Archeologist program planned for January Historical Society meeting

The Historical Society will be featuring a program called “Cry to Heaven: Golden Thunderbirds and Rock Art in the Bighorn Basin” presented by Bonnie Lawrence-Smith, Archeologist from Cody, following their January meeting Saturday, Jan. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Hot Springs County Historical Museum.

Bonnie Lawrence-Smith is a Wyoming native and archaeologist who explores the relationships between early indigenous peoples and golden eagles in the Bighorn Basin. She is the former curatorial assistant for the Draper Natural History Museum in Cody, Wyoming, and co-curator of “Monarch of the Skies” on exhibit now at the Center of the West.

Lawrence-Smith said about her presentation, “Throughout the history of man, he has tried to organize his world and its natural phenomena into nice little packages of stories and myths to explain the extraordinary in ways comprehensible at the time. What we know today as science was alien to those who came before. Our early fathers would cry to Heaven, beseeching what powers that be, to bless, curse, or create. And so it is through time that we create stories to explain the world around us, barring any other explanation. Gods, demons, and bogeymen will punish you if you don’t behave according to societal standards. Pulling you screaming into the murky depths of whatever lies below. Always below; always down is bad.”

Lawrence-Smith continued and said, “I propose that early peoples living in the Bighorn Basin of the Great Plains were no different than other populations on the planet; weaving stories as explanations for the natural world. Here in the Plains Basin of North America, we find some of the most exceptional rock art in the Americas. Consistently depicted among the stones are raptors, large birds of prey. Some are highly stylized, while others are easily identifiable. Through this project, we will examine several sites in the Bighorn Basin, both public lands (BLM, Forest Service, and the State of Wyoming) as well as some privately owned lands. I propose that there is a direct correlation and connection between ancient eagle (Aquila crysataetos) nests, eagle traps, and thunderbird representations at rock art sites in the Bighorn Basin.”

Refreshments will be available and everyone is welcome.

For more information about the event, call 921-1551 or 864-2678.