The UMMAA is pleased to present Ian Beggen, a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, who will speak on Friday, February 3, 12-1 p.m., as part of the UMMAA Brown Bag Lecture Series. His talk is entitled Investigating Mobile Forager Cultural Adaptations in Central Western Patagonia, Chile. 

Central West Patagonia is an area characterized by climatic and landscape contrasts, with a variety of ecotones within a defined area. This region is naturally divided into different river valleys, separated by steep mountains and icecaps. One such valley, the Ibáñez River Valley (IRV), has been investigated archaeologically since the early 1970s. The IRV contains dozens of sites dating from the Early to Late Holocene featuring residential occupations as well as rock art. However, even with this history of research and robust signature of human behavior, little systematic archaeological survey has been conducted in the IRV due to numerous factors (difficulty of terrain, etc.). This presentation will include the results of preliminary research to synthesize findings from already-collected archaeological materials from the Rio Ibanez with new pedestrian survey from the southern extent of the valley and  engage with a variety of theoretical themes applicable to this unique cultural and environmental landscape and indicate profitable areas for future research.

This is an in-person lecture. It will be held on central campus in the School of Education Building, Room 2327, 610 E. University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI.

The Museum’s Brown Bag Lecture Series is free and open to the public.