VENTURA COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

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1 VENTURA COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Website : VOLUME 47, NO 9 MAY 2018 MEETING PLACE Chumash Indian Museum 3290 Lang Ranch Pkwy Thousand Oaks, CA 2nd Tuesday of every month Direction: 101 freeway take Westlake Blvd exit, go to North Westlake Blvd 4 miles to Lang Ranch Pkwy, turn right. Museum is on right hand side V C A S : W H A T S H A P P E N I N G What s Happening in VCAS VCAS May 2018 Meeting The Ventura County Archaeological Society invites you to join us for our Archaeological Lecture and Society meeting Tuesday, May 08th at 7:00 PM Our speaker for the evening will be: Dr. Wendy G. Teeter Multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding the past: Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project We are now on Facebook! Please like and follow us there. This presentation will look at the different contributions multiple disciplines and voices continue to make in exploring early life on Pimungna (Catalina Island). Researchers of the Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project have focused on a variety of different questions and this occasion provides an opportunity to present results from projects ranging from immersive educational approaches to developing chronologies across Catalina. Collectively these studies are advancing our understanding of human settlement across the island and the region, while also allowing us the opportunity to reinterpret existing collections. May 08th: 7 pm VCAS Speaker: Dr. Wendy G. teeter on : Multi-disciplinary approaches to understanding the past: Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project May 12th: 9am Archival Work Day May 26th: 9 am Archival Work Day EDITOR: Judi Porcasi P.O. Box 4172 Thousand Oaks, Dr. Wendy G. Teeter Curator of Archaeology, Fowler Museum at UCLA, Dr. Wendy G. Teeter is the Curator of Archaeology for the Fowler Museum, UCLA NAGPRA Coordinator, and teaches in UCLA American Indian Studies and California State University, Northridge Anthropology Department. She is on the Register of Professional Archaeologists and co-directs the Pimu Catalina Island Archaeology Project, which seeks to understand the indigenous history of the island and Tongva homelands through multi-disciplinary and collaborative methodologies. Her interests, lectures, and publications focus on the protection and understanding of material and non-material culture in the past, indigenous archaeology, and the relationships between humans and the environment in north and Central America. She is also Co-PI for Mapping Indigenous Los Angeles ( a community based website devoted to storytelling through cultural geography and map making as well as providing educational resources and curriculum. Wendy G. Teeter received her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles in She helped to develop the Tribal Learning Community & Educational Exchange Program in the Native Nations Law & Policy Center, UCLA School of Law. She serves on a number of boards and committees including as Chair of the Society for California Archaeology Curation Committee, Co-Chair for the Society for American Archaeology Repatriation Interest Group, and Editorial Board Member, Heritage & Society Journal. Annual Board of Directors Election VCAS will hold its annual election for one board member in May. If you would like to run for this position to help govern the society, contact any existing board member and you will be placed on the ballot.

2 VCAS April 2018 Speaker Don Liponi, photographer and author of a newly published volume on Native American rock art in Southern California, presented an enthusiastic summary of his life-long dedication to find and document long-hidden shamanistic sites. Working with a team of practiced volunteers, Liponi has found and photographed approximately 100 previously unrecorded rock art sites. Many of these are shown in his book entitled La Rumorosa Rock Art Along the Border: A Survey of Kumeyaay and Related Artwork in Southern California, Colorado River Corridor, Western Arizona, and Baja California. About 90% of the sites recorded by Liponi have not been seen in historic times. Don Liponi The Old Archaeologist says: You are never too old to play in the dirt! The survey and book team is made up of about 15 participants, a third of which are Native Americans, along with prominent regional professional and avocational archaeologists. Liponi reports that his team locates an average of about one site each week they are on survey so their sites are now up to about 200. Much of the artwork discovered and photographed by Liponi and his team includes images of sun symbols, lizards, centipedes, geometric patterns, and grids (or combs/rakes). The rock art reflects the animism of the native people that is, a belief that all objects have soul and/or spirit, and the art is a shamanistic tradition for promoting and optimizing interactions between nature and life situations encountered by the group. The shamans reach into the spirit world for answers and relay their visions in the paintings, said Liponi. He went on to describe how he and his team had developed special techniques for locating the rock art sites which are often well hidden in difficult to reach areas. Much of the rock art has faded over time or has been vandalized in some way sometimes by scratching out or sometimes by marking over. He uses a specialized photographic technique to illuminate the rock art. Images which in many cases are virtually invisible can be made highly visible by this technique termed D stretch. D stretch software is loaded in almost any type of camera and is used to pick up and record certain colorations. D stretch software application is available for sale widely for approximately $20. D stretch can also reveal older images hiding or vandalized beneath more recent images by selectively picking up certain colorations. Liponi s book is full of such brightly colored images. The book also presents details of how Don s techniques can be used by anyone willing to get out there and search for new rock art. VENTURA COUNTY ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY PAGE 2

