About this Event
Join us for our January Lecture Series talk, Untangling Besant and Avonlea: Using Pottery and Meals to Rethink Our Interpretations About Material Cultural Change on the Northern Great Plains, as part of the ASA Calgary Lecture Series! Secure your spot now!
Presenter: Dr. Andrew Lints
Date: January 21, 2026
Time: Lecture start at 7:00p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
ABSTRACT:
From approximately 1,700 to 900 years ago, material culture left behind by peoples inhabiting the northern Great Plains changed from what archaeologists call Besant to Avonlea. This change has been examined primarily through the lens of stone tools, yet pottery first appears with Besant and continues to be used through Avonlea. A recent examination of carbonized food residues removed from pottery found at Besant (n=22) and Avonlea (n=11) sites revealed changes in food choices. During the time of Besant, early pottery vessels were used to prepare meals at significant events. Foods boiled together in these vessels often included locally available berries, chenopodium, and tubers. Domesticated maize was only consumed at two of these significant sites. During the time of Avonlea, evidence of maize was detected at a greater number of sites and in pottery vessels used for everyday meals. Alongside the increased presence of maize, wild rice, beans, and a greater diversity of locally available plants were also found in Avonlea vessels. This finding suggests that pottery use and maize consumption may have been initially reserved for special events before becoming integrated into more routine food practices. Likewise, this data also indicates that connections to maize-producing cultures to the south and east of the northern Great Plains emerged alongside changes in material culture from the time of Besant and heightened during the time of Avonlea.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:
Dr. Andrew Lints
Assistant Professor
Brandon University
Andrew is currently an assistant professor of Anthropology at Brandon University in Manitoba. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of Alberta. Born and raised on the Canadian Prairies, Andrew's area of research is connected to the lands that he calls home. Current research involves reconstructing past cuisine on the northern Great Plains and how this changed over time and space. What foods were used for special occasions? What recipes were regional? and How material culture can reflect cuisine? These are just a few of the questions that Andrew is investigating. Overall, these studies focus on connectivity and how the archaeological record can inform us today about past relationships.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Calgary Public Library - Central, 800 3 Street Southeast, Calgary, Canada
CAD 0.00
