Jonathan Till is an archaeologist with a long-standing interest in the Ancestral communities of the northern Southwest, especially in the Four Corners landscapes. Among other things, Jonathan is a student of the “great house phenomenon” in southeastern Utah and the greater Mesa Verde region. He is curator at Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum in Blanding, Utah.
Great house architectural tradition made use of solar orientations in various but structured ways throughout the Mesa Verde region. Jonathan’s presentation will consider the archaeological contexts of these orientations and suggests possible uses of solar alignments by the Ancestors in the organization of their communities.