New Technologies for Archaeological Research

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

Laser Scanning In Archaeology Featured in NY Times
in the dry spring season a year ago, the husband-and-wife team of Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase tried a new approach using airborne laser signals that penetrate the jungle cover and are reflected from the ground below. They yielded 3-D images of the site of ancient Caracol, in Belize, one of the great cities of the Maya lowlands.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/science/11maya.html

Geographic Information Systems in Archaeology
Computational modeling techniques provide new and vast opportunities to the field of archaeology. By using these techniques, archeologists can develop alternative computerized scenarios that can be compared with traditional archaeological records, possibly enhancing previous findings of how humans and the environment interact.
http://asunews.asu.edu/20100513_archaeologymodeling

The "Anasazi" Did not Mysteriously Disappear
The Anasazi, or ancient ones, who once inhabited southwest Colorado and west-central New Mexico did not mysteriously disappear, said University of Denver professor Dean Saitta at Tuesday's Fort Morgan Museum Brown Bag lunch program.
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_15083924

BLM Using Permit System for Crowd Control and Preservation at Moon House
The Moon House ruin on Cedar Mesa has, for many years, been a hiking destination for Richard Schwarz. The first time he visited the ancient Puebloan complex in a remote San Juan County canyon, it wasn't easy to find. But when he saw the celestial paintings on the ceiling of the main room, marveled at the hardy 13th-century fiber lashings holding together the log framing, wondered over the meaning of the pictographs and petroglyphs on the red rock walls, he grew certain it was the best archaeological site he ever would see in southeastern Utah.
http://www.sltrib.com/outdoors/ci_15099190

Navajo Nation Archaeology Departments Documents Newly Rediscovered Petroglyphs Near Williams Az
On April 28, Kaibab National Forest heritage program employees conducted a petroglyph documentation class for members of the Navajo Nation Archaeology Department (NNAD). During the hands-on training, Kaibab and NNAD archaeologists documented about 75 percent of the petroglyphs located near a recently discovered Cohonina village site on the Williams Ranger District.
http://www.williamsnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&subsectionID=1&articleID=10236

Twilight is an Excellent Time to Visit the Deer Valley Rock Art Center
Twilight. That magic time of day when it’s not daytime – but not quite nighttime, either. Deer Valley Rock Art Center’s public educators will celebrate that transition hour by offering special Twilight Tours six times this summer, beginning June 12.
http://asunews.asu.edu/20100511_twilighttours

Pecos Conference Could Use a Few Good Volunteers
Contact Volunteer Coordinator - Patrick McDermott (970-903-5522, pmcd95@hotmail.com)

Pecos Conference Field Trips Announced
http://www.swanet.org/2010_pecos_conference/day4.html