Date: Tuesday, September 11, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Harrington Hall, Room 217
Speakers: Ray Reser, Ph.D., Director, Natural History Museum, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Jeffery A. Behm, Ph.D., Anthropology Program, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
About: The Pope site was discovered by Paul Pope in 1971 when he plowed up a small concentration of thermally fractured points. The numerous thermally fractured points were initially identified as Scottsbluff. Because some bones found with the point fragments were initially identified as human the site was identified as a human cremation burial and compared to the Renier site from the Door Peninsula portion of Brown County. Based on the perceived similarity of Renier, Pope, and other sites, the Renier Ceremonial Complex (RCC) has been recently proposed. Limited test excavations centered on the location of the fire feature in April 2018 recovered additional artifactual material and has substantially clarified the nature of the Pope site. The ritual nature of the Pope site fire feature is confirmed, but its specific role, and the validity of the RCC is called into question. Reanalysis of the Pope site points has resulted in their reclassification as Hardin Barbed. This has significant implications for understanding the interaction of the diverse and dispersed Early Holocene populations of hunter-gatherers in the Upper Midwest.
This is the first of nine scheduled monthly meeting and program for the 2018-2019 meeting year of the Robert Ritzenthaler Society’s meeting year. Monthly meetings and programs are generally scheduled for the second Tuesday of the month from September through May. All programs sponsored by the Ritzenthaler Society are free and open to the public. Please extend an invitation to attend to your friends.
Book Sale: The sale of books, reports, journal issues, and magazine will continue. Thanks to all who have donated books, magazines, and academic journals to this ongoing sale. The proceeds of the sale go to the Ritzenthaler Archaeological Society’s treasury.
Archaeology Month Posters and Bookmarks: The remaining posters (a shipwreck) and bookmarks (an eared Scottsbluff) celebrating Wisconsin’s Archaeology Month (May 2018) will be available for pick-up at the September Meeting.
Building Location: Harrington Hall is located on the west side of the T-intersection of John with Elmwood on the east side of the UW-Oshkosh campus.
Parking: We have permission to use UW-Oshkosh Lot 34 from one half hour before until one half hour after our meetings. This is the lot east of Elmwood and south of John – the one we regularly use for the meetings in Harrington Hall. We have access from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm. If you park in the lot before 6:30 pm (even just for a few minutes) you are very likely to get a parking ticket. Remember that you must park within the lines of the parking stall, with the rear of the vehicle toward the aisle. We do not have permission to use any other parking lot. You will get a ticket if you park in any other lot. You may also be able to find parking on John Street or Scott Avenue.
Handicap Access: Ground level access to Harrington is available at the southern entrance to Harrington. An elevator is available in the south end of the building. There is no parking next to the building. You can make arrangements to be dropped off at the south side of the building.
