ICE AGE ARIZONA: Plants, Animal, and People

Presented by Dick Ryan 

Wednesday, March the 11th at 4:00pm

Complimentary Reception to Follow

Located at VVAC

This talk is about Arizona during the most recent glacial, roughly 12-16 thousand years ago.  This is when we have the first (uncontroversial) evidence for human activity in Arizona.

The first part looks at the Ice Age physical environment – weather, vegetation, etc., and how that was different from today. The second part looks at a sample of the Rancholabrean megafauna that roamed the state. During the Ice Age, Arizona is a safari park, a wild kingdom, like the Serengeti of Africa. The third part begins with a brief overview of the Paleoindian period.  Arizona has six Mammoth Kill sites. These are discussed with photos and video.  

We used to think that the native people of Arizona’s Ice Age, the first Arizonans, were specialized Mammoth hunters. How do we view this today? 

Dick (Richard) Ryan was a field Archaeologist in the American Southwest for 10 years.  He received a Master’s in Archaeology from Northern Arizona University in 1983, at age 39. As an Archaeologist, he worked for Desert Research Institute, the Museum of Northern Arizona, a number of Contract Archaeology companies, and was a government Archaeologist with Prescott National Forest in 1987 and 1988. His main area of interest: Ice Age Mammoth hunters of the Paleoindian Period. Dick has published in The Journal of the Southwest, The Nevada Archaeologist, Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, and Current Research in the Pleistocene. More recently, he has become one of the major promoters of Mata Ortiz Pottery in the U.S., while maintaining an active interest in Archaeology.

Following the talk join us for a complimentary reception with hors d’oeuvres, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages.

Seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.