Obsidian and Human Behavior in Spotlight at USU's Museum of Anthropology

In its next Saturdays at the Museum series, Utah State University’s Museum of Anthropology features a lecture by visiting scholar Richard Hughes.

 

Hughes presents “What’s New in California and Great Basin Obsidian Studies?” Saturday, Oct. 30, at 1 p.m. at the museum. Other activities continue during the museum’s regular Saturday hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

The lecture will cover the history of early obsidian sourcing studies in California and the Great Basin and discuss how the results were used in reconstructions of local and regional prehistory. Hughes will also talk about how the studies he has worked on can provide a new understanding of the past.

 

Activities for children will be available at the Saturday event. Guests can also learn how prehistoric peoples shaped obsidian tools.

 

“Obsidian is interesting to me as an anthropologist because by making stone tools the same way prehistoric man did, we learn more about how this group lived,” said Skyler James, anthropology major and a Saturdays program planner.

 

In addition to its Saturday program hours, the Museum of Anthropology is open to USU students and members of the public six days a week, with regular hours Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. For Saturday activities, free parking is available in the adjacent lot, south of the building.

 

The USU Museum of Anthropology is on the USU campus in the south turret of the historic Old Main building, Room 252.

 

Funding for Saturday events is provided by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. More information about the IMLS is available online.

 

For more information about this event, call museum staff at (435) 797-7545 or visit the museum website.

 

The Museum of Anthropology is part of the Anthropology Program at USU.

 

 

Source: Museum of Anthropology