Kelsey Reese will present the November 2014 History Notes lecture at Branigan Cultural Center on Thursday, November 13 at 1pm. Her lecture is titled Modern Technology, Ancient Communities: The Archaeology of Prehistoric Settlement Patterns. This program is free and open to the public.
The study of the ancient past creates unique challenges for archaeologists. In the American Southwest, we are lucky to have excellent preservation of sites and artifacts, but these things themselves cannot tell us the full story. This lecture will present one way researchers are trying to use the power of modern technology to fill in the gaps in our understanding of the social life of these people. It will focus on communities in the Mesa Verde region, interaction among households, and research potential in southern New Mexico.
Ms. Reese received her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Political Science and Anthropology and her Master’s degree from Washington State University. While her main focus is in the Mesa Verde region, she has also worked in the Midwest at sites connected to Cahokia, performed research at the Santa Fe Institute, and recently co-authored an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Ms. Reese works for a small non-profit archaeology firm in Las Cruces.
History Notes, monthly lectures on historical topics, takes place on the second Thursday of each month at 1 pm. This is the final lecture in the 2014 series. Please check our webpage or Facebook for a full listing of these and other Branigan Cultural Center public programs.
The Branigan Cultural Center is located at 501 North Main Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 4:30pm. For more information, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit the Center’s website at las-cruces.org/museums.