Brush to talk glaciers at presentation in Killbuck

A familiar face will return to Holmes County to explore some of the area’s remarkable archaeological and geological history on Oct. 24.

Dr. Nigel Brush, who famously excavated a pair of local geological sites where mastodon remains were discovered, will offer a presentation at the Duncan Theater in Killbuck titled Exploring the Deep Past of Holmes County: A Time Traveller’s Tale.

The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is free to attend, although a freewill donation will be taken to support the Duncan Theater.

In addition, the Killbuck Valley Museum will be open to the public both prior to and following Brush’s presentation. The museum boasts unique archaeological finds, many of them a direct result of Brush’s work.

According to Bob Porter, president of Killbuck Valley Museum, which is hosting the presentation, the evening will focus on glaciers and the effect those glaciers had long ago on the terrain in and around Holmes County.

“Dr. Nigel Brush is a terrific speaker, and this should be a fascinating look at how glaciers impacted our area,” Porter said. “It’s kind of amazing how you can go down one road and there are huge boulders everywhere, and you drive down another road and there’s nothing.”

He said the prehistoric artifacts in the museum are a wonderful connection to Brush’s presentation.

According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the presence of large continental glaciers in Ohio was a result of natural fluctuations in global climate, owing to changes in Earth’s orbit.

Variations in how Earth rotates, tilts and wobbles affect how much energy from the sun is absorbed by the planet and change global average temperatures. These changes are cyclical and occur on different time scales; however, these cycles align to create conditions perfect for glaciers.

During much of the Ice Age, Ohio’s environment was similar to today with limited geologic deposition occurring mostly in river valleys and during mild seasonal weather patterns. However, there were dramatic periods of geologically rapid change leading to glaciers partially covering Ohio and large loads of sediment being deposited, altering the landscape.

How these Ice Age movements affected the area’s animal and plant life are topics Brush will explore during his presentation.

Brush is a 1969 graduate of West Holmes High School and has a PhD in anthropology from UCLA.

Since 1982 he has been one of the nation’s top archaeologists and has been conducting archaeological and geological field work in Holmes, Wayne and Coshocton counties including the pair of mastodon sites and six late prehistoric village sites in the Walhonding Valley area. Other field work includes exploring 30 rock shelters in the Killbuck Valley.

Brush is a professor emeritus of geology at Ashland University and an affiliated scholar in the archaeological program and department of anthropology and sociology at The College of Wooster.

The public is invited to glean from Brush’s expertise in what should be a fascinating evening discussing glacier activity in Holmes County and its surrounding areas.