***UASC February 2023 MEETING****
Wednesday, February 22nd @ 07:00 PM CST – Meeting of Underwater Archaeological Society of Chicago
Featured Presenter: Clare Tomie, Ph.D.
Presenting: Reconstruction of Past Environments and Understanding the Associated Human Interactions
***THIS MONTH’S MEETING IS HYBRID ZOOM AND IN-PERSON***
In-Person
Chicago Maritime Museum
1200 W 35th Street
Chicago, IL 60609
On Zoom - Registration Link:
Pre-meeting Informal Social; 06:30 – 07:00
Business Meeting; 07:00 – 08:00
Featured Presentation: 08:00 – 09:00 (or later if necessary)
Reconstruction of Past Environments and Understanding the Associated Human Interactions
The archaeological record of the Chicago area is a record of human life that covers more than 12,000 years. Over that time the landscape has changed considerably, from glacial tundra to woodland, to prairie. The shoreline of the lake has also varied considerably. The archaeological record reflects people’s interaction with, and use of, the different landscapes over time. Local environment influences site location and site function, and humans influence the landscape too. By reconstructing the environment over time, and the lake levels, archaeologists can better understand site patterns and how humans interacted with and exploited resources. How do archaeologists reconstruct past landscapes and past environments; and how does this help us explain where people were living and why? This presentation will describe how archaeologists reconstruct the past environment and how they study site location to understand the complex interaction of humans and their surroundings though time.
(Images from Claire Tolmie’s Facebook page)
Biography:
Clare Tolmie, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Scientist at the Illinois State Archaeology Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Shas a BA in archaeology from the University of Southampton, England, and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Iowa. The majority of her field experience in the over the past 30 years has been in the Midwest, on sites ranging from the Paleoindian to the Industrial period. Her research interests included subsistence and landscape use; particularly how pre-contact peoples adapted to changes in their environment.