Past list view

A waiting list has been opened for this talk. We will endeavor to seat all comers.

Dinner and social hour in the North Avenue Room begins at 7:15 pm with an approximately hour-long presentation and question and answer session to follow.

Speaker
Dennis Blanton, Curator of Native American Archaeology (pictured right)
Fernbank Museum of Natural History

"Every shovel of soil yields a new discovery."

Background for Dennis's Talk
New archaeological findings at a south Georgia site address the topic of European expansion into the New World, promising to bring long-sought clarity to the story of Hernando de Soto’s epic trek through the Southeast (1539-1543). Recent investigations by Fernbank Museum of Natural History have yielded evidence of early sixteenth-century Spanish exploration where previously none existed. The work also provides specific information about the Native communities visited by the exploring parties.

Prior to our recovery of a robust assemblage of early sixteenth-century European artifacts at a Native American community near the Ocmulgee River in south-central Georgia (Telfair County), there existed no compelling archaeological record of De Soto’s passage across the vast stretch between today’s Tallahassee, Florida and the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Excavations since 2006 have produced unequivocal evidence of direct Native-Spanish contact before 1550 that includes four types of glass beads, three iron tools, a decorative brass piece, a silver pendant, and lead shot. The artifacts were recovered within a 14 x 20 meter excavation area, often in undisturbed context, that coincides with the location of a large Lamar-Period Native structure believed to be the community’s “council house.”

The project is ongoing and future study will involve additional excavation at multiple sites and close analysis of the growing artifact collection. The findings promise, in time, to bring us closer to a thorough reconstruction of the pre-contact cultural landscape, and a truer sense of the initial encounter between indigenous societies and Europeans – and its implications.

For Further Exploration
Fernbank Expedition Journal: Archaeologist’s Report - A blog in which Dennis shares the results of his latest field work with the public at large.

Archaeology Field Work - A Flickr photostream which features images of some of the remarkable finds by Dennis's research team as well as "action" photographs of archaeologists at work.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History Research and Collections - Web page which describes all past and current research efforts of the museum and their contributions to the museum collection.

Dennis's Biographical Statement
I was born and lived out my earliest years in South Carolina before my family relocated to Georgia. I attended South Georgia College (1976-78) prior to moving on to complete an undergraduate degree in anthropology at the University of Georgia (1980, Phi Beta Kappa). My graduate studies include completion of an M.A. in anthropology at Brown University (1983) and current work toward finalizing an anthropology Ph. D. at the University of Virginia.

I have had a lifelong interest in archaeology and found myself in an organized field project by the time I was fourteen years old. During my career I have worked in eleven different states, including Puerto Rico, but most of my time has been spent in eastern North America, including extended periods in New England, Illinois, and Virginia. My Virginia experience includes 15 years as director of The Center for Archaeological Research at the College of William & Mary, and a year creating and directing a new public archaeology program at historic Shirley Plantation.

I happily returned to Georgia in July 2005 as Curator of Native American Archaeology at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta. My duties there involve caring for the very large St. Catherines Island Collection, recently transferred to Fernbank from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

I have been fortunate over the years to receive wide recognition for some of my research. As one example, the discovery of how severe drought affected the Jamestown colony in Virginia appeared on the front page of The New York Times, in Science Magazine, on National Public Radio, and on the television programs Scientific American Frontiers (with Alan Alda) and ABC World News Tonight. More recently I have co-edited a new book entitled, Indian and European Contact in Context: The Middle Atlantic Region (2004, University Press of Florida).

My current professional activities include service as President of The Society for Georgia Archaeology and as a member of the Georgia National Register of Historic Places Review Board.

Manuel's Tavern makes the North Avenue Room available to us free of charge and asks only that we abide by their one-tab-per-table policy to help keep the workload of their wait staff manageable. Please cooperate in this regard and remember that the gratuity is your responsibility.

Science fiction films are huge moneymakers for Hollywood and a powerful cultural force. They reach millions as they (correctly or incorrectly) depict scientific ideas, contemporary issues of science and society, and scientists. Most practicing scientists feel that science is badly distorted on screen, but this is not always so. Drawing on my book Hollywood Science and using film clips, I’ll show good and bad screen treatments of science and scientists, and discuss how to improve science on screen and how to use even bad movie science to convey real science.