3 V E N T U R A C O U N T Y A R C H A E O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y P A G E The Chumash Indian Museum As part of its ongoing Speaker Series, the Chumash Indian Museum will feature a lecture by writer Elias Castillo on May 24 at 7 p.m. He will discuss his book "A Crown of Thorns" about the Franciscan missionaries' treatment of native communities. A VCAS Scholarship is Available VCAS is offering a scholarship of $250 for an undergraduate anthropology or archaeology student in a community college or a 4-year university leading to an undergraduate degree (B.A. or B.S.) in anthropology/ archaeology. The student must be a resident of Ventura County or must demonstrate current research in Ventura County by submitting an approved project research design. The recipient will also receive a free one-year membership in VCAS. The deadline for submittal of applications is May 15, Application for the scholarship can be obtained from the VCAS website at Multicultural Day at Moorpark College The Ventura County Archaeological Society participated in the Moorpark College Multicultural Day on Tuesday April 10 th. We were set up right near the bandstand and a Flint Knapper. Harvard Horiuchi, Karen Clericuzio, Andrew Kinkella and Bob Lopez manned the booth. We sold our tote bags, pins and note pads and told all interested parties about the Ventura County Archaeological Society. We gave out Scholarship applications and our Membership brochure. While we didn t make much money for the Scholarship Fund, we got a lot of exposure.

4 VCAS Activities of Interest - VCAS is organizing a June 16 field trip WONDERFUL THINGS A Field Trip to see the King Tut Display The VCAS is organizing a field trip to see the King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh exhibit at the L.A. Science Center on Saturday, June 16. This will replace the regular June meeting. At least 15 people must participate in order to get the reduced group rate, which is substantially less. There will also be a $2 purchasing fee per ticket to obtain tickets in advance. Members, their friends and family are encouraged to come along. Parking is $12 per car, so car pools will be arranged to minimize this cost. Tickets are also available at the door, at non-group rate prices. Ticket costs at the group rate are : Adult $23.95 / Child 4-12 $17.95 (under 3 is free) / Student (ID required) $17.95 / Senior 65+ $23.95 Bob Lopez is heading up this trip, so if you are interested, please him as soon as possible, with the number of tickets you wish to buy and the class of tickets you will purchase, as well as the city where you live so he can work up a car pool plan. Please bring the money to the May meeting. Bob says that if we have 15 people, we can raffle off one free ticket. If you aren t going to be at the May meeting, ask for Bob s address so you can mail it to him. If you are interested, please Bob Lopez ASAP at rlarchcslt@aol.com. ANOTHER GREAT SHOW TO CATCH As of March 25 the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts is featuring City and Cosmos: The Arts of Teotihuacan a magnificent show featuring many new discoveries from the ancient city of Teotihuacan, many of which have never been displayed in the United States. The exhibit is at the Resnick Pavilion at 5905 Wilshire Blvd in Los Angeles and will continue through July 15. The show includes about 200 works of art in various media such as monumental sculpture, polychrome murals, and small objects made of precious greenstones, obsidian, and ceramics. The exhibit was organized in collaboration with the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History and the de Young Museum of San Francisco. V E N T U R A C O U N T Y A R C H A E O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y P A G E 4

