Amerind Free Online Talk-Traceological Analysis of Turquoise Objects from Mesoamerica, Northern Mexico, and the American Southwest: Technological Styles and Interactions with Dr. Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc.

Amerind Free Online Talk

Thursday, December 4, 2025

12- 1 pm (AZ time)

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline12042025Tisoc

Traceological Analysis of Turquoise Objects from Mesoamerica, Northern Mexico, and the American Southwest: Technological Styles and Interactions with Dr. Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc.

There are thousands of turquoise objects found in different archaeological sites of Mesoamerica, Northern Mexico, and the American Southwest. Unfortunately, most of the researches about them had been focused on the symbolic meaning, its morphology, trade and use, but very few study their manufacturing traces. In this lecture, I will present a traceological approach to analyze and characterize their manufacturing techniques through the employment of Experimental Archaeology and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The comparison of the turquoise assemblages from more than fifty sites located in these regions showed specific patterns related with lapidary traditions and technological styles. With this new data of the geography of the manufacturing techniques, it is possible to appreciate new nodes of interactions and trends of circulation of the turquoise pieces (raw materials, blanks, and finished objects) among the sourcing areas, the workshops, and the final consumers.

Dr. Emiliano Ricardo Melgar Tísoc earned a BA in Archaeology from the National School of Anthropology and History (ENAH) in Mexico and an MA and Ph.D. in Anthropology from National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Since 2004 he has been a full-time researcher at the Templo Mayor Museum. Dr Melgar’ research has been awarded the 2010 Alfonso Caso Award for best bachelor thesis in archaeology, the 2011 Teotihuacan Award for best essay on the materials of that city, and the 2019 Award of the Mexican Academy of Sciences for the best young researcher in the Mexican Humanities. He has written five books and more than 80 articles for domestic and foreign publications. His latest book, “Lapidary Objects from the Great Temple: Styles and Technological Traditions”, received the Honorable Mention in the 2024 INAH Prize for the best archaeological research in Mexico.

We hope you will spend your lunch with us learning about the incredible work of Dr. Melgar Tísoc!

*Unsure if you will be able to watch live? Register using an email and you will be sent a recording of the talk later that evening.

Amerind Free Online Talk: Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology with Henry Haven

Yaalnii Neé Yani (Navajo Creator) blowing air into the small earth: image by Henry Haven
photo: Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly

Amerind Free Online Talk

Saturday, February 15, 2025

11:00 am (AZ time)

Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology, with Henry Haven 

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/Amerindonline02152025Haven

Join us on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 11:00 am (AZ time) for an online talk with Geologist Henry Haven (Diné).

Henry will be giving a talk on his knowledge of traditional Navajo stories and oral history and the connection to the history and science of geology. Henry compares the four geological eras and geological events in the Four Corners region and lands of the (Diné Biknéyah) to traditional oral stories of the four worlds, four sacred elements, and other cultural concepts, where appropriate. They are not based on science as we know it but reflect an awareness of past geological events. Henry also draws on his education and experience as a geologist. This talk is based on his book entitled “Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology”, which he co-authored with J. Dale Nations, PhD, Geologist, and Max Goldtooth, Sr., a Navajo Medicine Man. (Innovative Ink Publishing, 2023).

Henry Haven is a geologist from the Navajo Nation. He received his master’s in Geology from Northern Arizona University. He retired after many years from the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency. Previously, he worked for the Oil and Gas industry in Texas and the Four Corners area, exploring for oil and gas. Henry continues to consult for the Navajo Nation EPA, helping value and care for the land and water.

If you are unsure if you will be able to watch live at 11 on February 15th, register with an email, and you will be sent the recording of the talk after the talk.

Book-Signing and Talk with Authors Henry Haven, Dale Nations, PhD and, Max Goldtooth, Sr.

Saturday, November 23, 2024

11 am – 12 pm

Join us for a book signing with authors Heny Haven and Dale Nations, PhD & Max Goldtooth, Sr., who will be signing their book “Navajo Traditional Stories and the Science of Geology” by Dale Nations, Henry Haven & Max Goldsmith, Sr.

Geologist Henry Haven (Dine’) will also give a talk.

