Fireside Chat with Holly Norton

The Institute for Mountain Research is hosting another fireside chat this Thursday (4/14) at 7:00 in the Amphitheater outside of Jewett. Holly Norton, The State Archeologist for Colorado will mostly be talking about abandoned mines in the Colorado Mountains, but her work covers a lot of areas, so I’m sure the conversation will be wide ranging.

You and your students are welcome to join us for stories around the campfire, s’mores, burritos, cocoa, and (probably) terrible jokes.

I’ve attached a the poster below, and here’s some more detailed info about Holly and what she’ll be talking about.

Holly Norton is the Colorado State Archaeologist and Deputy Historic Preservation Officer. She received her BA in anthropology from University of South Carolina, MA and PhD both from Syracuse University. Dr. Norton has worked as an archaeologist for the South Carolina DOT, Virgin Islands National Park, History Colorado, and a handful of private consulting firms across the country. She has prehistoric and historical archaeology experience, as well as historical architecture experience in nearly a dozen states and the US territories. Her areas of specialty are African-American archaeology and political violence.

Mining shaped Colorado’s history, drawing dreamers from the East to a frontier that eventually became a state. While mining has a rich history that has left us with a complex and intriguing cultural landscape, mining also has a darker legacy with which we still have to grapple. This talk will focus on the archaeology of a variety of mining sites across the state, as well as discuss the environmental impact of mining, and how various agencies have approached the precarious balancing act of cleaning up mining sites while preserving (or not) historic sites.