The next OAS General Meeting is December 2, 2024 at 7p.m
Guest lecturer Dr. Robert Losey of the University of Alberta, speaking on “The Par-Tee Archaeological Site on the Oregon Coast: Equipment Scaling and Learning”
The Par-Tee site in Seaside is one of the most extensively excavated coastal sites in Oregon. Excavations at this shell-midden site in the 1960s and 70s have generated an enormous artifact collection, including numerous tools fashioned from bone and antler. The primary period of occupation of this site was between 100 and 800 AD. Atlatls, or spear-throwing implements, seem to have been widely used at this time, but evidence for them on the coast of North America is quite limited. Par-Tee is an exception to this pattern, as it has produced remains of numerous atlatl pieces, all made from whale bone. Perhaps most interestingly, some of these atlatl pieces appear to have come from very small implements, perhaps made for use by children. The practice of making equipment scaled down for children’s use is discussed, including its importance for learning skills critical to life on the Oregon coast.
Biographical information
Dr. Robert Losey is a professor of archaeology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Dr. Losey completed his master’s thesis and dissertation research at the University of Oregon, focusing on the Indigenous archaeology of the Oregon coast. Since that time, he has worked extensively in Siberia, but also on the North American Great Plains and Arctic. Dr. Losey is perhaps most well-known for his methodological and theoretical research on archaeological dog remains and the social aspects of animal domestication.
Dr. Losey will be appearing on Zoom.
The meeting will be live at OMSI, free and open to the public
and also available to OAS members via Zoom.
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is located at
1945 SE Water Ave. Portland, OR 97214-3354
Recordings of meetings will be available to the general public on the OAS YouTube channel one week after the meeting date. Visit the OAS YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVcaApNDyXOz2W6tsiWTPZw/
OAS Free Public Lecture Series, 2024-2025
Sept 3, 2024
Dr. April Nowell, University of Victoria
Dr. Nowell will be speaking on “Growing Up in the Ice Age: Were Children Drivers of Human Cultural Evolution?”
Oct 1, 2024
Cheryl Mack
“The Search for Chequoss – A Camp From the 1853 Pacific Railroad Survey Expedition”
November 6, 2024 Date change to Wednesday
Dr. Larry Loendorf, Sacred Sites Research
“Warfare, Pots and Rock Art in the
Jornada Mogollon Region, New Mexico”
December 3, 2024
Dr. Robert Losey, University of Alberta
“The Par-Tee Archaeological Site on the Oregon Coast: Equipment Scaling and Learning”
January 7, 2025
Dr. Virginia Butler
topic TBD
February 4, 2025
Dr. Karen Steelman, SHUMLA Archaeological Research and Education Center, Texas.
Dr. Steelman will speak on state-of-the-art dating processes for rock art.
March 5, 2025
Dan Stueber, University of Victoria
“Understanding Stone Tools Through Replication and Experiments”
April 1, 2025
Jim Keyser, OAS
Reporting on work at the Vissotzky Site in NW Montana
May 6, 2025
Jocelyn Lee
“Feeling Safe in the Field: Fostering Spaces of Inclusion during Archaeological Excavations”
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