VVAC Lecture: Sinagua Meteorites from Meteor Crater

Executive Director Ken Zoll will present a talk entitled “Sinagua Meteorites from Meteor Crater.” Ken has been working in conjunction with Arizona State University’s Center for Meteorite Studies on meteorites found at Native American ruins in the Verde Valley and beyond.

The occurrence of meteorites on archaeological sites in North America has been known since the early 19th century. From the Hopewell culture in the eastern United States to the Indians in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, meteorites have been found on these ancient sites. Much like meteorite hunters of today, ancient Native American cultures actively engaged in meteorite collecting.  Several meteorite fragments from Meteor Crater near Flagstaff have been discovered at ancient dwellings in Central Arizona. This talk will describe these meteorite locations, how they were associated with Meteor Crater, how they arrived in the Verde Valley, and how one of the meteorites, using radiocarbon dating, established its location within a ruin and confirmed the date of the ruin’s destruction.

This talk is free and open to the public.