Roundup: April 13, 2016

Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00 PM
Dinner: 6:00 PM

Our Speaker: Dr. Michael J. Moratto
His Subject: “Discovering the Americas: 250 Centuries Before Columbus”

Not long ago, scholars were convinced that America was populated by bands of Mongoloid Siberians who trekked across the Bering Land Bridge and advanced overland, through an “ice-free corridor” in western Canada, onto the Great Plains.  From there, beginning some 11,000 years ago, they fanned out rapidly to occupy the New World and kill off its megafauna, leaving in their wake fluted spear points and other markers of the Clovis “big game hunting” culture.  The only problem with this model is that almost none of it has turned out to be true.  During recent years, scientific research in many fields has dramatically revised our understanding of when, how, and by whom the Americas were first settled as well as our knowledge of Clovis, contemporary cultures, and their antecedents.  Dr. Moratto’s presentation will elucidate some of the exciting new discoveries and thinking related to the peopling of the Western Hemisphere during the past 25,000+ years.

Michael Moratto was raised as a country boy and spent his youth working on a cattle ranch in Sonoma County.  He has been at the forefront of California archaeology and cultural resource management for nearly 50 years.  Dr. Moratto is a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences, past president of the Society for California Archaeology (SCA) as well as past president of two national archaeological societies, former member of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Panel on Archaeology, and past member of the State Historical Resources Commission. A retired university professor, he taught (1969-2005) anthropology, geography, and history, including  courses on 18th- and 19th-century California. He was the founder and, for many years, president/CEO of a large environmental consulting firm.  Since 1967, he has directed hundreds of archaeological projects for public- and private-sector clients in seven western states.  His contract archaeology and academic research have resulted in numerous publications, including California Archaeology (1984, 2004) the standard textbook on the subject.  Dr. Moratto continues to study and write about a wide range of anthropological topics. 

Brian Dervin Dillon, Ph.D.
Deputy Sheriff