ZION CANYON FIELD INSTITUTE-THE FERN AND J.L. CRAWFORD LECTURE SERIES

ZCFI LAUNCHES SEVENTH ANNUAL LECTURE SERIES

     Zion Canyon Field Institute is pleased to announce the start of their seventh annual Fern and J. L. Crawford Lecture Series. This year, for the first time, ZCFI is partnering with Zion National Park's Division of Resource Management to expand the lecture series into a year-round program. On December 20th Molly Cannon will present "Reuniting the Pilling Figurines" at 7:30 pm at the Canyon Community Center (126 Lion Blvd) in Springdale.

     The Pilling Figurines are a remarkable collection of unbaked clay figures fashioned around AD 1000. They were encountered and collected by six ranchers in the Range Creek area in 1950. The lecture follows the many travels of the collection within and outside of Utah, the distressing loss of a male figurine decades ago, the mysterious circumstances surrounding the loss, and the reappearance of the lost figurine in November, 2011. The talk will also cover the efforts of scientists to demonstrate that the original figure was returned, and the importance of collections like these to museums, land management agencies, researchers, and the public.

     The following lectures are on tap as the series continues:

January 17-Glendora Homer "Paiute Ethnography"
February 28-David VanAlfen “Puebloans, Puebloids, and Paiutes: Prehistory of the Anasazi Frontier"
March 29 Paul Reeve "Left to Rot on the Hillside: Inter-cultural Death in the Western Frontier"
April 18- Steve Simms "Fremont Rockart"
May 16-Spencer Fluhman "Anti-Mormonism in the Development of Religion in the 19th Century"
June 20 - John Clark - "Early Travel and Tourism"

     Zion Canyon Field Institute is the educational arm of Zion Natural History Association. As always, all lectures are free and open to the public. Please visit us at www.zionpark.org to view ZCFI's schedule of fee-based classes for 2013.

Complete Schedule of ZCFI Workshops and Seminars