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Knowledge-seekers of every kind are welcome at Archaeology Café at Changing Hands for a season of programs exploring the deep and diverse history of Phoenix and the greater Southwest in a jargon-free zone. Join us as Dr. Aaron Wright explores “What’s West of Phoenix: Patayan Archaeology of the Lower Gila River.”
The Patayan tradition in southwestern Arizona is commonly dismissed as a mobile hunting-and-gathering lifestyle with little relevance to the Big Picture of Southwest history. This presentation shares recent archaeological and ethnohistoric research that counters this prevailing narrative, and restores Patayan as one of the four main cultural traditions of the indigenous Southwest.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Aaron Wright, Ph.D., is a Preservation Archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest. His research is focused on the Hohokam and Patayan traditions across southwestern Arizona. He is specifically interested in the cultural landscape of the lower Gila River, which is renowned for a unique mixture of Patayan and Hohokam settlements, dense galleries of world-class rock art, and numerous enigmatic geoglyphs. Wright is the lead researcher on Archaeology Southwest’s long-term goal of establishing a Great Bend of the Gila National Monument. In that effort, Aaron has collaborated on a cultural resource study of the area’s significance, as well as a cultural affiliation study outlining the ethnohistory and contemporary tribal connections to this remarkable landscape.
ABOUT ARCHAEOLOGY CAFÉ
Presented by Archaeology Southwest, a nonprofit organization working across the Southwest to explore and protect the places of our past, Archaeology Café is an informal forum where adults can learn more about the Southwest’s deep history and speak directly to experts. At Archaeology Café, we break down the static, jargon-laden dynamic of traditional lectures, and have an expert share some ideas with the group in ways that get discussion going. (Food and drink make things a little livelier, too.)
WHEN & WHERE
We gather at around 5:30 p.m. at the Changing Hands Bookstore (300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix AZ) to visit and enjoy food and beverages. The program begins at 6 p.m.
Find plenty of free public parking west of Changing Hands Phoenix, at 400 and 444 West Camelback. Additional free public parking is across Camelback to the south.
Don’t want to drive? Take the Light Rail! It lets off at the Central Avenue/Camelback Park-and-Ride, which has hundreds of free parking spaces across the street from Changing Hands.
COST
Archaeology Café is free. Guests are encouraged to purchase their own refreshments from the First Draft Book Bar. Offerings include wine, local craft beers, delicious coffee, and a selection of bar foods. After the Café, stick around and have dinner next door at the Southern Rail Restaurant. Or, call Southern Rail ahead of time, order a meal to go, pick it up prior to the Café start, and bring it with you to enjoy before or during the presentation!
CAN’T MAKE IT?
No problem! If you can’t attend in person, join us on Facebook Live that evening. Videos of each Café will also be available at www.archaeologysouthwest.org/video after each event.
QUESTIONS?
Email us or call 520-882-6946 ext. 23.
This program was made possible by Arizona Humanities and The Smith Living Trust.
