This month's speaker: James Keyser


WERE YOU INTERESTED IN NATURE AS A CHILD?
----Yes, especially archaeology. I always wanted to be an archaeologist. I was also a birdwatcher. Growing up in rural Montana I spent a lot of time out of doors, hunting, fishing, camping, etc. Growing up on an Indian reservation also caused me to be interested in Indians and thus archaeology

PARENTAL INFLUENCES?
----Many strong influences. My dad was the rugged outdoors type, and he helped foster my interest in archaeology.

EARLY TEACHER INFLUENCES?
----My third grade teacher nurtured my interest in Indians and that's when I got the desire to be an archaeologist

ANY NATURE HOBBIES?
LANDMARK EXPERIENCES?
----When I was 9 years old I saw my first Indian pictograph and I decided right there that I wanted to be an archaeologist. The next year I met a friend of my father's who had one of the biggest artifact collections in Montana. In those days everybody collected arrowheads. I was really impressed to see all the stuff that he had. Pictographs captured my imagination, though.

MEMORABLE TRAVELS?
----To Chicago where I saw the Natural History Museum--Wow!

WHO INFLUENCED YOU TO PURSUE STUDIES IN ARCHAEOLOGY?
----My parents, a fellow named Paul Janetski (who had the big artifact collection), and my major professor in College.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO YOUR AREA OF SPECIALIZATION?
----I did some general surveys of rock art sites in Montana, but my big break was a contract with Alberta Provincial Parks to record the sites at Writing-On-Stone, Alberta

WHERE DID YOU GET YOUR TRAINING?
----BA and MA University of Montana. PhD University of Oregon---all degrees in Anthropology

WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO OUR NECK OF THE WOODS?
----Came to Oregon in 1974 for PhD program because Mel Aikens was professor there. He was considered to be tops in the field of western North Americ an archaeology and he was a friend of my major professor at University of Montana. Returned to Oregon in 1980 to accept promotion to regional archaeologist for the US Forest Service

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO TALK ABOUT?
----Ahhhh, the key question. I'm going to talk about Columbia Plateau rock art. I'll show slides and discuss what constitutes the Columbia Plateau rock art tradition. I'll talk about how the art functioned, and some newdiscoveries in the region.



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