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VCAS is pleased to announce our special Holiday December 2023 Society Meeting and Presentation by Dr. Matthew Des Lauriers, “Two Ends of a Fluid "History".”This event will be held on Tuesday, December 12th at 7:00 p.m. at the Stagecoach Inn Museum in Anderson Hall at 51 S. Ventu Park Road, Newbury Park, California. Parking is available behind the museum on Susan Drive off Lynn Road as well. This event is free to the public. We encourage those who are not yet members to join the VCAS by signing up for membership on our website at www.venturacountyarchaeologicalsociety.com
For those unable to join us, we will be hosting this meeting on a hybrid platform via ZOOM as well. This will be our first in-person meeting since the pandemic, and we are all ready to meet up and see each other again for the Holidays!
If you are unable to join us in person, please email us at [email protected] to register for this upcoming Zoom presentation.
OUR DECEMBER SPEAKER WILL BE
Matthew Des Lauriers, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the California State University, San Bernardino and Director of the M.A. in Applied Archaeology. His recent research focuses on the Coastal Archaeology of Baja California, México, working on issues of human migration in the
Americas, hunting and gathering ecology, landscape learning and ancient technologies. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside, in 2005. His first book, Island of Fogs (2010), based on the ground-breaking research on the archaeology of Isla Cedros, Baja California, won the prestigious Book of the Year award from the Society for American Archaeology.
Two Ends of a Fluid "History":
The earliest entry of people into the Americas is a question that has been central to both the Oral Traditions of First Nations Peoples as well as the learning process that more recent arrivals have engaged in (sometimes very poorly) over the last 500 years. Many new ideas have been proposed, and older notions reexamined over the last 20 years. Where does the state of knowledge stand in 2023? Some perspectives and a few new discoveries from the Californias may contribute to this understanding. On the other end of the spectrum, we are coming to terms with a long history of Colonialist views and research into the history of Native People of the Americas. Not the "People without History" as earlier generations of Western scholars termed them, but a resilient, proud people who have survived into the 21st Century. Recent legislative gains and increases in their ability to have their voices heard, not just in the media, but in the halls of political decision-making have changed some of the dynamics of how Tribal people engage with history. Some insights and thoughts on how this can be an opportunity to build a better archaeology not just for California, but for the world, can be discussed.
Matthew Des Lauriers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the California State University, San Bernardino and Director of the M.A. in Applied Archaeology. His recent research focuses on the Coastal Archaeology of Baja California, México, working on issues of human migration in the Americas, hunting and gathering ecology, landscape learning and ancient technologies. He earned his PhD in Anthropology from the University of California, Riverside, in 2005. His first book, Island of Fogs (2010), based on the ground-breaking research on the archaeology of Isla Cedros, Baja California, won the prestigious Book of the Year award from the Society for American Archaeology.
Our special holiday meeting will be a hybrid session combining the in-person presentation to be held in Anderson Hall at the Stagecoach Museum, 51 S. Ventu Park Rd., Newbury Park, along with ZOOM connection for those who do not attend the meeting at the museum. Refreshments will be on hand, but feel free to bring anything you may wish to contribute as well.
In addition, we’re inviting VCAS members and friends to join with us in an unabashed Book Swap. If you wish to participate in the Book Swap, bring in any book(s) or other publication(s) that you may wish to swap for something that may be of special interest to you. Who knows what might turn up! We look forward to seeing everyone at the fun filled holiday event!
Again, if you are unable to join us in person, please email us at [email protected] to register for this upcoming Zoom presentation.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Stagecoach Inn Museum, 51 S Ventu Park Rd,Thousand Oaks,CA,United States