67th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference

General Information
Welcome to Norman, Oklahoma, heart of the Southern Plains. We are honored to host the 67th Annual Plains Anthropological Conference, the first ever to be held in Norman. We hope you enjoy your visit and the conference. There’s lots to see and do, so have fun!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

THE EMBASSY SUITES HAS PROVIDED US WITH A RESERVATION LINK THAT TAKES YOU DIRECTLY TO OUR GROUP RESERVATION PAGE.

http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/OKCESES-PAS-20091014/index.jhtml

If you have not made your hotel reservations, please do so using this link to make sure the conference gets full credit for all room nights booked. Ignore the Sept. 21 cut off date; rooms are still available at the conference rate.

The Embassy Suites is showing a rather low number of room bookings for our conference given the number of people who have pre-registered. We want to be sure there are no reservation problems and also for the conference to receive full credit for all room nights booked as this substantially lowers the cost of the meeting rooms to the Plains Conference.

If you have made reservations to stay at the Embassy Suites we are asking that you call the hotel and confirm your reservation and be sure to mention you are with the Plains Conference. The group code is PAS. This will confirm your reservation and insure that the conference gets full credit for all room nights booked by conference attendees. The hotel phone number is… 405 364-8040.

If you have not yet booked your room, be sure to use the code PAS when doing so.

Hotel Reservation Link:

http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/OKCESES-PAS-20091014/index.jhtml

T SHIRT NEWS!!!!

Embassy Suites, the official conference hotel, has extended the special conference room rate until October 6. After that date, rooms, if available, will revert to the normal rates. Please remember, staying at the Embassy Suites entitles you to a FREE, cooked-to-order FULL Breakfast each day PLUS the daily Manager’s Reception every evening from 5:30 to 7:30 featuring FREE COCKTAILS! That’s right, FREE ALCOHOL!!!! But ONLY if you stay at the Embassy Suites. Make your reservation NOW!

STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION: All students who enter and present papers in the Student Paper Competition will have their conference registration fee waived and will receive two complimentary tickets to the Friday night banquet. Enter now!

The deadline for submission of student papers (written copies) to Laura Scheiber is Sept. 26. See the PAS website or click on the Student Paper Competition link on this page.

ONLINE REGISTRATION PROCESS: Please note that your online registration consists of two parts; the PayPal portion where you pay for your registration and other items , and the personal information part at the bottom of the online registration page. YOU MUST COMPLETE BOTH PARTS TO BE REGISTERED. I am still getting some registrations without the payment and others without the personal information. Complete instructions for online registration are on the online registration page. In a nutshell, choose the items you want by clicking on Add to Cart. When you have selected all the items desired, go to checkout and pay for them. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A PAYPAL ACCOUNT TO USE PAYPAL; there is an option for going straight to credit card payment. Once you have completed the payment part, return to the online registration page, fill out the personal contact information and click “Submit”. That completes the process.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS: You must reserve your room at the Embassy Suites by October 6in order to get the conference rates. After that date, room rates revert to the normal price.

SPIRO TRIP

For those of you planning on visiting Spiro Mounds Historical Park while attending the Plains Conference, Dr. Bob Brooks will host a tour of the site on Wednesday, Oct. 14th.

The tour is scheduled from noon to approximately 3:00PM. This will give people time to arrive back in Norman for the Early Bird Party that evening. For further information and directions to Spiro, contact Bob at 405 325-7213 or via email at rbrooks@ou.edu.

PLAINS ANTHROPOLOGIST BACK ISSUES SALE!!!

All available back issues of Plains Anthropologist are now located in Norman and ARE ON SALE! You can order the back issues you want and pick them up at the conference thereby avoiding shipping charges. You can find an order form on the Plains Anthropologist website here.

Conference Headquarters
Embassy Suites Norman is our conference headquarters. It is a brand new facility with spacious suites, state of the art meeting rooms, all the amenities, and most importantly, a great bar! It is located at 2501 Conference Drive, just east of I-35 between Tecumseh and Robinson. Tel. 405 364-8040, FAX 405 364-3377. Visit the hotel website for more information. For map/directions, click here. Ample free parking is available at the hotel. Conference participants staying at the Embassy Suites receive a complimentary full breakfast cooked to order AND complimentary cocktails every evening from 5:00-7:00 PM. Students: Please note that all rooms are suites and can be shared by several students to keep the cost down. The conference rate is $134.00/night and is available until October 6. Please use the code “PAS” when making reservations.

Registration **Online registration now available**
Participants are encouraged to pre-register ONLINE here or by snail mail here.
For those wishing to register at the conference, a registration table and information center will be set up in the atrium of the hotel conference center. Conference participants will be able to register and pick up their information packets, T-shirts, etc. Hours of operation will be from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM Wednesday, Oct. 14, 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM Thursday and Friday, and until noon Saturday.

Abstracts
Abstract forms for individual papers are available HERE. Symposium forms are available HERE. Email submission of forms is preferred. Send to: aregnier@ou.edu. Snail mail to Amanda Regnier at the Survey’s address below.

Message Board
A message board will be available throughout the conference where participants can post messages, job announcements and other information.

Book Vendors and Exhibits
Vendor and exhibit space will be available for $60.00 per 8’ table or $30.00 for a half table. Reservations can be made on the registration form. The room will open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Thursday and Friday and until noon on Saturday. Contact Marjy Duncan for more information.

T-shirts
Conference T-shirts may be purchased at the Registration Desk for $15.00 for short sleeve and $22.50 for long sleeve. They may also be purchased in advance on your conference registration form. This year’s design is by Cheyenne-Arapaho artist Gordon Yellowman and is a truly beautiful work of art.

Early Bird Party
The traditional Early Bird Party will be held on Wednesday, October 14 from 7:00 PM to 12:00 AM. Free food and beer will be available as well as a cash bar.

Banquet, Address, Awards and Dance
A cash bar beginning at 5:00 PM Friday, October 15 will precede the banquet at 7:00. The banquet speaker is Harvey Pratt. Following the speaker will be the traditional Plains Conference awards and recognitions. Next up will be a lively performance by Norman’s own Cross Timbers Ramblers for your musical and dancing pleasure.

Thursday Night Reception
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History will be our host for a Thursday night reception and tour of the museum. Beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres will be served. If you didn’t get to see the museum when the conference was in Oklahoma City in 2002, here’s your chance!

Board and Business Meetings
The annual business meeting will be held at 5:00 PM on Thursday, October 15, followed immediately by a meeting of the PAS Board of Directors. An additional Board meeting is TBA.

Field Trip
An extra-special treat! A post-conference field trip is planned for Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening. You will journey to some of the most important Paleo-indian sites in the Southern Plains under the guidance of the inestimable if somewhat twisted, Dr. Leland Bement. Some of you may even make it back! Stops include the Cooper Folsom bison kill, the Jake Bluff Folsom/Clovis site and the Bull Creek drainage which features some of the best paleo-environmental records in the Southern Plains. Don’t miss this one! Participation is limited. Contact Lelend C. Bement, 405 325-7211, or email lbement@ou.edu for more information.

Conference Co-chairs

Kent J. Buehler, kbuehler@ou.edu 405 325-7210

Dr. Marjy Duncan, mduncan@ou.edu 405 325-7202

Or via snail mail at:
Oklahoma Archeological Survey
111 East Chesapeake
Norman, OK 73019