Category Archives: Archaeology

Archaeology

Video – A concise introduction to NAGPRA

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Part of the requirements for my Ancient North American Archaeology course entail a few presentations on course topics. For some odd reason, NAGPRA caught my attention. NAGPRA (Native Americans Graves and Repatriation Act) is a Federal law passed in 1990 that protects the remains and cultural objects of Native Americans along with repatriation when requested. It became clear that any archaeologist excavating in America would be affected by this law, so I decided to do a video presentation on this topic.

I uploaded the video to YouTube so that perhaps it may be of help to others. It is a concise intro with a short story on Ishi inserted at the beginning. I believe in the power of StoryTelling as a learning tool that also involves an example of what is being taught.

Here is the video:

Archaeology, Environment

The Moai Statues on Easter Island, Chile – A Lesson

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moaiEasterIsland02The Moai statues on Easter Island, Chile. Built by the ancient Rapa Nui people to honor ancestors and gods, to ensure an abundant food supply. They used up resources faster than can be renewed and abused agricultural processes. In time, nothing was left, and losing faith in their gods that did not provide food, they began tumbling the Moai statues. Eventually, they starved to death and became extinct. 393 were erected, 97 more in route, and 397 Moai statues were being carved from a distant quarry – still seen today. A reminder on the importance of caring about the land and the solution doesn’t come from worshiping agricultural gods.