USI Anthropology Speaker Series to present Dr. Kory Cooper

The University of Southern Indiana’s Anthropology Speaker Series will present a lecture and Q&A by Dr. Kory Cooper, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Purdue University, at noon Monday, April 7 in Kleymeyer Hall (LA 0101) in the lower level of the Liberal Arts Center. This event is open to the public at no charge.

Cooper studies innovation and culture change using a behavioral archaeology framework. One of his major research areas is pre-contact native copper innovation among arctic, subarctic and northwest coast hunter-gatherers, as well as the adoption of trade metal in these regions following contact with Europeans.

This presentation provides an overview of several years of research into the innovation of native copper metallurgy by indigenous hunter-gatherer societies across far northwestern North America. Archaeology, oral history, archaeometallurgy and pxrf analysis are used within a Behavioral Archaeology framework to examine not only when and where, but also how and why, native copper was added to the material repertoire of these societies in the past.

“Dr. Cooper’s research provides valuable insights into resource use and cultural innovation amongst native hunter-gatherers of the Northwest Coast and Subarctic,” says Dr. Daniel Bauer, Professor of Anthropology. “Dr. Cooper’s talk is an exciting addition to the Anthropology Speaker Series.”

To learn more about this event and the Anthropology Speaker Series, contact Bauer at debauer@usi.edu.