University Communications and Marketing

April 8, 2011

Contacts:

Tim Urbaniak, College of Technology, 247-3050, turbaniak@msubillings.edu
Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Across the Northern Plains are elements of our past that have bits of culture, news and art. And they etched in rock.

In his presentation “Historic Inscriptions of the Northern Plains,” Montana State University Billings instructor Tim Urbaniak will talk about the names, dates, commentary text and drawings which have been carved, written and painted on cliffs and in caves of the rugged landscape that define the western way of life.

The talk is set for Thursday, April 14 at 7 p.m. at the MSU Billings College of Technology, in Room 117 of the Health Sciences Building, 3803 Central Ave. It is free and open to the public.

The talk will present images of these post-William Clark inscriptions that represent significant periods of regional immigration and development, and will also include an overview of techniques and technologies being used to document historic inscriptions today.

For more than a decade, Urbaniak has been leading projects that explore archaeology and history through applications of technology. Directing the MSU Billings Archaeological Field Team, he has led students and volunteers in projects that have included 3D reconstructions of historic sites, digital imaging applications, surveying technologies, desktop virtual reality, three-dimensional scanning and applications of multimedia.

He is currently teaching in his 24th year at MSU Billings in the Drafting and Design Program at the College of Technology and is also a student in the University of Montana Historical Anthropology PhD program where he is studying historic inscriptions and their role as a form of residual cultural communication.

For more information on the talk, contact Urbaniak at 247-3050 or at turbaniak@msubillings.edu.

PHOTO ABOVE: This photo shows some examples of historic inscriptions on sandstone in the Northern Plains