The three authors of this book vary greatly in backgrounds and experience but share in the love of the land and a desire to impart their knowledge of it. Comparisons are made of the rock record of geologic events known to geologists, to the legends in stories known to traditional Navajos. Ages and environments of deposition of stratigraphic units progress from the two billion-year-old rocks that are exposed in the Inner Gorge of the Grand Canyon to succeeding rock units known to exist on and under the lands of Dine ‘Bikeyah across the Colorado Plateau that were formed a few million years ago or less. Geologists use observed fossil records and other geologic events to establish a Universal Geologic Time Scale that consists of four Eras of geologic time: the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras. Navajo medicine men tell stories of their vision of the First Dark World, the Second Blue World, the Yellow Third World, and the Fourth White World. The stories show a major cycle of life beginning and extinction of variety of different species in the four worlds as does the geologic history in the four geologic eras.

*This event is included with Museum admission

Geology Walking Tour at Amerind with George Davis, PhD

Balancing granite boulders at sunrise at the Amerind Museum Campus

Geology Walking Tour at Amerind with George Davis, PhD

 Rescheduled to April 2, 2022, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

When people in Tucson learn that I am a geologist, I not uncommonly find myself being asked ‘question-after-question’ about certain landscapes in southern Arizona that arouse curiosity.  At the very top of the list is Texas Canyon. “Where did those big rounded boulders come from?”  “How did they get that way?”  “What kind of rock is it?”  “Why is the landscape so different?” During a two hour walk on the Amerind Museum property we should be able to cover those questions, and more. We will learn that the nature of the Texas Canyon landscape is directly related to the sequential history of intrusion, hardening, fracturing, and erosion of granite. Granite is the dominant rock in the continental crust of Earth, and thus it will be good to see and touch our foundation, including its essential mineralogy. Normally granite is out-of-sight ‘at depth,’ completely covered. We could not run this trip in Kansas, for example. You might find that one of the most interesting parts of the Texas Canyon story relates to the nature of the plate tectonic setting around 50 million years ago, for western North America plate tectonics caused the granite to be intruded in the first place.

This geology walk will be carried out on flat ground, over a distance of a mile or two.  Imagine a slowly moving conversation, with on-the-spot white board drawings to help clarify things. We will conclude at Amerind’s picnic area and participants are encourage to bring a sack lunch to enjoy after the tour. Wear comfortable shoes, preferably shoes/boots with some ankle support. I never recommend shorts on off trail hikes; scrubby Sonoran Desert vegetation does a job on your legs. Be sure to wear sun protection and bring water.

George Davis is Regents Professor and Provost Emeritus, The University of Arizona.   He is a field-oriented structural geologist whose main focus has been on the tectonics of the Colorado Plateau and the Basin & Range provinces, and geoarchaeology in the Peloponnesos of Greece. George joined the faculty of the Department of Geosciences at The University of Arizona in 1970, and over the years has held a number of academic leadership positions, including Department Head of Geosciences and Executive Vice President and Provost.  George received his BA degree from The College of Wooster, Ohio, his MA degree from The University of Texas, Austin, and his PhD degree from The University of Michigan.  He received an Honorary Doctoral Degree from Carleton College in 2012, and the Distinguished Alumni Award from The College of Wooster in 2016.  His honors, awards, and professional leadership contributions include the Lindgren Citation Award for Excellence in Research (Society for Economic Geologists); selection as among 100 most distinguished PhD recipients of The University of Michigan; UA Geosciences Outstanding Faculty Award; Chair of National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee on Atmospheric, Earth, and Ocean Sciences; Career Contribution Award in the Structure-Tectonics Division of the Geological Society of America; President of the Geological Society of America; and National Recipient of the Inspire Integrity Award conferred by the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Current projects include a 4th edition of his textbook, “Structural Geology of Rocks and Regions.”

The price is $20 per person. The tour will be limited to 20 guests, with 8 spaces available to Amerind members at no cost. Space is limited and is on a first-come-first-served basis for both paid and free slots. Amerind members must call 520-586-3666 to reserve their free space.

To purchase a ticket visit: https://bit.ly/AmerindTour011522

To reserve one of the limited free Amerind members’ tickets, please call 520-586-3666.