Speakers Bureau Speaker
Allen Dart, Tucson
Allen Dart has worked and volunteered as a professional archaeologist in New Mexico and Arizona since 1975, for government, private companies, and nonprofit organizations. He is currently the Executive Director of Tucson’s nonprofit Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, which he founded in 1993 to provide educational and scientific programs in archaeology and culture. A Registered Professional Archaeologist, he has been a recipient of the Arizona Governor’s Award in Public Archaeology for his efforts to bring archaeology and history to the public.
Presentations are suitable for high school as well as adult audiences.
Ancient Native American Pottery of Southern Arizona
Using digital images and actual ancient pottery, archaeologist Allen Dart shows Native American ceramic styles that characterized specific eras in Arizona prehistory and history. Dart also discusses how archaeologists use pottery for dating archaeological sites and interpreting ways of life. Explore the importance of context in archaeology, how things people make change in style over time, and how different styles are useful for identifying different cultures and for dating pottery. Also illustrated are examples of the pottery styles that were made in southern Arizona by the ancient Early Ceramic and Hohokam cultures, and historically by Piman (Tohono O’odham and Akimel O’odham), Yuman (including Mohave and Maricopa), and Apachean peoples from as early as 800 bc into the early 20th century.
• Host organization provides PowerPoint setup, and at least 6 square feet of tabletop space near the speaker.
Archaeology and Cultures of Arizona
Many different peoples have contributed to making Arizona a unique and fascinating cultural place. In this presentation, Dart interprets and summarizes the archaeology of Arizona from the earliest "Paleoindians" through Archaic period hunters and foragers, the transition to true village life, and the later prehistoric archaeological cultures (Puebloan, Mogollon, Sinagua, Hohokam, Salado, and Patayan). Dart also explore the connections between archaeology and history, and provides an overview of the Native American, European, Mexican, African, and Asian peoples who have formed our state’s more recent history.
• Host organization provides PowerPoint setup.
Arts and Culture of Ancient Southern Arizona Hohokam Indians
The Hohokam Native American culture flourished in southern Arizona from the 6th through 15th centuries. Hohokam artifacts, architecture, and other material culture provide archaeologists with clues for identifying where the Hohokam lived, for interpreting how they adapted to the Sonoran Desert for centuries, and for explaining why the Hohokam culture mysteriously disappeared. In this presentation, Dart illustrates the material culture of the Hohokam and presents possible interpretations about their time reckoning; religious practices, beliefs, and deities; relationships to the natural world; and possible reasons for the eventual demise of their way of life. The program features slides of Hohokam artifacts, rock art, and other cultural features, a display of authentic prehistoric artifacts, and recommended readings for more information about the Hohokam.
• Host organization provides PowerPoint setup, and at least 6 square feet of tabletop space near the speaker.
Set in Stone but Not in Meaning: Southwestern Indian Rock Art
Ancient Indian pictographs (rock paintings) and petroglyphs (symbols carved or pecked on rocks) are claimed by some to be forms of writing for which have communicate meaning. But are these claims supported by archaeology or Native Americans themselves? Dart discusses southwestern petroglyphs and pictographs, and illustrates how even the same rock art symbol may be interpreted differently from popular, scientific, and modern Native American perspectives.
• Host organization provide PowerPoint presentation setup.
