CHRIS HARDAKER
I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1952. My first archaeology class was twenty years later in the S.F. Bay Area, Foothill College, and months later worked a local prehistoric site as part of a summer course. Addicted, I soon joined the ranks of largely student archaeologists working in contract archaeology. In 1976, a BA in anthropology, minor: comparative religions, at San Diego State. In 1989, a MA in anthropology from the University of Arizona. Professionally, I have always been interested in lithics. Geometry unlocked the sacred architecture of Chaco Canyon, which unexpectantly led me to the discoveries in Washington, D.C.
EarthMeasure Research
Earthmeasure Research focuses on fracture mechanics and geometry, and their expressions in the cultural record.
Lithics, like the cartoon says, are everywhere. Stone tools are critical because they are usually the only artifact class that survives the vicissitudes of environmental forces, especially the farther back you go in time. There are three lithic reduction methods: bipolar flaking, block-on-block, and unipolar/percussion (inc. pressure). All specific flintknapping techniques are drawn from these primary methods. All lithics are generated by these methods. With this knowledge you can be anywhere in the world and have a grasp for what you might find under your feet, even if it is more than a million years old. It is a knowledge that is invaluable for assessing the Artifact vs. Geofact controversies. The 200,000 year old Calico Early Man site is perhaps the greatest, most controversial example. No such problems faced the archaeologists at the Valsequillo Reservoir outside Puebla, Mexico fifty years ago. They found spearheads and other cutting tools next to the mineralized bones of elephants, camels and horses, in immaculate archaeological context. Their controversy was the date: 250,000 years.
Native American geometry is a specification of the larger realm of cultural geometry traditions. Sacred/classical geometry is a simple universal method that provides a concrete standard by which to assess any specific cultural use and expression of geometry. Sacred geometry is bare bones geometry, a foundation that erupts naturally out of a circle. Everyone used circles, going back tens of thousands of years. Like the universality of lithics, geometry can occur anywhere you find art and architecture. Even Washington, D.C.
Have fun and prosper.
"I'm into stone.
There's a hell
of a lot of it around."
Available Now at Amazon.com
Who really designed
the National City?
With over 70 pages of illustrations, Washington DeCoded: A New View Over the Capitol offers an unforgettable tour of Washington, D.C. and introduces a new national mystery of grand proportions.
Chris Hardaker
2001 Hueyatlaco
Valsequillo Reservoir
E-mail Chris Hardaker
chris@earthmeasure.com