Lunch & Learn
Sign up for our monthly Lunch & Learn to learn about our mission, projects, and much more!
Shumla’s ultimate goal is to share our mission and the wonder of Lower Pecos rock art with as many people as possible, reaching those around the country and the world. It is with great excitement that we’d like to introduce you to Shumla’s free Lunch & Learn virtual events! Join us virtually for an hour over lunch to learn about our latest projects and research and to share in some engaging discussions. Below, you can read more about upcoming Lunch & Learn presentations for each month and register.
Scroll through some of our past Lunch & Learn presentations or visit our YouTube channel to view more Lunch & Learn and other Shumla videos.
A Chronology Emerges | June 2024
by Karen Steelman, PhD, Science Director
Want to see more? Click below to visit our YouTube channel.
Learning from Eagle Cave: Earth Ovens and Indigenous Lifeways in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands
For over 10,000 years, Indigenous peoples living in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands have used earth oven baking pits to cook different foods. The time-depth of use combined with the widespread occurrence of oven sites—especially the massive burned rock middens that dot the Lower Pecos landscape—demonstrate the sustained importance of earth ovens within Indigenous cultures.
Although many archaeologists emphasize the subsistence role of earth ovens, these cooking features were and continue to be integral components of social aggregations, feasting, and other aspects of cultural expression.
This talk examines the early Holocene earth oven record from Eagle Cave, Texas, through the lens of intensification and how earth oven use changed over time. Rather than being a behavioral monolith, the Eagle Cave record contains significant differences between periods of earth oven use indicating shifting cultural strategies.
This multifaceted relationship between Indigenous peoples and earth ovens at Eagle Cave provides a foundation to consider the role(s) of earth ovens in adjacent regions.
Presenters: Charles Koenig, PhD.
Date: Monday, November 17, 2025
Time: Noon to 1:00 PM Central Time
Platform: Zoom