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Zeke Flora Legacy in Rings Lorna Gail LaDage 9781475252552 Books

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Zeke Flora arrived in Durango, Colorado at the height of the Depression with twenty-three cents in his pocket, a wife and two small children to support and the dream of a better life. Amateur archaeology helped distract many locals from hard times, and Zeke gained skills rapidly. During the 1930's he received fame--and infamy--in the fields of archaeology and dendrochronology. Notorious pothunter or remarkable contributor to Southwest archaeology? Here is Zeke's story, revealed by private family documents that Isaiah Ford Flora left behind, many now available to the public for the first time; his family and peers, both professional and amateur archaeologists, present often conflicting opinions about this unusual man. The author, Lorna Gail LaDage, moved to Durango with her family in 1979, where archaeological sites were literally in her back yard. After careers as professional marathon runner, elementary school counselor and artist, Gail published a book and two articles on an endangered rock art site at Waterflow, New Mexico. Research then led her to question the criticism by professional archaeologists of Zeke Flora's work, done in the 1930's. This book seeks to set the record straight. Archaeologist and dendrochronologist Jeffrey S. Dean provides an insightful Foreword for the Zeke Flora story as well as guiding the author to sources of information and thoughtful consideration of the deeper issues involved.

Zeke Flora Legacy in Rings Lorna Gail LaDage 9781475252552 Books

Review of Lorna Gail LaDage's Zeke Flora: Legacy in Rings
Joe Lantz
The Ancestral Pueblo culture of the Southwest Four-Corners area (where Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico meet) has generated much interest in the international archaeological community. The descendants of the ancient pre-literate neo-lithic culture are alive and well in the modern day Pueblo communities of New Mexico. They still retain certain cultural aspects of their ancient relatives. The Ancient culture evolved over a period of 700-800 years (600 CE to 1350 CE) from a relatively simple basket making pit dwelling culture to the complex culture of the multi-story Pueblos of Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and Canyon de Chelly, ruins still visible today. Not only can anthropologists use modern Pueblo oral tradition to help interpret the evolution of Ancient Pueblo cultures, but they can also date the evolution of the Ancient Cultures to the year with the science of dendrochronology, or tree ring dating. This combination of modern day lore from Ancient Pueblo descendants and accurate tree-ring dating to study the evolution of an Ancient Neolithic culture is almost completely unique in the field of archaeology which explains the interest of the international archaeological and anthropological community.
A.E. Douglas, an astronomer, developed the science of dendrochronology and established the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. Some of Douglass's earliest work from first part of the twentieth century was to date the ruins of these Ancestral Pueblos.
Surprisingly enough, another early enthusiastic supporter of dendrochronology was Zeke Flora, a brilliant amateur archaeologist. He was much disparaged by the professional archaeological community more than likely because he lacked formal academic training in the field.
Lorna Gail LaDage's recently published book, Zeke Flora: Legacy in Rings, is a fascinating account of Flora's considerable contributions to the study of archaeology in the Four-Corners area of the Southwest. This much maligned character was called the `world's worst pothunter' in spite of the fact that he had an uncanny ability to find important archaeological sites, document them in detail, and donate much of his finds to archaeological institutions. He amassed a huge collection of ancient wood and charcoal used for tree-ring dating - an important collection that now resides at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. He has the honor of having found the earliest tree-ring dated archaeological site in the American Southwest - 272 BCE - with the tree itself having started live in 322 BCE.
Through personal letters, interviews with Flora's relatives and correspondence between the professional archaeologists, LaDage has put together a compelling story vindicating Flora. She points out how little credit was given by the professionals to Flora for his considerable archaeological finds or his ideas on building devices for the study of dendrochronology, a science that is now so important for the international reputation of Southwestern archaeology. LaDage's meticulous documentation shows the professional archaeological community as being petty, vindictive and jealousy of Flora's talents.
On a different level, LaDage's book is another story of how a family survived the Great Depression. `Zeke Flora arrived in Durango, Colorado at the height of Depression with twenty three cents in his pocket, a wife and two small children to support.' Zeke was brilliant and had a burning passion for archaeology. Constantly hanging over his head, however, was the problem of feeding his family and keeping a roof over their heads. Getting a formal education was out of the question for Zeke. Government programs to help talented people get an education were in the future. This makes me think of what is happening today in our country. Education is becoming more and more expensive and out of the question for so many.
One never knows where talent resides - rich or poor. A big take away message for me from LaDage's book is support for public education. We do not want what happened to Zeke Flora to happen to other talented people in our country. Both our citizens and our country will suffer if this trend continues.
Zeke Flora: Legacy in Rings will find its way to the book shelves of Four-Corners area history and archaeological buffs. I think LaDage's story about Flora and his times makes the book a compelling read for a more general audience. This reviewer recommends it.

