Arizona Archaeology Council Publishes Statement on Arizona State Park Closures

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

Arizona Archaeology Council Publishes Statement on Arizona Park Closures
The Arizona Archaeological Council (AAC) writes to you as a state-wide organization of professional archaeologists whom have expressed considerable concern for the fate of cultural resources in state parks being affected by the current economic crisis. We understand that economic changes are forcing the State of Arizona to make difficult decisions and severe cuts, and the state parks have suffered disproportionately as a result. To this end, the AAC would like to make a position statement regarding, and offer assistance with, the protection and continued diligent management of cultural resources held in trust at Arizona’s State Parks.
http://tinyurl.com/aac-az-state-parks - Arizona Archaeology Council

12th Annual Meeting of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers Scheduled
Information on the 12th Annual NATHPO Meeting that will be hosted by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin the week of August 9, 2010, is now on the NATHPO website. This year's theme is "Respecting our Heritage, Protecting our Quality of Life, Strengthening our Future." Our children and young people of today are the future cultural leaders of tomorrow. Our decision to highlight Native youth – in addition to our annual discussions on current cultural preservation issues – is to encourage Native communities to continue preserving, protecting, and rejuvenating their respective languages and traditional lifestyles and unique cultures. We will be showcasing Native youth programs and hope that Native youth from across the country will be able to join us.
http://www.nathpo.org/meetings/12meeting.htm

New Publication Summarizes Clovis Technologies
A new book on the stone and bone tool technologies of Clovis culture of 13,500 years ago, published by faculty at Texas State University, is the first complete examination of the tools themselves and how the Clovis culture used them and transmitted their production. The book, “Clovis Technology (International Monographs in Prehistory, Archaeological Series 17),” covers the Clovis culture's making and use of stone blades, bi-faces and small tools as well as artifacts such as projectile points, rods, daggers, awls, needles, handles, hooks and ornaments made from bone, ivory, antler and teeth.
http://tinyurl.com/clovis-tech - San Marcos Daily Record

Learn More About Stone Tool Technologies at the Valles Caldera National Preserve
Stone tool "flintknapping" and atlatl-throwing demonstration in the Valle Grande, Sunday May 30, 2010, Valles Caldera National Preserve. Come out to the Valles Caldera National Preserve and spend a day with skilled flintknappers demonstrating how tools
are made from obsidian.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/stone_tool_demo_2010-05-30.pdf

Bill Introduced to Transfer the Valles Caldera National Preserve to the National Park Service
Management of the Valles Caldera National Preserve would be transferred to the National Park Service under legislation by New Mexico's senators. Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall, both D-N.M., introduced the measure Thursday. According to a Government Accountability Office report, the northern New Mexico preserve is years behind schedule in developing a management control system, and a path to be financially self-sustained by 2015 will be a major challenge.
http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/environment/valles-caldera-may-move-to-park-service

Lecture Opportunity (Irvine, CA) - Life by the Lakes in Laguna Canyon
The Pacific Coast Archaeological Society's June 10th meeting will feature Roderic McLean, Paul E. Langenwalter II, and Joyce Stanfield Perry speaking on “Buried Sites Archaeology: Life by the Lakes in Laguna Canyon during the Intermediate and Late Prehistoric Period.” Meeting information: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 7:30 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine, CA. Meeting is free and open to the public.
http://www.pcas.org

The Ancient Maya Developed Rubber Compounds Hundreds of Year Before Goodyear
The researchers "have compiled a compelling case that ancient Mesoamerican peoples were the first polymer scientists, exerting substantial control over the mechanical properties of rubber for various applications," said materials scientist John McCloy of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who was not involved in the research.
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-rubber-20100531,0,1397986.story

"I told you I was sick" - The Last Wish of James Deetz
It was those close family ties that inspired Wheelock to carve Deetz's gravestone. Though he had no formal training in stone carving, he decided to do research and carve a replica of Deetz's favorite. That stone, which marks the grave of Elizabeth Tillson, is on Burial Hill in Plymouth, the cemetery where some of the first English colonists are buried. He found the reference to the Tillson stone in Deetz's book, "In Small Things Forgotten," which has a section on stones and stone carvers, he said. "I tried to research the cutter and it was in my house all along," he said
http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100530/NEWS/5300323

Thanks to Gerald Kelso for contributing to today's newsletter.