Saturday, January 14 and Sunday, January 15, 2012
13th Southwest Symposium
"Causation and Explanation: Demography, Movement, Historical Ecology"
Cynthia Herhahn and Ann Ramenofsky, Organizers
Causal explanations of long-term change are the overarching goal of the 13th Southwest Symposium. Although there are many potential causes of long term change, here we focus on demography, historical ecology and movement, each of which has figured significantly in Southwestern archaeology regardless of theoretical orientation. The focus on these variables is not only supported by 100 years of research in the Southwest, but offers the opportunity to explore the intersections and tensions between them. Current solutions will likely be different than those of earlier generations. Human behavior is flexible, and the focus on single causation has given way to processes that operate at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Thus, small scale alterations in flora, fauna, climate, population, or interaction can accumulate and result in large scale changes over millennia, or short term, extreme events--- natural disasters or demographic shifts operating singly or in combination---can have immediate social consequences. Those that persist can alter cultural trajectories. The challenge then becomes the identification and integration of causes and consequences especially given the "hard won" evidence of a frequently ambiguous archaeological record.
Student Union Building, Rooms A & B
Conference Fees: Fees for regular attendees are $80 and for Students, Native or Latin Americans is $40.00. For more information: http://www.unm.edu/~swsympos
Thursday, January 26, 2012, 7:00 pm free
Ancestors Lecture
“Redefining Man”: How Chimpanzees Have Shaped Our View of Human Nature by Martin Muller
As our closest living relatives, chimpanzees provide vital information about the changes that have taken place during the course of human evolution and the characteristics that make us uniquely human. Dr. Muller will review recent findings from his long-term chimpanzee research in Kibale National Park, Uganda, including studies of aggression and sex differences in behavior, and discuss their significance for our understanding of human behavior.
Dr. Martin Muller earned his PhD in biological anthropology from the University of Southern California, and did postdoctoral work in the department of anthropology at Harvard University. He studies the physiology and behavior of chimpanzees, as well as human foragers and pastoralists, at sites in East Africa. He is co-director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project, a long-term study of the behavior and ecology of chimpanzees in southwestern Uganda.
Hibben 105
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