Global Conference Explores Preservation Archaeology

Southwest Archaeology Today - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

Global Conference Explores Preservation Archaeology
So, how can we manage these sites in a sustainable fashion? How can we create a system of site selection, preservation, and conservation that helps the local economy protect a cultural treasure that ultimately belongs to the world? How can technology be leveraged to assist these efforts? These are just some of the questions being asked today at Stanford University in California, where a group of experts in conservation, development, archaeology, philanthropy, technology, tourism and travel have gathered to attend the first Forum on Cultural Heritage in a Developing World.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-bernstein/why-heritage-matters_b_766566.html

Hollywood is Getting Ready to Tell "The Legend of the Hohokam."
We’re always on the lookout for interesting films currently gearing up for production, and we’ve been contacted by the team behind the movie The Legend of Hohokam with some news on directors circling the project. The Hohokam people disappeared from their Arizona homeland in the 15th century and this new film will tell their story, we’re promised, in the style of Dances with Wolves and Apocalypto.
http://tinyurl.com/2en9lso - HeyUGuys.Co.Uk

'Threads of Memory' Exhibition to Showcase Spanish Influence in American History
The pieces of paper and the maps that hang on the museum walls are like images rotated in a viewfinder toy camera — they become more intricate as the exhibit progresses. The conquered, explored and colonized territory, from the tip of Mexico to 17 U.S. states, is shown in black ink and in colored illustrations, all preserved on hemp paper. Spain's involvement in the American independence is something not everyone realizes, said Josef Díaz, curator of Southwest and Mexican Colonial Art and History Collections. One man in particular, Don Diego de Gardoqui, helped finance the Revolution.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/SantaFeNorthernNM/A-shared-heritage

Arizona Archaeological Council’s Annual Conference Scheduled for Friday and Saturday, October 29-30, 2010
AAC’s annual conference is at Arizona State Museum this year! The public is invited to attend scholarly presentations by regional archaeologists 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. on Saturday. Schedule and abstracts posted soon. A reception on Friday from 5-7 p.m. includes a used book sale, offering huge selections in southwestern anthropology. Books start at $1, journals as low as 25¢. Conference registration is $10 per person/free for AAC members. Contact Dr. James Watson to register at 520-621-4794. Not an AAC member? Join now at the link below.
http://arizonaarchaeologicalcouncil.org/aac/

Texas Archeological Society Meetings to be held this Weekend!
Archeologists Convene at the Omni Hotel in Corpus Christi, Oct. 22, bring your artifacts for identification! You’re invited to Texas Archeological Society (TAS) annual meeting on October 22 at the Omni Bayfront Hotel, 900 North Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, 78401. Friday, October 22 at 3:30 the first Round Table session will be “Archeology without Borders” and will feature speakers from Texas and Mexico with Native Americans as commentators. At 7:00 PM on Friday the topic “Native Peoples of the Texas Coast: Prehistory to Today” will be presented by archeologists Dr. Robert Ricklis, Rich Weinstein and Jose Medina. This Forum is free and open to the public.
Http://www.txarch.org

Call for Papers - "Origin Stories: Narratives of North American Diversity, 1400-1700"
Presenting the 28th Annual Visiting Scholar Conference, Center for Archaeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, April 22-23, 2011. The dynamic nature of Native American, European, European, American, and African American identities and interactions in North America between 1400 and 1700 is often acknowledged, but rarely elaborated. Past descriptions, as well as many current accounts, focus on a combination of “guns, germs, and steel,” as though history was a wave from Europe that swept across America bringing modernity, capitalism, and democracy. Archaeologists have increasingly been able to reveal a much more complex, diverse, and remarkable record of the Early Modern era.Yet these stories still only reach a limited audience.
http://www.cai.siuc.edu/vspages/wilshusen/callforpapers.html

NAGPRA at 20 Symposium Planned
Please join the National NAGPRA Program, The George Washington University's
Department of Museum Studies and Department of Anthropology, and several other partners for a two-day symposium to recognize the 20th anniversary of the passage of NAGPRA. A preliminary agenda and registration information, as well as lodging information (including a list of hotels costing under$100 night), can be found on the National NAGPRA Program website. The symposium is free but will be limited to 250-260 participants due to space limitations. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to register early.
http://www.nps.gov/history/nagpra/TRAINING/NAGPRA_at_20.html

