March Lecture
Dr. Ben Potter – University of Alaska
March 12, 2026 @ 7:30pm via zoom – Register Here
Title: Peopling of Beringia and the Americas: New Discoveries and Convergences
Abstract: This talk encompasses current perspectives on the initial peopling of northeast Asia, Beringia, and the Americas south of the continental ice sheets. Archaeological, genetic, and paleoecological data are synthesized to understand the timing of these migrations and the lifeways of early Native American ancestors. The peopling of the Americas can be explained in part by responses to Late Pleistocene climate change.
Bio: Dr. Potter has been working in eastern Beringian archaeology for over 20 years. He is committed to anthropological archaeology, integrating material culture, faunal and floral remains, site structure and intersite variability as avenues to explore high latitude adaptations, human-environment interactions, and the colonization of Beringia and the New World. Ben’s targeted excavations at various Ice Age sites have provided important datasets to address human adaptation and economic change over the millennia. His projects have been funded by the National Science Foundation, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and others. Ben’s publications include numerous peer-reviewed journal articles, including Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, American Antiquity, Journal of Archaeological Science, and Arctic.
