Hidden deep in the mountains of central Baja are some of the world's most beautiful prehistoric rock art paintings. The United Nations has ranked this world heritage site as one of the top five rock art sites in the world. Few people trek to see them, because they are so hard to reach. Britt Wilson and Maria Puente did. Now you can discover and explore the painted caves of Baja with them as your guides.
DETAILS
Dragonfly Lecture on Monday, March 4, 2019, at 6 p.m. 127 N. San Gorgonio Ave., Banning, CA. Your $5 will help us save and share Southern California's Native American cultures.
Find out more about this magnificent rock art
About Lecturers Maria Puente and Britt Wilson
Maria Puente was born in the northern Basque city of Bilbao (Spain). Her first introduction to
archaeology was in the first grade when she visited the famous cave paintings at
Altamira Cave in northern Spain. She attended the private Jesuit University of
Deusto in Bilbao, for three years, and then moved to Madrid to complete her
studies, earning an M.A. with a double major in History and in Art, and the
Certificate of Pedagogical Competence from the University Complutense (1987).
Ms. Puente also completed studies that earned her the Superior Degrees in
Classical Piano and Chamber Music from the Royal Conservatory of Music in
Madrid (1989). In 1983, Ms. Puente
formally enrolled and attended the
School of Archaeology for the Basque Country for one school year. She took part
in the excavations (Roman site) in the Cave of Arenaza through the University
of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain.
Ms. Puente came to the United States through a cultural/teacher exchange in
1990 and has lived in the Coachella Valley since then. Each summer she returns to Spain to enjoy the warm waters of the Mediterranean in southern
Spain.
Ms. Puente served as a member of the City of La Quinta Historical
Preservation Commission from 1994 until 2015.
She is also a certified Bureau of Land Management Site Steward for Corn
Springs in eastern Riverside County. She
has helped record several archaeological sites in the desert region. She is a member of Coachella Valley
Archaeology Society.
Britt Wilson, originally from Los
Angeles, lives in Palm Desert and is an employee of the City of Rancho Mirage where
he serves as a management analyst. He has
worked for four cities in his career as a planner or management analyst. Mr.
Wilson has a master’s degree in Public Administration and a bachelor’s degree
in Business Administration.
During a hiatus from city work,
Mr. Wilson worked as an archaeological technician conducting surveys throughout
southern California and Nevada, working on most of the solar projects in
eastern Riverside County. He has a deep
interest in native cultures particularly the Apache, Cahuilla, and Serrano
people. Previous to working as an
archaeological technician, he was the Cultural Resources Coordinator for the
Morongo Band of Mission Indians and did a short stint at the Cahuilla Tribe in
Anza.
Mr. Wilson is also a volunteer
archaeological surveyor for the Bureau of Land Management. As a volunteer, he
has recorded close to 500 new sites throughout the southern California region
including village sites, rock art sites, rock shelters, milling sites,
etc. He has worked in Anza Borrego State
Park, the San Bernardino National Forest, and BLM lands across southern
California in addition to his previous work on Indian reservations. His current project is researching and
recording trails and rock art sites along the western shore of ancient Lake
Cahuilla. Mr. Wilson is also a certified
Bureau of Land Management Site Steward for Corn Springs in eastern Riverside
County.
He is a published author and
has written two ethnographies on the Cahuilla/Serrano people. He is a member of
the Society for California Archaeology,the Malki Museum, the Dorothy Ramon
Learning Center, and the Mayflower Society.
He is also the President of the Coachella Valley Archaeological Society.