National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers Offering a Workshop on Exhibition Development
"Telling Our History: Exhibition Development, ” November 8-12, 2010
Hosted by The Navajo Nation Museum. Comprised of four and one-half days of learning through presentations, dialogue, hands-on experience, and on-site visits to museum exhibits in the area. Tribal museum and cultural center directors and staff will learn about and share information that address the basics of exhibit development. Each day will include interactive activities, lessons from case studies and model museums, and opportunities for participants to learn from one another. Application Deadline: November 1, 2010 (participants accepted on a rolling basis; apply as soon as possible). Registration Fee: $125 (covers 3 lunches, 3 dinners and all course materials; any other meals will be on your own). Getty Scholarships: A limited number of travel scholarship are available from NATHPO thanks to the support of The Getty Grant Program. For more information and all applications, follow the link below.
http://www.nathpo.org/NNMTP/2010ExhibitsWorkshop.html

Avocational Archaeologists Found the Verde Valley Archaeological Center
Enough is enough. That is the mantra of some dedicated folks who are now pulling out all the stops in an effort to build a facility to house what treasures is left. Ken Zoll, current president of the Verde Valley Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society, along with two past presidents, Dr. Jim Graceffa and Sharon Olsen, and a handful of others have recently formed a new organization, the Verde Valley Archaeology Center. "We want to stop the bleeding," says Zoll, "We have been approached by some folks who have private collections and are also committed to keeping them in the Verde Valley. For that reason and some others, we believe now is the time to get started."
http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=38701

Historic Preservation or Public Art for the Rose Bowl: A Fight over One Percent
Historic preservation won, leaving art proponents miffed at their ongoing losing streak before the Pasadena City Council. Usually, city law requires developers to pay 1% of major construction projects’ cost to a public arts fund, to be spent on commissioning new art works at the development site. But when a project involves renovations to a historic landmark, such as the 88-year-old Rose Bowl, officials have the choice of commissioning new art with the 1% fee, or applying it to restoring worn or damaged historic elements of the site so they look new again.
http://tinyurl.com/2u7j5fb - Los Angeles Times

Mesa Verde Holds Groundbreaking on New Research and Visitor's Center
With the scrape of modern shovels and traditional Native American digging sticks against the rocky soil of Mesa Verde National Park, 80 years of dreams became reality Friday. Park officials, visiting dignitaries and about 150 spectators gathered to celebrate the start of construction on the $12.1 million Mesa Verde Visitor and Research Center being built at the park's entrance. Superintendent Cliff Spencer opened the ceremony, commenting on the magnitude of the occasion.
http://tinyurl.com/36x2dyw - Durango Herald

Lecture Opportunity (Cortez)
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society will present archaeologist Jerry Fetterman on November 2, 7:00 p.m., at the Cortez Cultural Center. His talk, "McLean Basin: North of Hovenweep - on the State Line" examines the results of archaeological surveys in the McLean Basin Area of the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. These surveys have been conducted over the past several years for the Bureau of Land Management by Woods Canyon Archaeological Consultants, Inc. and Smith Environmental and Engineering. Jerry Fetterman, a resident of Yellow Jacket, has been an archaeological researcher in southwest Colorado for 35 years. Since his graduation from University of Colorado in 1977, he has conducted hundreds of projects throughout the Four Corners Region. This presentation is free and open to the public. For more information about the talk or the Hisatsinom Chapter, please contact Marcie Ryan, 882-3391.

Employment Opportunity (Comstock TX)
Grow with SHUMLA, As The New Deputy Executive Director. SHUMLA is an internationally recognized nonprofit education and archeological research center located in the community of Comstock on the Southwest Texas border west of Del Rio. We seek a Deputy Executive Director ready to grow, professionally and personally, with us. The Deputy Director of SHUMLA will oversee education operations: motivating and supervising staff and volunteers; evaluating curriculum; promoting new programs; and writing grant proposals to support the vision. Contact Elton Prewitt with a letter of interest to receive a copy of the job specifications. Information about SHUMLA and its activities and programs can be found at http://www.shumla.org

