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Third Thursday Food for Thought Presentation – “Celebrating the Solstice”
December 21, 2017 @ 5:00 pm - 8:30 pm
On Thursday, December 21, 2017, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” event will feature Picture Rocks Petroglyphs Tour, Dinner, and “Celebrating the Solstice: Southwestern Rock Calendars and Ancient Time Pieces” presentation by archaeologist Allen Dart in the Dining Hall and Petroglyph Auditorium of the Picture Rocks Redemptorist Renewal Center (PRRNC), 7101 W. Picture Rocks Road, Tucson. Petroglyphs tour starts at 5:00 p.m., dinner at 6:00, presentation 7:15-8:30 p.m. Dinner $15 per person, tour and presentation free.
National Park Service photos of winter solstice sunrise viewed from Wijiji Pueblo in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico (Chaco Culture National Historical Park photo)
Native Americans in the Southwest developed sophisticated skills in astronomy and predicting the seasons, centuries before Old World peoples first entered the region. In this presentation archaeologist Allen Dart discusses the petroglyphs at Picture Rocks, the architecture of the “Great House” at Arizona’s Casa Grande Ruins, and other archaeological evidence of ancient southwestern astronomy and calendrical reckoning; and interprets how these discoveries may have related to ancient Native American rituals.
Before dinner archaeologist Allen Dart will lead a free tour to the Picture Rocks petroglyphs.
For this one-time event the dinner fee is $15 per person payable to Old Pueblo Archaeology Center by check or credit/debit card no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday December 19, so that Old Pueblo can tell the PRRNC on December 20 how many people will attend. Donations will be requested during the event to benefit Old Pueblo’s educational efforts. Call Old Pueblo at 520-798-1201 no later than 5 p.m. December 19 to make reservations and pay for dinner.
20171221(V2)ThirdThursday_AllenDart_SouthwesternRockCalendars& Picture RocksTour