LAKEPORT >> October is California Archaeology Month, a time to celebrate and learn more about the work of archaeologists in the preservation of our state’s prehistoric and historic past. This year, the Museums of Lake County will once again be playing host to Lakeport Elementary 6th-grade students for our second-annual “Digging Archaeology.” Students will get their hands dirty during a mock-excavation and learn more about the field of archaeology and other earth sciences too.
For the public, the Friends of the Lake County Museum are sponsoring an afternoon of presentations by local archaeologists on Saturday Oct. 15th, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the second floor of the Historic Courthouse Museum. This year’s seminar focuses on the archaeological monitoring and work following last year’s devastating fires. Archaeologists presenting include Stephanie Reyes, the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Middletown Rancheria. Her and her team spent months after the fires working with cleanup crews to ensure that Lake County’s prehistoric and historic sites within the fire zone were properly cared for. Whitney Petrey, Assistant Curator of County Museums will also be talking about her work monitoring during the weeks-long cleanup of Harbin Hot Springs.
Finally, rounding out the afternoon’s presentations, Mendocino Community College’s Douglas Prather will walk the audience through the over two dozen cultural resource management jobs he worked on following the fires.
Archaeology is not just about setting out and discovering new sites. As these archaeologists will explain, being a practical archaeologist also entails the protection of what we already know and ensuring that these important sites survive for future generations.
The Historic Courthouse Museum is located at 255 N. Main St. Lakeport and you can reach staff Wed-Sat at 707-263-4555.
