Events Calendar

For our first Brown Bag of the season, George Horton will present, Midcontinent Mounds & Earthworks: A Hypothesis of Understanding Between the Ground and the Cosmos.

This presentation is a narrative that combines the 1881-1885 Mound Explorations of the Bureau of Ethnology by Cyrus Thomas, the 1992 Lakota Star Knowledge by Ronald Goodman and stories from  Native American friends and neighbors. Goodman, with the help of Lakota elders and other researchers developed a mirroring concept, what is below on earth is above in the sky. Combining this previous research with  specific learning from Meskwaki storytellers, might help decode some Midwest earthwork patterns. Horton has learned from the Meskwaki (their spelling), his Iowa neighbors, for over 50 years.

George Horton is a very familiar face with the Office of the State Archaeologist. George has been a member of the Iowa Archeological Society since 1967. He was one of the first IAS members to be certified as a Site Surveyor, has volunteered on many IAS projects and given many presentations at IAS Meetings, his most recent at the fall meeting in Iowa City. He has also served on the IAS Board, been published in the Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society and contributed to many IAS newsletters as well. In 2006 the IAS presented him with the Keyes-Orr award. George’s most recent research work, “The Woman Who Fell from the Sky and the Portsmouth, Ohio Hopewell Earthworks” is published in the Journal of Ohio Archaeology 6:1-15, 2019. George also recently presented Bears, Buffalos, Lady Falling from the Sky-Oh My! at the Midwest Archaeological Conference in Mankato, Minnesota this past October.

Brown Bags at the Office of the State Archaeologist is a semi-regular  series where OSA staff and guests share their research over the noon hour. Topics include individuals’ areas of interest, work in the field, and developments in archaeology and architectural history throughout Iowa and the Midwest. Guest speakers whose expertise is in other areas pertaining to archaeology or ethnohistory may be invited throughout the year as well.

These presentations are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to  engage in discussion and exchange following the presentation.

A limited number of metered parking spots are available in the OSA parking lot. The remainder of the parking lot is for permit holders only.