Product details Paperback 152 pages Publisher CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (October 8, 2012) Language English ISBN-10 1475252552

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Zeke Flora Legacy in Rings Lorna Gail LaDage 9781475252552 Books Reviews

This is the touching and uplifting true story of a desperately poor, self-educated man from the depression who ultimately made major discoveries in tree-ring archaeological dating.
Zeke Flora was a family man and hard scrabble farmer with focused energy & intellect. Modern day archaeologists have unfairly denigrated his work and labeled him as "just a pothunter". But it is time to grant Zeke his due. Archaeology as a science was in its infancy in the 1920's,and modern methods did not yet exist. Zeke meticulously documented his work and shared his extensive data and ideas with the educated scientists of his day. His contributions are still relevant.
LaDage skillfully weaves a compelling life story with extensive archaeological documentation. She sets the record straight.
For years, Zeke Flora's contributions to the knowledge of the Durango area archaeology have been questioned and denigrated. Some called him the "world's worst pot hunter". Lorna Gail La Dage's thoroughly researched and documented book sets the record straight. Not only did Flora conduct archaeological research equivalent to the standards of the times (1930 -1970, he actually made major contributions to the fields of tree-ring dating and dendrochronology according to Dr, Jeffery Dean, Professor Emeritus, University of Arizona.
This book follows the full life of Flora, born in 1901, through his hard scrabble time as a blue collar worker, to his passion for and conducting important research in archaeology.
I believe La Dage has fully restored Flora's reputation and highlights the significance of his contributions to the world of archaeology. A must read for those interested in this field.

Bud Poe
Review of Lorna Gail LaDage's Zeke Flora Legacy in Rings
Joe Lantz
The Ancestral Pueblo culture of the Southwest Four-Corners area (where Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico meet) has generated much interest in the international archaeological community. The descendants of the ancient pre-literate neo-lithic culture are alive and well in the modern day Pueblo communities of New Mexico. They still retain certain cultural aspects of their ancient relatives. The Ancient culture evolved over a period of 700-800 years (600 CE to 1350 CE) from a relatively simple basket making pit dwelling culture to the complex culture of the multi-story Pueblos of Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and Canyon de Chelly, ruins still visible today. Not only can anthropologists use modern Pueblo oral tradition to help interpret the evolution of Ancient Pueblo cultures, but they can also date the evolution of the Ancient Cultures to the year with the science of dendrochronology, or tree ring dating. This combination of modern day lore from Ancient Pueblo descendants and accurate tree-ring dating to study the evolution of an Ancient Neolithic culture is almost completely unique in the field of archaeology which explains the interest of the international archaeological and anthropological community.
A.E. Douglas, an astronomer, developed the science of dendrochronology and established the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. Some of Douglass's earliest work from first part of the twentieth century was to date the ruins of these Ancestral Pueblos.
Surprisingly enough, another early enthusiastic supporter of dendrochronology was Zeke Flora, a brilliant amateur archaeologist. He was much disparaged by the professional archaeological community more than likely because he lacked formal academic training in the field.
Lorna Gail LaDage's recently published book, Zeke Flora Legacy in Rings, is a fascinating account of Flora's considerable contributions to the study of archaeology in the Four-Corners area of the Southwest. This much maligned character was called the `world's worst pothunter' in spite of the fact that he had an uncanny ability to find important archaeological sites, document them in detail, and donate much of his finds to archaeological institutions. He amassed a huge collection of ancient wood and charcoal used for tree-ring dating - an important collection that now resides at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the University of Arizona. He has the honor of having found the earliest tree-ring dated archaeological site in the American Southwest - 272 BCE - with the tree itself having started live in 322 BCE.
Through personal letters, interviews with Flora's relatives and correspondence between the professional archaeologists, LaDage has put together a compelling story vindicating Flora. She points out how little credit was given by the professionals to Flora for his considerable archaeological finds or his ideas on building devices for the study of dendrochronology, a science that is now so important for the international reputation of Southwestern archaeology. LaDage's meticulous documentation shows the professional archaeological community as being petty, vindictive and jealousy of Flora's talents.
On a different level, LaDage's book is another story of how a family survived the Great Depression. `Zeke Flora arrived in Durango, Colorado at the height of Depression with twenty three cents in his pocket, a wife and two small children to support.' Zeke was brilliant and had a burning passion for archaeology. Constantly hanging over his head, however, was the problem of feeding his family and keeping a roof over their heads. Getting a formal education was out of the question for Zeke. Government programs to help talented people get an education were in the future. This makes me think of what is happening today in our country. Education is becoming more and more expensive and out of the question for so many.
One never knows where talent resides - rich or poor. A big take away message for me from LaDage's book is support for public education. We do not want what happened to Zeke Flora to happen to other talented people in our country. Both our citizens and our country will suffer if this trend continues.
Zeke Flora Legacy in Rings will find its way to the book shelves of Four-Corners area history and archaeological buffs. I think LaDage's story about Flora and his times makes the book a compelling read for a more general audience. This reviewer recommends it.