5 V E N T U R A C O U N T Y A R C H A E O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y P A G E 5 AND YET ANOTHER SHOW OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTEREST The nearby Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley is featuring a collection of artifacts of historical and anthropological interest on the life and times of Ghengis Khan and his forerunners. This is an enlightening peek at a culture rarely displayed in the US. LATE NEWS IN CHUMASH ARCHAEOLOGY Recent VCAS speaker, Kaitlin Brown of the University of California, Santa Barbara, has just published a paper in American Antiquity that analyzes usage and social processes dealing with soapstone manufacture of ollas, bowls, and comales during the Mission Period in the Santa Barbara Channel Region. She found that soapstone was acquired from new sources and production of bowls and comales was emphasized during this time. The continued usage of ollas in historic Chumash villages outside the mission argues that there was a mixture of identities ranging between native and Spanish. VCAS Meeting Raffles and Sales We raffle off a variety of archaeologically-themed items at each meeting, including books, pictures, figurines, etc. A bit of fun each month. All proceeds support the VCAS scholarship fund. Support the Ventura County Archaeological Society! The Ventura County Archaeological Society will have items for sale at our general meetings. These include VCAS logo tote bags and note cards, as well as coyote and turtle pins. Be sure to pick them up at one of our meetings!

6 VOLUME 47, NO 6 Fieldwork Opportunities P A G E 6 If you are looking for volunteer fieldwork, look at an online forum. There is an Archaeology Volunteer Opportunities listing where you can read volunteer announcements or post your own inquiry. The link is This website is an excellent resource for volunteer fieldwork as well as field schools. If you are interested in working for a week in a National Forest doing free archaeology, excavation and surveying, then this is the best site: The Passport in Time project is hosted by the US Forest Service. Certain forests throughout the US that have a heritage team working for them will provide weeks during the summer for volunteer crews to come out and help on excavations. Volunteers from all over the world come to participate and it is a great program. If you are interested in obtaining field school experience for your archaeology/anthropology class work, then you can find field schools here: Most charge a fee for tuition and/or lodging and equipment. Board of Directors Julie Swift - President Andrew Kinkella - Pres. Elect Membership Noel Van Slyke - Treasurer Tom Trumpler - Secretary Bob Lopez - Archivist Advisors to the Board Paul and Judy Porcasi - Newsletter Barbara Tejada - Webmaster Karen Clericuzio - Past Pres. - Advertising VCAS: index.html MEMBERSHIP NOTES: 2018 Dues are Due! Membership requires a pledge to adhere to the Society s Code of Ethics, The New VCAS dues as of Jan 2018 will be Regular $40, Family $50, Student $25. The due increase is to cover the increasing society costs. Mail Dues, with check made payable to: Ventura County Archaeological Society (Attn: Membership Chair) P.O Box 4172, Thousand Oaks, Ca Chumash Indian Museum Archive Work Day The work day for the archives is the second and fourth Saturday of every month. 9AM to 1 PM VCAS Work Days for the month of May are planned for the 12th and the 26th, in an effort to put the Archives back in order. We welcome volunteers on any or all of the planned Work Days, whatever help we can get will be appreciated. Meetings Tuesday at 7 PM The storage container is located behind the Chumash Indian Museum. By checking with Bob first rather than just showing up, you can be given directions to open the gate and drive near the storage containers. RAIN CANCELS If you plan to come, please check with Bob Lopez - rlarchcslt@aol.com By checking with Bob first rather than just showing up, you can be assured there is enough work for everyone. V E N T U R A C O U N T Y A R C H A E O L O G I C A L S O C I E T Y P A G E 6