INTERNATIONAL NEWS ARCHIVES ABOUT THE 1539 HERNANDO DE SOTO ENCAMPMENT AND THE LOST FRANCISCAN MISSION SAN BUENAVENTURA DE POTANO DISCOVERED AT THE WHITE RANCH

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SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2009

Special to the Chronicle

NEW YORK - Bone diggers, explorers and survival experts gathered at the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) 130^th Anniversary Gala at Capital, honoring Harrison Ford for his portrayal of Indiana Jones. The event also celebrated the 60^th anniversary of Archaeology Magazine.

Dr. Michele White and Dr. Ashley White, with their son, Ethan where invited to celebrate with the AIA.

Michele is a prominent physical anthropologist and published author. Her husband, Ashley, a world renowned achaeologist known for his discovery of the oldest European contact site in North America.  As a team they have been researching ancient diseases and their initial presentations for prevention of future pandemic plagues. This evidenced based paleopathology research has granted the Whites access to some of the world’s most sensitive archaeological sites in Asia, including Russia, China, India and Turkey, the Middle East, North and Sub-Sahara Africa, England, Scotland, Ireland and North and Central America, and South America, including the Amazon Basin.

Other gala attendees included Travel Channel Host Samantha Brown, hunkie explorer TV host Josh Bernstein, shipwreck explorer and TV host James Delgado, maven of uncovering underwater cities George Bass, Bravo TV’s styling diva Grechen Monahan, Executive Director of the AIA, Teresa Keller and President of the AIA, Brian Rose.

The evening was celebrated with a traditional Mayan feast prepared by Maya food archaeologist Patricio Balone, Maya archaeologist Ben Thomas and Capital Executive Chef Jason Munger.

The ancient menu attracted the taste buds of Bavo TV’s Top Chef Season 5 cast as their reunion entailed an abundance of ancient ale, corn cakes and roasted feral pork.

There were silent and live auctions offering exotic getaways to ancient Maya and Roman ruins, rare artifacts, art and ancient documents. Cast members included Leah Cohen, Ariane Duarte, Jill Snyder, Radhika Desai, and Patrick Dunlea. The after-party included Ancient Ales from around the world and decadent desserts.

Additional details are available online at  www.archaeological.org