Dinner and social hour in the North Avenue Room begins at 7:15 pm with an approximately hour-long presentation and question and answer session to follow.

About Our Speaker
Sidney Perkowitz was born in Brooklyn, NY, and earned his Ph. D. in physics at the University of Pennsylvania. As Charles Howard Candler Professor of Physics at Emory University, his research has produced over 100 scientific papers and books, and he has consulted for industry and governments. He also writes and lectures about science and technology, with appearances at the Microsoft Corporation, the Smithsonian Institution, CNN, National Public Radio, and the BBC, among many others. His popular writings include the books Empire of Light, Universal Foam, Digital People, and Hollywood Science, along with numerous articles and essays, stage plays, and a screenplay.

Sidney continues to pursue writing about science and film as a contributer to the X-Change Files blog, featured on the Science and Entertainment Exchange website of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition, he appeared recently as a guest on NPR's Science Friday as part of a discussion of Summer Science Movies (June 26, 2009).

For further information, please visit Sidney's website or email him at physp@emory.edu.

Manuel's Tavern makes the North Avenue Room available to us free of charge and asks only that we abide by their one-tab-per-table policy to help keep the workload of their wait staff manageable. Please cooperate in this regard and remember that the gratuity is your responsibility.

Please join us for this different and exciting installment of the Atlanta Science Tavern Meetup. Instead of focusing on the work of one particular scientist, we will get up close and personal with three courageous defenders of the integrity of science in our public schools. This intersection of science and culture can determine what is taught in our nation’s schools and ultimately the scientific literacy of future generations of Americans.

The three individuals we will be hosting have been instrumental in defending science in the Cobb County biology textbook disclaimer case of 2005. Their organizing efforts in Cobb County were essential in getting evolution back into the Georgia public school science curriculum after State School Superintendent Kathy Cox took it out. Come and listen to their stories, show them your support, and find out how you, too, can defend science, if the Evo-Wars come to a school near you.

Dinner and social hour in the North Avenue Room begins at 7:15 pm with an approximately hour-long presentation and question and answer session to follow.

Our Speakers
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wy3Q3Orb-IoGPkuGPkY5rA?feat=directlinkDr. Sarah Pallas is a Professor of Neuroscience and Biology at Georgia State University. She was a co-founder of Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education (GCISE), and provided expert testimony prior to the trial in Cobb. Read her sworn affidavit (PDF).

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lH0zDT0tOJmh96sigCBbjw?feat=directlinkJeff Selman was the lead plaintiff in Selman v. Cobb County School District and is on the Advisory Board of GCISE. He is now the President of the Georgia Chapter of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State where he continues to speak out for our rights.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MvFwkJ50DOw5RS24UYTowg?feat=directlinkDr. George Stickel is the Science Supervisor for the Cobb County Public Schools and is a true science expert.

Background
For an excellent chronology of the case and to view PDFs of court documents including the judgment, visit the Selman v. Cobb County page at the website of The National Center for Science Education (NCSE), an organization that defends the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Despite constant challenges from scientifically ignorant or misinformed lay people, the courts have continually understood and upheld the validity and integrity of science. Read Ten Major Court Cases about Evolution and Creationism from NCSE.

With every ruling that comes down on the side of science it would seem that the challenges to the teaching of evolution in America’s schools would become a thing of the past. However, this has not been the case. From creationism to equal time to intelligent design to academic integrity to strengths and weakness the approach changes but the goal remains the same.

However, what may seem like independently misinformed people throughout the country are actually part of a broad social, political and academic agenda to "to defeat scientific materialism and its destructive moral, cultural, and political legacies” and to “replace materialistic explanations with the theistic understanding that nature and human beings are created by God.” These are stated goals of the Discovery Institute, as outlined in the strategy document known as "The Wedge” (PDF) which was leaked to the web. It clearly shows that the Discovery Institute’s concept of intelligent design is political rather than scientific in nature.

Know what to do if this happens in your school or district, because it could at any time. Although, the Discovery Institute is a powerful, well-funded lobby, there are dedicated, pro-science groups out there such as NCSE and the Georgia Citizens for Integrity in Science Education who can and will provide support for you.

