Roger Kearney here, media writer for the Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society based in Cave Creek. AAS is a 501-C celebrating over 50 years of existence in 2014 and the Desert Foothill Chapter is a youngster at 40 years old. The chapter meets September through May on the second Wednesday of each month in Cave Creek and features well known guest lecturers during these meetings. The meetings are open to the general public at no cost with the exception of the December Christmas Party that is members only.
Our April 12 meeting features Matt Peeples presenting Archaeological Fakes and Frauds in Arizona and Beyond. Depictions of archaeology in popular culture are full of dubious tales of ancient extraterrestrials, lost civilizations, giants, and widespread scientific conspiracy. In this talk, PhD. Matthew Peeples explores such fantastic claims focusing in particular on a few popular claims here in our own Arizona backyard. Matt Peeples’ presentation goal is not to simply “debunk” these claims (though this is accomplished too) but to further explore how and why pseudoscientific claims take hold in the popular imagination and what we can do about it. Are such claims just silly fun or do they do have the potential to do real damage to archaeological resources and the scientific process.
PhD. Matthew Peeples is an assistant professor and archaeologist in the School of Human Evolution & Social Change at Arizona State University, research director for the ASU Center for Archaeology and Society, and a research associate and frequent collaborator with the non-profit preservation organization Archaeology Southwest in Tucson, Arizona. Matt Peeples received his B.A. in Anthropology from University of Texas at Austin and his graduate M.A. and PhD. studies in Anthropology from Arizona State University. He conducts field and lab research focused on the greater Cibola region in New Mexico and Arizona and also collaborates on several large projects focused on synthesizing settlement data from across the United States Southwest and Mexican Northwest. One of his major collaborative projects involves the use of social network analysis to explore how pre-Hispanic indigenous farmers survived and thrived in this unpredictable arid environment and what lessons their successes and failures can offer those of us living here today.
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Roger Kierney
Cave Creek
