2021 Spring Virtual Lecture Series

The Archaeological Conservancy's

All of the recorded versions of our Spring 2021 Lectures are available at the links below.

Click here to see a list of our upcoming Fall lectures.

February 17 | What Research Tells Us about the Spanish Colonial Village Site of San José de las Huertas in New Mexico

Presented by | James B. Walker, Southwest Regional Director and Vice President of The Archaeological Conservancy

For our first of our lecture series, Southwest Regional Director Jim Walker will present an informative lecture about one of the Conservancy’s most unique Southwestern preserves: San José de Las Huertas. This 40-acre preserve is located just north of Albuquerque and is considered to be the best-preserved Spanish Colonial village in New Mexico. This walled village was occupied from AD 1764 to 1823 and contains as many as 20 undisturbed house mounds with associated structures and features. Jim’s lecture will cover the history of the village as illuminated by a testing project conducted by Nan Rothschild of Barnard College and Heather Atherton of Columbia University from 2002 – 2004. Watch the recorded lecture.

March 10 | Preserving a Prehistoric City Beneath a Modern Town: The Archaeological Conservancy’s Troyville Preserve

Presented by | Jessica Crawford, Southeast Regional Director

From about AD 400 to 700, a great settlement was constructed at the confluence of the Tensas, Black and Ouachita Rivers in Louisiana. The Troyville site originally consisted of nine mounds, the largest was nearly 80 feet with two “terraces” that were topped with what was described as a “flattened cone or dome.” In this upcoming lecture, Jessica will discuss the archaeological research that has been conducted at the site and the Conservancy’s efforts to acquire and preserve what remains of it. Watch the recorded lecture here.

March 24 | Native American Mining in the Upper Mississippi Valley: Industrial Production, Conflict and Dispossession Across the Lead Mining Frontier

Presented by | Philip Millhouse, Midwestern Regional Director of The Archaeological Conservancy

This lecture will focus on the critical role of Native American lead mining in the Upper Midwest. Here the Meskwaki and Ho-Chunk conducted mining operations on a truly industrial scale. The mines eventually drew thousands of prospectors that resulted in tensions leading to the Winnebago and Black Hawk Wars. Phil will discuss Indigenous mining history in the upper Midwest and the subsequent treaties that led to the forced removal and dispossession of Native Americans. Watch the Recorded Lecture.

April 7 | The Archaeological Conservancy's Preservation Efforts in the East: from the Paleoindian through 20th-Century Industrial Sites

Presented by | Kelley Berliner, Eastern Regional Director of The Archaeological Conservancy

In this lecture, Kelley will share more about some of the Conservancy’s eastern preserves, which range in type from prehistoric structures to early colonial fortifications, and the efforts that go toward preserving and maintaining them. Watch the recorded lecture.

April 21 | A Natural and Cultural History of Leonard Rockshelter in Nevada

Presented by | Sara Sturtz, Great Basin Archaeologist

In our final Spring lecture, Archaeologist Sara Sturtz will discuss how a small mammal assemblage found at Leonard Rockshelter details a paleoenvironmental record of changing local conditions. In addition, Sara will also discuss previous claims of a Pleistocene occupation and when humans actually occupied the shelter. Watch the recorded lecture.