Employment Opportunity (Short Deadline)
The BLM El Centro, CA Field Office is currently advertising for a Term
GS-07/09 Archaeologist. Below is the job announcement number for USAjobs.
The job announcement closes 10/22, so people need to get their applications
in ASAP. Please help spread the word! Thanks! Reference " FS-383168-AK10"
http://www.usajobs.gov/

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

Publication Note - Southwest Archaeology Today Newsletter Upgrade in Progress
This newsletter will take a break next week as we migrate to a new server that will allow the Center for Desert Archaeology to do a better job of sharing the news about archaeology, anthropology, and historic preservation in the American Southwest. For our readers who have enjoyed the newsletter here at Blogspot, this will be the final full newsletter posted at this location. We hope you will follow us over to the new home for Southwestern Archaeology Today in early November.

Arizona Republic Endorses a Preservation Approach to Ballot Initiatives

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

Arizona Republic Endorses a Preservation Approach to Ballot Initiatives
Prop. 301 would divert all of the Land Conservation Fund, which voters approved 12 years ago, into a one-time-only budget patch. It would sacrifice long-term benefits that include educational funding, community open space, and protection for archaeology, habitat and scenic resources on trust land.
http://tinyurl.com/2ae4xe5 - Arizona Republic

Data Recovery Nearly Complete at the Site of the Future Peoria Palo Verde Park
On a hot September afternoon, archaeologist Mark Hackbarth tread carefully across the fenced site that is dotted with short sticks with pink and orange markers. He looked for "hot spots" of Hohokam activity. The archaeologist has been using a device that sends radar pulses to capture subsurface images. "This is as good as it gets as far as archaeological sites go," Hackbarth said, pointing dirt-lined fingers to a dug-up area.
http://tinyurl.com/2ec4fr7 - Arizona Republic

Archaeology under Attack
Somewhere out there, there's a modern Western explorer who decided he had something so important to say that it had to be slathered in silver paint on a remote rock wall full of ancient petroglyphs in the national forest. The mysterious etchings depicting people, animals and a blazing sun are in a box canyon known as Keyhole Sink in the Kaibab National Forest east of Williams, a mountain town off Interstate 40 that has welcomed sojourners since its namesake, fur trapper "Old Bill" Williams, explored the locale in the early to mid-1800s.
http://tinyurl.com/22m263c - Arizona Republic

Poster Contest for Utah Archaeology Week
Archaeology Week isn't until May 7-14 but the Antiquities Section of State History is now inviting Utah residents to participate in the Utah Archaeology Week Poster Contest. Cash prizes will be offered in three categories: grand prize: $250; secondary school winner: $100; elementary school winner: $100.
http://tinyurl.com/2v5dpzj - Deseret News

Contractor Selected for New Mesa Verde Visitor Center
PCL Construction Services of Edwards has been awarded a $12 million contract from the National Park Service to build a visitor and research center at Mesa Verde National Park.
http://www.vaildaily.com/ARTICLE/20101005/BIZ/101009910/-1/RSS

Tour / Hiking Opportunity
Wilderness Hike to the Dittert Site,Saturday October 16, 2010. “Coyote, Doctor Dittert, and the Ancestors” Dr. Dittert said this site was built over a Chacoan outlier-like site. Others say it is closer to Mogollon country and influence. It may be the last mansion locally built before the difficult times of the 1270s. 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 flux. In the late 1200s drought was pervasive as was the likelihood of political upheaval.
Http://www.cdarc.org/sat/dittert_hike_2010.doc

New Website Documents Efforts to Preserve the Colonial Missions of Chihuahua (from Gloria Eugenia Alvillar)
My cousin who lives in Chihuahua, Chihuahua has sent this website on the mission reconstruction effort there. The video on the bottom half of the page is very well done. There is a Tarahumara governor who speaks toward the end of the film and it is moving. I would love to do a translation so that it can be shown in English. The narrative is respectful of all who participated in the legacy that is ours today. There are two architects from Valencia, Spain who are working on this effort and a small book has been published on how to restore old Spanish missions. Enjoy.
http://www.misionescoloniales.org/

