Archaeoastronomy of the Southwest Class in September

The Verde Valley Chapter will be offering the AAS certification course "Archaeoastronomy of the Southwest" starting on Saturday, September 6. The course will run on nine Saturdays from 9:30 am to Noon at the Camp Verde campus of Yavapai College, 1-1/2 miles off the Montezuma Castle exit of I-17. The class, taught by Ken Zoll, will cost $75 that includes all course materials including a copy of the new book "Chaco Astronomy" by Anna Sofaer. At least one session will be a field trip to one or more archaeoastronomy sites in the Verde Valley to observe the vernal equinox, weather permitting.

This class will review the current literature on archaeoastronomy in the American Southwest, discuss important issues relating to the naked eye observation of celestial objects in the night sky, and cover basic recordation techniques and methods. This class will sample a small portion of a large body of literature on archaeoastronomy. Mesoamerican archaeoastronomy will be included because of the influence of Mesoamerican cultures on the Southwest and because of the advanced state of archaeoastronomy studies in Middle America.

Class size is limited to 24 participants. The course will be open to the public, but priority will be given to AAS members, so advanced registration is strongly recommended. The course outline and registration form is available at www.sinaguasunwatchers.com or by contacting Ken at archaeology@esedona.net.

Ken Zoll