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The public is invited to attend (via Zoom online) the Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society’s quarterly program this Sunday, April 28 th , at 3:00 PM Eastern (2:00 PM Central).

The virtual presenter will be David Johnson. Johnson is an “avocational archaeologist”, meaning that he came to practice archaeology outside of the traditional profession. He has published several books over the years and given many presentations throughout Alabama, Mississippi and elsewhere.

His presentation is entitled “Archaeology for Dummies” (not an insult to those in attendance, but rather a play on the title of various media that break down complex fields and concepts for unfamiliar readers).

Originally an employee of the Alabama Department of Transportation, Johnson became fascinated with archaeology when he discovered artifacts on his property. With no previous experience or training in archaeology, he consulted local professional archaeologists.

They showed him the proper ways of cataloging and recording their discoveries for the purposes of preservation and education. He began to realize that others like him (with no previous archaeological training or expertise) would need the same know-how and assistance should they also discover prehistoric artifacts.

Johnson has authored many books, most notably the Handbook for Alabama’s Prehistoric Indians and Artifacts (Borgo Press, 2019). This work saw contributions from many of the professional archaeologists in the Alabama Archaeological Society. It contains full scale photographs, geographic distribution charts, and detailed descriptions of various artifacts (such as prehistoric projectile points).

Due to the popularity of the book in Alabama, he was asked to publish a similar catalogue for Mississippi (which he will be discussing in his presentation, as it was recently published).

The virtual presentation will last approximately one hour. Join us for this informative presentation on April 28.

To attend this virtual meeting email ccpowers02@gmail.com prior to 12 p.m. (EDT) on Sunday, April 28. You will then be sent the Zoom link with instructions regarding how to join the meeting.