Navajo National Monument Symposium, Early Agriculture Archaeology Cafe

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

- Symposium on 100 Years of Research at Navajo National Monument to be Held at NAU: A Free Event, Tuesday, May 19, 2009, from 8:45 am to 3:30 p.m, in the Cline Library Assembly Hall, Northern Arizona University Campus. The Symposium will be held as part of a Celebration of the Navajo National Monument Centennial (1909-2009).
http:www.cdarc.org/sat/nnm_symposium.pdf

- This Month's Archaeology Cafe Will Present Amazing Evidence About the Early Agricultural Period from the Site of Las Capas: Tuesday, May 5th at 6:00 PM, at Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ The Center for Desert Archaeology invites you to the eighth meeting of Archaeology Café, a casual, happy hour-style discussion forum dedicated to promoting community engagement with cultural and scientific research. This month, a panel led by archaeologist Jim Vint and geoarchaeologist Fred Nials will share up-to-the-minute information from ongoing excavations at the site of Las Capas along the Santa Cruz River. Investigations by Tucson-based Desert Archaeology, Inc. are revealing complex agricultural irrigation systems that date back 3,000 years! The remarkably well-preserved fields even retain evidence of planting holes for maize and other crops. The project was recently featured in a segment on KUAT’s nightly newsmagazine, Arizona Illustrated. Free and open to the community—all are welcome. Participants are encouraged to support our hosts at Casa Vicente by purchasing their own food and drinks.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/articles.php?req=read&article_id=763


- Related Story: You can view the informative Arizona Illustrated segment by Christopher Conover at the following link.
http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2009/3/19/kuat-archaeologists/


- Video on Excavations at Antler House Village Available Online: The Arizona Department of Transportation has released a short movie titled "The Antler House Village" documenting EcoPlan's archaeological excavations at the Cordes Junction Traffic Interchange. The video can be viewed on-line at EcoPlan's website.
http://www.ecoplanaz.com.

- Navajo Nation Appeals to The Obama Administration to Attempt to Protect San Francisco Peaks: The Navajo Nation Council has given its approval for the Nation’s attorneys and leaders to meet with the Obama administration in hopes of working out a settlement to protect the sacred San Francisco Peaks from desecration. The Nation is seeking an expedited meeting prior to May 8, when the U.S. Solicitor General’s response brief is due to the U.S. Supreme Court.
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2009/04April/042709tribeslook.html

- 2009 Four Corners Indian Art Festival This Saturday At Edge Of The Cedars State Park Museum, Blanding, Utah: Be sure to mark your calendar for the fourth Annual 2009 Four Corners Iindian Art Festival, May 2nd at the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum, Blanding, Utah. This year’s All-native festival offers something for everyone! Come to the festival and help us celebrate with traditional and contemporary dances and music all weekend, juried art competition and awards, silent auction, taste-tempting traditional food, demonstrations, and children’s activities.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/4_corners_festival.doc - MS Word Document

- Felipe Solis Olguin, Director of Mexico's National Museum of Anthropology, Passes at 64: Archaeologist Felipe Solis Olguin, director of the National Museum of Anthropology (MNA) since year 2000, passed away in Thursday April 23rd 2009, due to cardiac arrest. At the time of his decease he was working as a curator in the exhibition “Teotihuacan, City of Gods”. Felipe Solis was born in Mexico City in 1944, and was part of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) since 1972. As field archaeologist, he contributed to discover the history of Mexico City ancient cultures; he was present in 1975, when the Chapultepec Aqueduct was explored, and in 1978, in the Coyolxauhqui monolith salvage, being him the was who recognized the figure of the Moon deity.
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=30490

- Utah Archaeology Week Develops Archaeological Interpretation for Pre-Teens: When your own personal history only stretches back eight or 10 years, it can be quite mind-boggling to think about what happened thousands of years ago. Yet, Assistant Utah State Archaeologist Ron Rood says, this age can be a perfect time to start learning about the far-distant past. That's why Utah's annual celebration of Prehistory Week, which this year runs from May 2-9, offers a lot of activities just for youngsters, he says. The week kicks off with an open house at the Rio Grande Depot on Saturday, featuring hands-on activities for kids (and adults, too), including spear and atlatl throwing, corn grinding, craft demonstrations, tours of the archaeology lab, a chance to make your own rock art, Navajo tacos and more.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705299831,00.html

- Second Navajo Casino Planned for RT 66 Landmark: The Navajo Nation is planning to open a $200 million casino, spa and hotel complex 20 miles east of Flagstaff at Twin Arrows, if pending traffic and utility studies show no major roadblocks. Construction could begin as soon as next year, said Bob Winter, chief executive officer of the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise. The facility would have a conference center and would be aimed at some of the 14 million drivers traveling yearly along Interstate 40, residents of Flagstaff, and international tourists visiting the Southwest.
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/04/26/news/20090426_front_195214.txt

- Field School Annoucement (NAU): Learn about excavation, surveying, and cultural resource management in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument north of the Grand Canyon. June 1 - July 10, 2009. The field school will be based at the headquarters of the Two Mile Ranch in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument north of the Grand Canyon. Students will learn about surveying, excavation, mapping, artifact analysis, and cultural resource management.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/nau_field_school_2009.pdf

- Travelogue - A Trip to the V Bar V Petroglyphs (Verde Valley): Was it Thursday or Friday? After six days of wandering the back roads in central Arizona, who knew? Thomas and I had heard about an unusual petroglyph site somewhere near Verde Valley and we had set aside April 3 to explore it at the historic V Bar V Ranch. I pulled out the information we found on the Internet. It said the area was open to the public Friday through Monday. But what day was it? We started out that morning in Cottonwood and headed east to Interstate 17, going north to Beaver Creek Recreation Area. On a quiet stretch of road over still-green hills from recent rain, it dawned on me: With our usual daily anchors of work, the networks and the rush to the weekend, it's easy to keep track of our days.
http://www.chicoer.com/lifestyle/ci_12230835

Thanks to Dan Garcia, Steve Hayden, and Sarah Page for contributions to Today's Newsletter.