Arizona Legislature Sweep of Heritage Funds Imperils San Xavier del Bac

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

Arizona Legislature Sweep of Heritage Funds Imperils San Xavier del Bac
The mission known as "The White Dove of the Desert" shimmers with the unworldly glow of a mirage in the dry flatlands south of Tucson. San Xavier del Bac, with its asymmetrical towers, elegant curves and exuberant decoration, is the best example of Spanish colonial architecture in the nation. It's such an important window into the past that it was one of the original listings when the National Register of Historic Places was established in 1966. |
http://tinyurl.com/246clwd - Arizona Republic

Center for Desert Archaeology Researcher Featured on the History Detectives
The August 16, 2010, episode of “History Detectives” will feature Center Preservation Fellow Aaron Wright. Aaron asked the team to investigate the authenticity of an inscription in Phoenix’s South Mountain Park. The inscription includes the name of Fray Marcos de Niza, and is dated 1539.
http://www.cdarc.org/2010/08/06/center-researcher-featured-on-pbss-history-detectives/

In Memory of Jo Anne Medley
We are sad to inform you all that Jo Anne Medley, a fourteen-year veteran of the State Historic Preservation Office staff, passed away Wednesday, August 4, 2010. We will all miss her deeply not only as a professional colleague but as a good friend and wonderful individual.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/j_a_m.doc - MS Word Document

El Malpais Hike Scheduled for August 14, "Chaco Migrants Meet Mountain Mogollons" Dittert Archaeological Area, Grants, New Mexico
Some say this site is a Chacoan outlier. Others say it is closer to Mogollon country and influence. Come find out about two great ancestral cultures of the southwest, and decide for yourself if this is where they met, whether they got along, and why they chose this place. Modern interpretations are in dynamic flux. In the late 1200s drought was pervasive as was the likelihood of political upheaval. The Dittert site was built atop a Chaco era site (Pueblo 2), and may have been the last mansion in this area during Pueblo 3 times.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/el_malpais_hike.doc - MS Word Document.

Yet Another Light Sentence in 4 Corners Looting Case
A Utah man who once bragged about taking American Indian artifacts from federal lands avoided jail time Thursday after a federal judge said he decided to show leniency after reading letters from the man's two daughters. U.S. District Judge Dee Benson said he planned to give Aubry Patterson, 57, prison time but changed his mind after reading the letters, which said Patterson was an "amazing father" who had a hard life but always "provided for us and put food on the table." Patterson's teary daughters accompanied him to court.
http://tinyurl.com/24n5tyq - Washington Examiner

Steve Jobs Wins Right to Demolish Historic California Mansion
If the long saga of Steve Jobs and the Jackling House were a screenplay, we would be at the climactic moment. The billionaire computer king has won his long battle for permission to tear down the historic 1920s mansion he detests. Preservationists who fought him in court for six years have dropped their lawsuit, leaving the town of Woodside free to issue a permit for the 17,000-square-foot home built for copper baron Daniel Jackling to be razed.
http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_15669725?nclick_check=1