Registration for 2009 Pecos Conference Now Open

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

- Registration for 2009 Pecos Conference and Pecos Conference Website Now Open: The 2009 Pecos Archaeological Conference will be held August 6-9 in Cortez and Dolores, Colorado. Information and registration are now available on the web at the link below. The Thursday night reception will be held at the Cortez Cultural Center, the host of this year's conference. Papers, book sales, poster sessions, and camping will be at the McPhee Campground in Dolores. Additional activities at this year's conference will include the raising of a large, heavy stone object using prehistoric technology under Vince Lee's direction, and a Friday night presentation by author Craig Childs on the issue of looting of archaeological sites, the topic of his next book. This year's dinner will be an on-site pig roast, and, thanks to the richness of the Four Corner's archaeological resources, there are many field trips to chose from on Sunday. Early registration ends on June 30. The web site is a "work in progress", but the essential information is there and on-line registration has begun. Come join your colleagues for another fun and informative conference.
http://pecos.cortezculturalcenter.org/

- Website Promoting Heritage Tourism Offers Detailed Information on Travel in the Mesa Verde Region: Southwest Colorado's towns of Cortez, Dolores, Mancos and Towaoc embrace the archaeological center of America, anchored by world-renowned Mesa Verde National Park. Just a short drive from the Four Corners Monument, Arches, and Monument Valley, Mesa Verde Country is centrally located on two National Scenic Byways—The San Juan Skyway and Trail of the Ancients. Whether your passion is exploring the past, enjoying spectacular wide open vistas, or hiking rugged canyon or mountain trails, you're guaranteed the vacation of a lifetime in Mesa Verde Country.
http://www.mesaverdecountry.com/

- Submerged Fort on the Pecos River Evidence of a Little Known Colonial Conflict: Real Alencaster, alarmed at the prospect of (an Anglo) invasion, at once took steps to hallenge it, as he informed his superiors in Chihuahua, writing, "I mean to prevent the entry into this province of New Mexico of any substantial party of Anglo-American troops." As a first step, he dispatched eastward a scouting unit of eight soldiers, 30 citizens' militia and Pueblo Indians, all under command of Lt. Nicolás Almansa. The men carried orders to establish an outpost on the lower Conchas River, astride a main trail from the east. Then they were instructed to go on scouting missions to search for signs of an invading American army.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/2hh3 - Santa Fe New Mexican

- Islamic Art and Archaeology to Be Featured At El Paso Archaeology Museum Event: Please join us at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology for a presentation and book signing by Dr. Sabiha Al Khemir, on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 12:00 PM. Dr. Sabiha Al Khemir was born in Tunisia and obtained her M.A. (with distinction in 1986) and her Ph.D. (1990) in Islamic Art History and Archaeology from London University. She was a post Doctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and has lectured world wide on Islamic Art and Islamic Culture. She has taught Islamic art in the British Museum has been a museum consultant and most recently was the Founding Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar. This event is free to the public. Seating is limited and is first come, first served. For more information and to RSVP please call (915) 755-4332.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/vwi - Newspaper Tree, El Paso

- Ice Age Exhibits Open in Southern California: The Western Center for Archaeology & Paleontology rises like an Aztec palace on the landscape, its shimmering glass and steel towers standing in contrast to the suburban sameness in this southern Riverside County exurb. Inside the $30 million, 33,000-square-foot museum is a 230,000-year-old Ice Age world of bones to explore, cleverly assembled for the enjoyment of youngsters and amateur archaeologists.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/fz1a - Signs on San Diego

- National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Find Redevelopment Plans for San Francisco's Presidio Deeply Flawed: The National Park Service has weighed in on the proposed changes to the center of San Francisco's Presidio, warning that the potential combination of new buildings and an altered landscape "threatens the historic character and integrity of the Main Post."
http://www.cdarc.org/page/5fqh - San Francisco Gate

- 2009 Archaeology Channel Film Festival Preview Now Online: The sixth annual installment of The Archaeology Channel International Film and Video Festival will take place May 19-23, 2009. This event, which includes a keynote address by the chief archaeologist of Egypt, Dr. Zahi Hawass, is highlighted in TAC Festival 2009 Preview, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel.
http://www.archaeologychannel.org