VERO BEACH — The Emerson Center’s Florida Humanities Series, sponsored in part by Marine Bank & Trust in cooperation with the Old Vero Ice Age Sites Committee, continues on Thursday Feb. 16 with world famous archaeologist and curator Dr. Dennis J. Stanford of the Smithsonian Institution.
Dr. Stanford is Curator of North and South American Paleolithic, Asian Paleolithic and Western United States archaeological collections, Director of the Smithsonian’s Paleoindian/Paleoecology Program and Head of the Division of Archaeology.
His speech will describe his theory and work that challenges stories of how the Americas were populated. Dr. Stanford’s presentation replaces the originally scheduled Dr. Alex Stepick who for personal reasons is unable to attend.
Dr. Stanford’s theory posits that the first Americans crossed the Atlantic by boat and arrived earlier than previously thought. He will present archaeological and oceanographic evidence to support this assertion, and persuasively link Clovis technology with the culture of the Solutrean people who occupied France and Spain more than 20,000 years ago.
His latest book, Across Atlantic Ice, co-authored with Bruce Bradley, will be published during February. Dr. Stanford and Smithsonian staff evaluated the engraved bone found in Vero Beach by James Kennedy and corroborated its ancient age in the June 2011 Journal of Archaeological Science.
The Florida Humanities Series is presented by The Emerson Center at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vero Beach. Three acclaimed speakers and performers are being presented at the Center now through April 2012, with presentations relating to Florida history and issues.
Admission to each is complimentary and all performances will begin at 7 p.m.
The last two performances in the Humanities Series will be:
March 22: Seth Bramson – The Florida East Coast Railway: For More Than 110 Years America’s Speedway To Sunshine; and
April 19: Carrie Sue Ayvar, Florida Stories with Latino Sabor (Flavor).
Funding for some programs was provided through a grant from the Florida Humanities Council with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily represent those of the Florida Humanities Council or the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The capacity of the Emerson Center is more than 800; free admission will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis. Reserved seating for season ticket holders of the Celebrated Speakers Series will be offered with prior telephone arrangements. The Emerson Center is handicapped-accessible and is conveniently located at 1590 27th Avenue, on the SE corner of 16th Street and 27th Avenue in Vero Beach.
For more information, contact (772) 778-5249.