Mount Taylor Designated One of Eleven Endangered Historic Places By National Trust

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

- National Trust for Historic Preservation Names it's Eleven Most Endangered Places for 2009, Mount Taylor Found to Be Endangered: Mount Taylor is a peak of nearly 12,000 feet in the San Mateo Mountains between Albuquerque and Gallup. Many American Indian tribes view the mountain as a sacred place, and the National Trust believes it is endangered because of uranium-mining efforts in the area.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/699k - National Trust for Historic Preservation
http://www.cdarc.org/page/e8up - New Mexico Business Weekly
http://www.cdarc.org/page/8w8w - USA Today

- Related Story - New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee (CPRC) to Review Mount Taylor Traditional Cultural Property Designation: The CPRC will convene a regular meeting for the purpose of general business and public comment on the Mt. Taylor Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) nomination, as submitted, on Friday, May 15, 2009. The meeting is scheduled from 9:30 AM - 5:00PM in the House Chambers of the State Capitol, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Formal action on whether to place the Mt. Taylor TCP on the State Register of Cultural Properties will not take place at this meeting. The CPRC intends to consider the Mt. Taylor TCP nomination as an action item at its June 5, 2009 regular meeting. The nomination of the Mt. Taylor TCP, as submitted, will be posted on the Historic Preservation Division (HPD) website beginning Friday, April 24, 2009 at: www.nmhistoricpreservation.org. Hard copies or compact disc containing the nomination are available for a nominal fee, plus postage, by calling HPD, between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, at (505) 827-6320, or by emailing HPDplanning.program@state.nm.us. Persons desiring to provide public comment regarding the nomination of the Mt. Taylor TCP may appear in person at the May 15, 2009 CPRC meeting or may submit written comments no later than 5:00 PM, May 20, 2009, to: Historic Preservation Division, 407 Galisteo Street, Room 236, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 87501 or by email to: HPDplanning.program@state.nm.us.

- O'odham and other Native American Artifacts Stolen from Coolidge Museum: Numerous irreplaceable artifacts are missing after the Coolidge Historical Museum was broken into recently. With more than 100 years of memorabilia on display, intruders entered the museum and took an estimated $50,000 worth of antiques.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/fbav - Tri Valley Central

- Genetic Data on Ancient American Populations Points to Single Ancestral Group: For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations. Now, after painstakingly comparing DNA samples from people in dozens of modern-day Native American and Eurasian groups, an international team of scientists thinks it can put the matter to rest: virtually without exception, the new evidence supports the single ancestral population theory.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090428223836.htm

- Rock Art Conservation Workshop Added to Arizona Preservation Conference: A workshop on rock art graffiti damage and other preservation challenges has been scheduled in conjunction with the Arizona Historic Preservation Conference in Phoenix this June. Thursday Morning, June 18, 2009, 9:00 am – 11:45 am. Fee: $40 per person. The workshop will be held in the Hyatt Hotel, Curtis Room A. Workshop organizer Claire Dean has a graduate degree in archaeological conservation from the University of Durham, England, and is the founder of Dean and Associates Conservation Services, a well respected consulting firm that has worked for the past 15 years with various government agencies on conserving rock art and other archaeological materials throughout the Western United States. Ms. Dean will present a workshop on acceptable and unacceptable conservation strategies for preserving rock art and outdoor objects.
You may register for the workshop fee, which is separate from the conference registration, through the conference website.
http://azpreservation.com/agenda.aspx.

- Artist Gerald Dawavendewa to Speak at Smoki Museum in Prescott: The Smoki Museum will present Gerald Dawavendewa, children’s book author and illustrator, as the featured guest artist and Sundays at the Smoki guest speaker for the month for May. He will be demonstrating and selling his art work Saturday, May 16 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the museum and will provide a lecture on his work Sunday, May 17 from 1 – 2 p.m. in the pueblo.
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/artsandentertainment/44011587.html

- New Book Examines Ancient and Recent History of the Prescott Valley: "Prescott Valley has a very rich history. It began about 10 million years ago when Glassford Hill erupted, and then about 10,000 years ago, mammoth grazed this valley," Cross said, citing hikers, who in 1984, discovered bones and tusks sticking out of the bank of the Agua Fria Wash. "Prehistoric people found the area to their liking since there was water, vegetation, pronghorn deer and plenty of food in the area."
http://www.dcourier.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=67572

- Texas Archaeological Society Field School Scheduled for June 13-20: Field School in the Panhandle of Texas, near Perryton. TAS will hold its field school for training in survey, excavation and lab. Sites will include prehistoric Indian, a historic tribal
settlement and a US Army Depot.
http://www.txarch.org/

- Lecture Opportunity (Santa Fe): On May 4th Southwest Seminars presents Dr. John Kantner who will speak on " Fact & Fiction of Cannibalism in the Early Puebloan Southwet.t" Lecture presented as part of the Ancient Sites, Ancient Stories 2009 lecture program. Monday Evening, April 27 At 6 Pm At Hotel Santa Fe. This event is offered as a benefit for the Archaeological Conservancy.

Thanks to Adrianne Rankin for contributions to today's newsletter.