Possible Coronado Artifact Found At El Morro, Kokopelli Statue Offends American "Values" in Blanding

Southwestern Archaeology Making the News - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

- Possible Coronado Expedition Artifact Found During Yard Work at El Morro National Monument Residence: Maybe it is not Coronado’s horse’s bit that Leslie Moosman raked up in her back yard, but even the distant possibility has Nation Park Service employees, along with everyone else who has heard the story, thinking about the explorer and his journeys. In early September, Leslie Moosman was cleaning up pine needles in her back yard when she scraped up a bit of rust encrusted metal buried in the needles and loose dirt. Thinking it might be part of something her husband, Supervisory Park Ranger Fred Moosman, had dropped, she put it aside.
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2008/10october/100308bit.html

- Edge of Cedars Museum Forced to Move Kokopelli Sculpture After Nineteen Years of Anatomically Correct Display: A state park on Thursday moved a statue of a humpbacked flute player over objections the figure was offensive because it is anatomically correct. Edge of the Cedars State Park moved the stick like figure from the front to the back of a museum where it can't been seen from the street, said park manager Teri Paul.
http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,700263534,00.html
http://www.cdarc.org/page/ctyw - UPI News
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_10614520

- Archaeology of a Hohokam Village Exposed Near Tucson: Archeologists say conditions along the Santa Cruz River were ideal for the Hohokam 900 years ago. "An irrigation canal would have watered fields where corn and beans and squash would have grown," says William Doelle, President of Desert Archeology. "Rabbits out in the field, all that sort of thing is right here in the very short distance around the site." By studying what the people have left behind in the 20 pit houses they've unearthed, archeologists have discovered a village of a couple hundred people, including several extended families. Website includes video link.
http://www.kold.com/Global/story.asp?S=9116153&nav=14RTbT2u
http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=9117001

- Peoria Developing Archaeological Park to Protect Hohokam Village Site: Peoria is moving forward to develop a small park on land where Native American artifacts were discovered. The State Historic Preservation Office has given the green light to develop a portion of the 20-acre Hohokam site near Terramar Boulevard. The park design will adhere to a strict archeological preservation and treatment plan.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/6f36 - Arizona Republic

- Reminder Archaeology Cafe in Tucson This Tuesday: Ancient Astronomy of Northern Arizona. At the Center's second Archaeology Café, learn more about archaeoastronomer Ken Zoll's meticulous study of rock art and what it may reveal about ancient calendars and astronomical observation in the Southwest. Enjoy delicious tapas and cool beverages on the patio of Tucson's own Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Avenue. We meet on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m.; presentations begin at 6:15 p.m. This happy-hour style forum opens with a short, casual presentation, followed by questions and discussion. Tuesday, October 7, 2008 at 6:00 pm on the patio at Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ. Free and open to the community.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/articles.php?req=read&article_id=690

- Beloit College Continues Pioneering On-Line Museum Collections: Although not everyone can visit the Logan Museum, it will be accessible to all with the help of a new software program. A recent grant will allow Beloit College's Logan Museum of Anthropology to electronically organize its extensive ethnographic and archaeological collection. The organization project will include the posting of data and images online in an easily accessible format through the college's library.
http://www.beloitdailynews.com/articles/2008/10/03/news/local_news/news04.txt

- Ceramic Traditions at Paquime: In about 1955, a teenage Mexican boy named Juan Quezada found a cave near the village of Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua in Mexico, containing some ceramic pots created by the ancient Paquime Indians. He started to experiment with locally available materials to try to re-create the pottery. In 1971, after about 16 years of work, he figured out how to do it. He later taught the skill to his extended family members.
http://news.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=969414

- Travel Along With the Ancient Way Festival: Communities along New Mexico Highway 53, from Grants to Zuni, will be hosting events in celebration of the Ancient Way Fall Festival in the Zuni Mountains. These events are scheduled for this weekend and the following Saturday.
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2008/10october/100308ancientway.html