that launched @NASA_Astronauts to space 🚀: https://t.co/Iv2DqAt1LK pic.twitter.com/DVvVYnrupe

— NASA (@NASA) August 26, 2018

#Happy100Katherine!

below via NASA, courtesy of the International Astronomy Center, Astronomical Society of South Africa, Barakeet and Al Sadeem Observatories (coverage begins ~ -2:40:00 )

In honor of World Oceans Day (actually, we’re going to call it for the rest of the month, we think the oceans deserve that) we’re going to take some time to explore some of the amazing things about our world’s oceans, but first today we are going to take a moment to talk about some of the biggest problems that face the health of our oceans and some potential solutions.

Six of the biggest threats to our world’s oceans:

Pollution

Ocean pollution comes from many sources; plastics pollution has been declared the focus theme for this years’ World Oceans Day. Eight (8) million metric tons of plastic are dumped in to the ocean every year, with production of plastic products expected to double in the next 10 years we need to find a better way to deal with our plastic trash than allowing it to end up in the oceans. Reducing use of plastics (especially single use plastics), recycling, waste collection and management, and rethinking product use and development will all need to be part of the solution to our plastic waste problem.

Some of the other most harmful pollutants in the ocean include: mercury (primary human sources are coal burning and mining), noise (from shipping, military sonar, and the oil industry), agricultural runoff (fertilizers, pesticides, and waste products), and even human pharmaceuticals.

Climate Change– ocean acidification, rising temperatures, changing sea levels…

Depletion of Resources– including over fishing (which, simply put, means that species are being removed at a rate faster than they can reproduce), oxygen production/ CO₂ sink (see the *CO₂ tub* image), and mining/drilling.

Aquaculture– for most aquaculture fish-farming it requires more pounds of feeder fish (fish used as protein for feed) than pounds of fish are produced.

Dead Zones– often caused by contamination and/or extremely high nutrient levels that use up the oxygen; most things that live need oxygen, but there are zones in some waters that have such low levels of oxygen (=hypoxia) that these zones have become effectively *dead*.

Invasive Species– ship’s hulls and ballast waters, dumping aquariums/collected specimens, and oceanic temperature changes are the major causes of the invasive species problem; invasive species can cause millions of dollars in damage and wipe out native species.

ALL of these problems impact the health of the rest of the world and the ocean’s inhabitants and habitats… in general solutions include… Protection, Awareness/ Education, Action/ Stewardship.

As you can see, we have work to do, but it *is* do-able.

…specific actions that YOU can take (and/or support) to decrease pollution in the oceans:

Pollution… there are a lot of things we can each do to decrease ocean pollution, even choosing just one or two of the following actions will immediately help to reduce ocean pollution…

> “No STRAW, thank you!” (over 500 MILLION single use straws are thrown away every day in the U.S. alone) and the way they are used and disposed of means that they aren’t likely to end up in recycling (and only about 14% of packaging types of plastics are recycled). When eating “in” you don’t really need a straw, and, if you need one for convenience when driving, you can buy reusable stainless steel straws! (easy to find in a quick online search).

> We’ve all heard about the positive benefits of reusable shopping bags, now we just have to remember to get them in to the store with us and use them! And when you *do* forget your reusable bags, remember to recycle the bags you get from the store!

> Microfibers from clothing (or any synthetic fabrics) that are too small to be filtered out at water treatment plants are being found in (literally in the flesh of) fish and shellfish that are sold for human consumption. Decreasing these microfibers is critical for the health of the oceans and for our own health, some things you can do to decrease microfiber pollution:

wash synthetic clothing using liquid laundry detergent, on cooler and gentler settings, in fuller loads, and less often;

check out the specialty washing bags that can be used in the washing machine and/or a washing machine lint filter (I haven’t checked them out yet, but I plan to!);

dry clothes on lower settings;

and, most importantly, buy *better* made synthetic clothing and/or consider natural fabric options whenever possible.

> Participate in beach clean-ups and donate to/volunteer with organizations that work to clean up the ocean trash cycle.

> Vote, and vote with your purchasing power. Contact your political representatives and participate in campaigns that encourage countries to deal with their plastic pollution sources. Remember, how and where you buy impacts decisions that businesses and countries make about products that they produce, and how.

Stay tuned! Quest^X  will be exploring the oceans all month: oceanography, habitats, the critters that live there, and including more things You can do to help protect our world’s oceans and the life that depends on them (including us).

