Join SCAS for a presentation by Hannah Ballard (Pacific Legacy, Inc.) on “Garbage is Gold in our National Parks… and in our Back Yards.”
DATE: Thursday, February 11, 2021
TIME: 7:00 – 8:00 PM (Pacific)**RSVP by 5:00 PM on February 11, 2021** RESERVATION ONLY & SPACE LIMITED, WITH PREFERENCE TO CURRENT SCAS MEMBERS.
PLEASE NOTE: This meeting will take place online using Zoom
PLEASE CLICK BELOW FOR THE REGISTRATION FORM: (Please double-check that you correctly spell your email address on the form!!) https://docs.google.com/forms/ d/e/1FAIpQLSfQBzJ8_BhKHhYg_ bnPInMuWqRhqwUUQvMc-gj9G_U7o- 1rEw/viewform?gxids=7628
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Garbage is gold in Historical Archaeology. The garbage in your trash can closely resemble the refuse found at nineteenth and twentieth century archaeological sites. So much so that many may wonder at the archaeological value of cans and bottles. For Historical Archaeology in the West, historic period refuse is an important source of data about the past. It helps archaeologists tell stories ranging from personal to communal about people and process that left the trash behind. Ms. Ballard will present two cases of trash deposits that tell very different stories. The first is a look at the contents of two late nineteenth century privies from the back yards of a San Francisco working class, immigrant neighborhood on the rise. The second is an extensive early twentieth century dump on the banks of the Merced River in Yosemite Valley. Although both of these sites contained similar kinds of trash, they tell very different stories. One story tells about daily life and the emergence of the middle class in Victorian San Francisco and the other tells about early practices of waste management, recreation, and government administration in one of our most important National Parks.
Hannah Ballard is a professional archaeologist specializing in Historical Archaeology. She has worked in Cultural Resources Management (CRM) in California and Hawaii for over 24 years. Ms. Ballard currently serves as the President and CEO of Pacific Legacy, Inc., a cultural resources management firm with offices in Northern California and Hawaii. Ms. Ballard grew up in rural Sonoma County where she attended preschool on the Stewarts Point Rancheria and elementary school at tiny Fort Ross School. This environment provided the foundation for her interest in archaeology and history. At UC Berkeley, she majored in Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology and received an MA in CRM from Sonoma State University. Her work has included investigations of prehistoric and historic period sites at Yosemite National Park, Fort Ross State Historic Park, Volcanoes National Park, the Presidio of San Francisco, and the Presidio of Monterey. Outside of work, she coaches her teenage twins’ Odyssey of the Mind Team. She loves to explore the world locally and abroad through hiking and traveling with her family.