This is a very important issue because the scientific literacy of our country is at stake. Check out how we stack up in our acceptance of evolution compared to European countries in this article from the August 2006 issue of National Geographic.

This just in from Poncy Hi Meetup Group site:
FERNBANK HAS CHANGED THEIR SCHEDULE TO SHOW AN MOON LANDING PROGRAM ON THE 17TH SO THIS SHOW IS NOT HAPPENING THAT NIGHT (GLAD I DOUBLE-CHECKED THE WEBSITE). THEREFORE, I AM MOVING IT TO THE 31ST OF JULY -- PLEASE UPDATE YOUR RSVP ACCORDINGLY (ESP BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THE WAIT LIST). SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Hello all,

A friend of mine from another meetup, The Poncey Hi Friends Group, is organizing a great event (http://www.meetup.com/PonceyHiFriends/calendar/10389154/)

It's a great one for SCI-TAV folks too!

Here are the details:

There is a new program coming to the Planetarium this summer that looks good. It focuses on looking at the night sky to find constellations, deep space objects, etc. Here is a description from the website:

Come to our indoor star party! Learn how to “star hop” and how to find deep space objects like galaxies and star clusters. Find out how those eye-popping pictures of nebulae are made, and how they really look through binoculars and small telescopes. And discover the constellations of winter, spring, and summer.

Since the show starts promptly at 8pm when they close the doors to the theater. PLEASE TRY TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE THERE BY 7:45 so we can get tickets and get seated in the theater. I will get there at 7:30 and will be waiting inside, near the ticket counter. If you are early, there are some cool exhibits in the science center so you will not be bored.

Cost is $4 for adults and $3 for students.

Afterwards, if it is a clear night the observatory upstairs should be open, with the telescope trained on something worth seeing (I saw Saturn once there). After that, anybody interested can grab some "PISA" down the street at the Fellini's on Ponce de Leon.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS A DIFFERENT LOCATION THAN THE FERNBANK MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY AND IMAX THEATER. The Fernbank Science Center and Planetarium is further down on Ponce toward Decatur and is located across the street from Fernbank Elementary School.

PLEASE NOTE CORRECTOIN: Saturday, July 18th, not the day before.

Hello everyone, this is a joint-event with the Atlanta Skeptics meetup group (http://www.meetup.com/atlantaskeptics). We actually have another event this same night, so those not already signed up for that can attend this to make it a big hit:

Ginger Campbell, host of the Brain Science Podcast, will be speaking!

Dr. Campbell will be talking about the implications of neuroscience for belief in the idea of the soul (or spirit) as a non-physical entity. Neuroscience has been revealing that all aspects of the person can be explained without then need to resort to non-physical causes. In this talk Dr. Campbell will discuss the challenge these discoveries pose to fundamental religious teachings. She will also discuss the evidence that creationist organizations like the Discovery Institute may be targeting neuroscience for a stealth attack. There will be ample time for Q and A.

Dr. Campbell has been an emergency physician since 1992 but she has a long-standing interest in mind-body medicine, the brain, and consciousness. In the Brain Science podcast she shares recent discoveries from the world of neuroscience in a way that people of all backgrounds can enjoy. Dr. Campbell believes that understanding how the brain works gives us insight into what makes us human. She is also committed to showing how the scientific method has unraveled many long-standing mysteries.

--LATE BREAKING DETAILS AS OF 7/18--

This just in from Christian at the Atlanta Skeptics, the main organizer for the event:

I hope everyone is as eager as I am for the meeting tonight. It should be terrific.

I just got off the phone with the manager at Engine 11, and it looks like there was a minor miscommunication along the way. It's all straightened out, though, and here's how things will work.

- Doors open at 7

- Engine 11 will bring appetizers up to us as long as we're eating them. They will charge each person $10 for the appetizers, which is a pretty good deal.

- If you want real food, you have to run downstairs for full menu service.

- We have a full-service cash bar upstairs with us.

- The program will get underway at 8 with announcements, followed by Ginger Campbell, then Q&A, then mingling as long as you like.