Multidisciplinary Uses
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Special Projects in Anthropology at CERA
North American Archaeology (Ant 262) As part of their discussion of Archaic period hunter-gatherer life, this class (taught in the fall by John Whittaker, professor of anthropology) has processed and eaten acorns, walnuts, cattails, and wild carrots, and grown and processed amaranth at CERA. They have also had Karl DeLong, emeritus professor of biology, and visiting specialists, including Dr. Kelly Kindscher (author of Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide), show them a variety of other prairie resources. They have made Archaic split-twig figurines from willows around the pond a couple of times. Experimental Archaeology In 1998 Professor Kathy Kamp and Professor John Whittaker taught an experimental archaeology course, and with another class taught by Barry Brenton, they dug pits at CERA and stored corn over the winter in them, as prehistoric Iowans would have. They dug the pits with primitive tools and quantified the labor, then lined them with prairie grass and filled them with corn. They monitored carbon dioxide levels and temperature throughout the winter and found that high carbon dioxide rapidly killed all pests and temperatures stayed low enough to prevent fermentation without freezing. In the spring they measured aflatoxin levels and found that they were minimal and the corn would have been safe for human consumption. They had over 90% sprouting success. Primitive Skills in the Modern World (Fall 2003 Tutorial Professor John Whittaker's tutorial students spent a morning in the riparian forest at CERA collecting nettles from which they processed fiber and made cordage. Old World Prehistory (Ant 261) In 1995 Professor John Whittaker had this class use experimental bronze axes to cut small oaks in the savanna restoration area at CERA. They did timed standardized tests to compare with modern steel axes. They brought the wood back to Grinnell and made a Neolithic/Bronze Age trackway in front of Goodnow on campus. Three Cairns, Andy Goldsworthy, March 2001
As part of an installation that spans the United States, Andy Goldsworthy constructed one of three temporary stone cairns in a reconstructed prairie at CERA in March of 2001. The two other cairns were created in tidal zones near New Rochelle, New York, and Pigeon Point, California. Made at low tide, they were then photographed by Goldsworthy as the incoming waters destroyed the stone structures. The prairie cairn at CERA was completed before the prairie grass had begun to grow and was photographed over a period of 18 months to document the sculpture in varied weather conditions. The result is a suite of large-scale panoramic images - now in the collection of the Des Moines Art Center - showing the cairn with varying heights of grass, in snow, and amid flames as the prairie was subjected to a controlled maintenance burn in May of 2002. Although considered one of the temporary works, Prairie Cairn should last for decades before eventually succumbing to the effects of the weather. The cairn was constructed with limestone quarried from Iowa. The project was initiated by the Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa. The Prairie Cairn was commissioned by the Des Moines Art Center in collaboration with the Faulconer Gallery and the Center for Prairie Studies at Grinnell College. For a brochure on the project, contact the Faulconer Gallery.
Installation Workshop, Sandy Skoglund, September 2001 In September of 2001, Sandy Skoglund, a nationally known New York installation artist, worked with students to produce an installation on a trail through a prairie at CERA. The installation was photographed and may be seen at the Center for Prairie Studes office in the Harry Hopkins House at 1131 Park Street in Grinnell. The installation included the use of blue bronze leaves sculpted originally for a piece titled "A Breeze at Work" which is currently in the collection of the Faulconer Gallery. Earth and Grass, Ellen Vogt and Karen Connelly, 1980s
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