Events

Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Dr. John Hoffecker, University of Colorado Boulder

January 18, 2020 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm MST

Denver Central Library Gates Conference Room Floor 5
10 W 14th Avenue Parkway
Denver, CO 80204 United States


AIA Society: Denver

Title: Landscape archaeology and modern human dispersal on the East European Plain

Abstract: The dominant landform on the continent of Europe is an immense plain that stretches from the eastern slope of the Carpathians to the Ural Mountains. Owing to its geographic isolation from the North Atlantic, the East European Plain is characterized by a continental climate and reduced biological productivity relative to western Europe, while its archaeological record exhibits some similarities to the High Plains of North America. For decades, archaeologists have struggled to piece together a record of Paleolithic settlement in a landscape largely devoid of natural shelters. Between 50,000 and 30,000 years ago, modern humans occupied the East European Plain and the sites include open-air habitation areas and large-mammal kill-butchery locations, sometimes associated with springs. Innovative technologies allowed them to expand their diet breadth to small vertebrates and to survive extreme winter temperatures. Dispersing from the southern latitudes, modern humans may have found parts of the East European Plain unoccupied by local Neanderthals, who apparently lacked these technologies. Despite the success of their initial occupation, much of the modern human population of the East European Plain appears to have been wiped out 40,000 years ago by the ash plume of the CI volcanic eruption, followed by a protracted interval of extreme cold climate (Heinrich Event 4).

Bio: My primary research focus is the global dispersal of anatomically modern humans, which began more than 50,000 years ago in Africa. My specific geographic focus is Eastern Europe, where I have done field and lab research since the late 1980s. Since 2001, I have been working at open-air sites on the East European Plain, in both Russia and Ukraine, that were occupied by modern humans more than 30,000 years ago. In 2012, I began a new field project at Mira, located on the Lower Dnepr River. I also have worked for many years in Alaska. Recently, my Alaskan research has addressed questions about the emergence of Inupiaq settlement and economy on the coast of NW Alaska, and in 2011 I completed the field phase of a multi-year project at Cape Espenberg (northern Seward Peninsula).

When placing events on your calendar using these buttons, please check that time zone displays correctly.

Details

Date:
January 18, 2020
Time:
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm MST
Event Category:
Website:
https://aiadenver.org

Contact

Aaron Theis
Phone
303-648-1968
Email
info@aiadenver.org
View Contact Website

Venue

Denver Central Library Gates Conference Room Floor 5
10 W 14th Avenue Parkway
Denver, CO 80204 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
720-865-1111
View Venue Website
Subscribe to the AIA e-Update

support Us

The AIA is North America's largest and oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to archaeology. The Institute advances awareness, education, fieldwork, preservation, publication, and research of archaeological sites and cultural heritage throughout the world. Your contribution makes a difference.