In March of 1950 Clarence Pilling discovered a
set of clay figurines crafted by a Fremont artist or artists about 1000 years
ago. Known as the Pilling Figurines, one of these went missing decades
ago, only to—apparently—re-emerge last year. Dr. Bonnie Pitblado and a
team of world-renowned scientists used techniques ranging from fingerprint
analysis to geochemical characterizations to test whether the lost warrior had
truly been found. It is such a relief to have this figurine back where it belongs!
Dr. Pitblado, of Utah State University, serves as an
associate professor of anthropology, director of the Anthropology Program and
director of the USU Museum of Anthropology.
She teaches courses in archaeology and museum studies and serves as the
advisor for USU's "Museum Studies" certification program. Dr.
Pitblado specializes in the earliest human occupations of the Rocky Mountains,
and she has an active research program aimed at trying to better understand how
people used the mountains and adjacent landscapes, 10,000-7,500 years ago.
She has expertise in lithic technology and a
research focus on geochemical characterization of a variety of materials
(including Fremont figurines).
Currently, Dr.
Pitblado has grants from the National Science Foundation and the Bureau of Land
Management to conduct field research in the Gunnison Basin of southwest
Colorado, and she is entering her fifth year of a parallel field research
program based in northern Utah and southeast Idaho. In 2003, Dr. Pitblado
published a book with University Press of Colorado, Paleoindian Occupation
of the Southern Rocky Mountains. In October 2007, the same press released a
volume co-edited by Dr. Pitblado, Frontiers in Colorado Paleoindian
Archaeology. She has also published many articles and writes regularly for
popular audiences.
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