“Droughts and Floods Structured Social Interaction in the Pre-Hispanic Southwest” Presentation

Maps showing southwestern environmental change through time provided by Dr. Gauthier

RESCHEDULED JANUARY 21, 2021 – On Thursday, April 16, 2020, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner presentation will feature “Droughts and Floods Structured Social Interaction in the Pre-Hispanic Southwest” by Dr. Nicolas E. Gauthier. When droughts and floods struck ancient agricultural societies, complex networks of exchange and interaction channeled resources into affected settlements and migrants away from them. Did these networks evolve in part to connect populations living in differing climate regimes? Dr. Nicolas Gauthier examines this relationship with a long-term archaeological case study in the pre-Hispanic North American Southwest, analyzing 7.5 million artifacts from nearly 500 archaeological sites spanning 250 years. He uses these artifacts to estimate how the flow of social information changed over time and to measure how the intensity of social interaction among sites varied as a function of distance and several regional drought patterns.

This free presentation (order your own dinner off of the restaurant’s menu at your expense) will be held at El Molinito Mexican Restaurant, 10180 N. Oracle Rd, Oro Valley from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. Reservations must be requested AND CONFIRMED before 5 p.m. on the Wednesday before the program date: info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201. PLEASE WAIT TO HEAR FROM OLD PUEBLO WHETHER YOUR RESERVATION HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BEFORE ATTENDING because the Fire Code limits how many guests we can have in the restaurant meeting room. Guests may select and purchase their own dinners from the restaurant’s menu. There is no entry fee but donations will be requested to benefit Old Pueblo’s educational efforts.

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