John Kantner

Dr. John Kantner, UNF associate professor of anthropology and assistant vice president of research, and Dr. Jesse Casana, an archaeologist at the University of Arkansas, collaborated in the summer of 2013 to test the drones in a remote area of northwestern New Mexico. Results of their research were published in the May issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science.

One thousand years ago, a monumental religious center emerged in Chaco Canyon that soon grew to dominate the cultural landscape of the northern American Southwest. A millennium earlier, in the Nasca region on the south coast of Peru, a stunning ceremonial center existed with remarkable similarities to Chaco. Most scholars believe pilgrims traveled long distances to experience the majesty of these extraordinary desert centers and engaged in similar ceremonial activities. In a multimedia presentation, archaeologist John Kantner compares the evolution of Chaco and Nasca as a way to understand how and why influential ceremonial centers emerged in the ancient human past.