ISU departments collaborate, prepare for International Paleoamerican Odessy Conference in October

Several Idaho State University departments are collaborating to discuss archeological sites in Idaho and prepare for the International Paleoamerican Odyssey Conference.

"Clovis folks lived in Idaho during the Ice Age about 13,000 years ago," said Ernest Lohse, Department of Anthropology. "We are talking with international experts to learn how they think Clovis people used resources, so that we can predict where we should be able to find archaeological sites."

The Department of Anthropology, ISU Instructional Design, ISI Informatics Research Institute, College of Education, College of Business, Department of Geosciences, and ISU GIS have joined forces to form the Clovis Modeling Collaboration. The collaboration will present a knowledge elicitation workshop at the International Odyssey Conference in Santa Fe Oct. 17-19.

ISU is also collaborating with several other universities including Oregon State and Texas A&M University to build a model for Clovis adaptation, including a shared online heritage database, a game for education, computer simulations and GIS predictive models.

"No one has developed this informatics-based approach before," said Lohse. "The conference workshop will showcase our capabilities and create new partnerships with other programs and scholars, creating multiple granting and research opportunities."

ISU has expertise in building informatics-based products for other universities, corporate partners, and federal and state entities. The collaboration aims to produce multiple student published articles, masters’ theses, and several dissertations while using educational games and computer simulations to educate students across the country.

The international conference is sponsored by the Center for First Americans and Texas A&M University. The conference will host the most prominent Clovis paleoindian researchers from around the world. For more information visit www.paleoamericanodyssey.com.

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