Water, it’s everywhere we are.

Why?

Because *we* are ~65-70% water.

Everything on earth needs water to survive, clean/ healthy water.

Some things have interesting ways of obtaining it, but *everything* requires water.

And the earth itself needs water.

Water is kinda like the blood of the planet, it carries nutrients and waste products through the system and it ties the entire body of the earth together.

We’ll discuss loads more about water in other posts, but for *today*, plan something special… enjoy a glass of water and consider what would happen to our own health and that of the earth without clean/ healthy water.

…and here’s a link to the U.N. site for World Water Day… there is loads of info there and ideas for planning and/or participating in events!

Charles Darwin is famous for his insights in to natural selection and evolution, but he would also be famous for quotes that evolved  😉  .
Darwin’s quotes have taken on a life and evolution of their own… Darwin is frequently misquoted, especially about natural selection …
… let’s explore…

The entire quote by Darwin from “On the Origin of Species” –

“As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.”

Darwin also commented in “On the Origin of Species” –

“I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term natural selection, in order to mark its relation to man’s power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer, of the Survival of the Fittest, is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient.”
…which is where we got the phrase “survival of the fittest”.

…and, at a convention in 1963, a professor at Louisiana State University, Leon Megginson, interpreted Darwin –

” According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.Applying this theoretical concept to us as individuals, we can state that the civilization that is able to survive is the one that is able to adapt to the changing physical, social, political, moral, and spiritual environment in which it finds itself.”

…which he followed up, in 1964, with streamlining to –

“It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able to adapt to and to adjust best to the changing environment in which it finds itself……so says Charles Darwin in his “Origin of Species.””

“As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive; and as, consequently, there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary however slightly in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.”

Darwin also commented in “On the Origin of Species” –

“I have called this principle, by which each slight variation, if useful, is preserved, by the term natural selection, in order to mark its relation to man’s power of selection. But the expression often used by Mr. Herbert Spencer, of the Survival of the Fittest, is more accurate, and is sometimes equally convenient.”
…which is where we got the phrase “survival of the fittest”.

Charles Darwin, a brief overview…

Feb. 12, 1809 – Born
Charles Robert Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England at his family home. He was the fifth of six children.
He was fascinated by the natural world and began collecting shells, minerals, and bird eggs when he was very young.

Sep. 1818
Charles Darwin attends the Anglican Shrewsbury Grammar School.

Oct. 1825 – University
Charles Darwin attends University of Edinburgh to (ostensibly  ) study medicine.  He found he wasn’t well-suited to medicine and…

Jan. 13, 1828 – University
Charles Darwin attends The University of Cambridge.

Dec. 27, 1831 to Oct. 2, 1836 – Voyage of the Beagle
Darwin had planned a trip to Tenerife, which was cancelled due his friend’s unexpected death. About this time, a friend passed his name along for the position on the Beagle voyage (much longer story here, maybe we’ll tell it some time).

Jan. 4, 1837
Charles Darwin’s first speech to the Geological Society of London.
With Lyell’s backing, Darwin presented his first paper to the Geological Society of London Jan. 4, 1837.

May 1842
Charles Darwin published “The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs”.
The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, the first part of the geology of the voyage of the Beagle.

Nov. 30, 1853
Charles Darwin received the Royal Medal of the Royal Society, the highest honor the society could bestow on a scientist, for the 3 volumes of his geology work while on the Beagle and his barnacle research.

July 1, 1858
Charles Darwin on Evolution
Darwin’s book was well under way when he received a paper from Wallace describing natural selection. Realizing that they work both working on this topic, their papers were presented jointly at the Linnean Society.

Aug. 20, 1858
Charles Darwin Publishes ‘On the Tendency of Species to form Varieties’
This paper was originally published in the Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology.

Nov. 24, 1859
Charles Darwin’s”On the Origin of Species” is published
It was unexpectedly popular.

Nov. 30, 1864
Charles Darwin awarded the Copley Medal by the Royal Soviety

Mar. 1871
Charles Darwin’s “The Descent of Man” published

Nov. 17, 1877
Charles Darwin received an Honorary Doctorate of Law from Cambridge University

Apr 19 1882
Charles Darwin died at Down House. He was buried (unexpected by him) at Westminster Abbey, a rare honor.