Archeological Remote Sensing at Highlandville School
DRC Sponsor: Kim Bonnet
Dr. Colin Betts, Professor of Anthropology at Luther College, will be discussing the use of remote sensing technology to provide details about buried archaeological materials without excavating as a vital part of modern archaeology. Last November he shared fascinating details on a project investigating the history of the Ice Cave Mill. This talk will show how Luther College students have used these remote sensing techniques to discover details about the historic Highlandville School.
Dr. Betts is a Luther alumnus and has been a professor in the anthropology department since 1999. He also serves as the director of the Anthropology Laboratory. Some of his course topics include Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Born to Run, Experimental Archaeology, and Remote Sensing in Archaeology. His research focuses on North American archaeology, mound construction, ethnicity, research methods and geophysical survey. His research is focused on the late prehistoric and early historic period in Northeast Iowa. The Upper Iowa valley has a fascinating and rich archaeological heritage that spans thousands of years of human habitation and provides an ideal natural laboratory for conducting research with students. His recent activities have focused on using a combination of archaeological and historic resources identifying the ethnic dimensions of the area’s most recent inhabitants as well as on understanding how the construction and use of mounds served both in the construction of the cultural landscape and as means of dealing with the impacts of European contact.
He obtained his Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois (U of I) at Urbana-Champaign in 2000. He also holds an M.A. from U of I and a B.A. in Anthropology and History awarded by Luther College in 1993.
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**Please complete your meal sign-up prior to the meeting, preferably not later than close of business Monday. Our face-to-face meeting will be hosted at the VFW. The meal sign-up, meeting announcment, and any other logistical information will be distributed in advace to all members by email.