Crow Canyon Announces New Three-Year Field Project
The new project shifts our focus in a number of ways: from the end of the ancestral Pueblo occupation to the beginning, from the final migration out of the region to the initial migration in, and from the best-understood period of ancestral Pueblo history to the least understood. The Basketmaker Communities Project: Early Pueblo Society in the Mesa Verde Region will focus on the earliest substantial period of ancestral Pueblo settlement in the Mesa Verde region, known as the Basketmaker III period (A.D. 500–750), and will investigate where these initial settlers came from, what their society was like, and the ways these early farmers impacted a pristine environment.
http://www.imakenews.com/crowcanyon1/e_article001886894.cfm?x=b11,0,w

Hueco Tanks Interpretive Fair Scheduled for October 16 and 17th
The Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site's 2010 Interpretive Fair Weekend will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. October 16, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. October 17. Attractions of the two-day event will include Native American dancing and drumming, folklorico dancers, pictograph, birding and nature tours and booths. Tours will begin at 8 a.m. both days of the fair, and will include birding tours, nature hikes, rare plant tours, hiking tours and tours to Native American pictograph sites. Visitors can browse informational booths on local history, desert wildlife, area parks and native plants. There will also be food, art and gifts for sale. An evening campfire storytelling program will start at 6 p.m. Saturday, October 16. The fair will be held at Hueco Tanks State Park & Historic Site, 6900 Hueco Tanks Rd. #1, El Paso, TX 79938. From US Highway 62/180, turn north onto Ranch Road 2775. Continue through the park gate to the headquarters building. The park is 32 miles northeast of El Paso.

Lecture Opportunity (Irvine)
The Pacific Coast Archaeological Society's October 14th meeting will feature Dr. Steven R. James speaking on “Archaeological Field Schools in California and the American Southwest: Historical Perspectives and Personal Reflections.” Meeting information: Thursday, October 14, 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

Student Employment Opportunity (Delores)
The Curatorial Program at the Bureau of Land Management - Anasazi Heritage Center is recruiting for qualified students who are interested in learning about the museum profession – particularly museum collections management for BLM and the Department of the Interior. The Student Temporary Experience Program (STEP) is temporary employment in the Federal government that provides the student with an opportunity to gain experience in the Federal government.
Http://www.cdarc.org/sat/ahc_step.doc

Tutuveni Petroglyphs Provided with Extra Protection

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

Tutuveni Petroglyphs Provided with Extra Protection
Recognized as a sacred site by the Hopi people, the Hopi "Tutuveni" petroglyph area located near Tuba City and state Highway 89 contains the largest, most significant concentration of Hopi clan symbols found anywhere in the American southwest.
http://tinyurl.com/258rwz5 - Navajo Hopi Observer

Archaeologists Dismiss Clovis Comet Impact Theory
New research challenges the controversial theory that an ancient comet impact devastated the Clovis people, one of the earliest known cultures to inhabit North America. Writing in the October issue of Current Anthropology, archaeologists Vance Holliday (University of Arizona) and David Meltzer (Southern Methodist University) argue that there is nothing in the archaeological record to suggest an abrupt collapse of Clovis populations. "Whether or not the proposed extraterrestrial impact occurred is a matter for empirical testing in the geological record," the researchers write. "Insofar as concerns the archaeological record, an extraterrestrial impact is an unnecessary solution for an archaeological problem that does not exist."
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/uocp-nef092910.php

Lost City Musuem Celebrates 75 Years of Interpreting Ancient Nevada
"Most people don't know that in Southern Nevada, we had such large-scale, prehistoric populations," says Dr. Karen Harry, an archaeologist and professor in the anthropology department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "It's kind of a big deal."
http://www.lvrj.com/neon/the-artifacts-of-life-103698249.html

23 Historic Preservation Efforts in Nevada Canceled
The 23 historic preservation projects awarded funding from the Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs earlier this year are the latest casualties of the state's budget crisis.
Historic Preservation Officer Ron James said the grants totaling $3 million were pulled back after the announcement that the state has no capacity to issue new bonds this coming budget cycle.
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100923/NEWS/100929904/1001

Artifacts Stolen From Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
The National Park Service says burglars stole buffalo hides and historical weapons from two historic sites in southeastern Colorado.
http://www.newsfirst5.com/news/artifacts-stolen-from-colorado-historic-sites/

Symposium on the Archaeology of the Arizona Strip is Scheduled for November
On Friday, November 12, and Saturday, November 13, 2010, the Kaibab Vermilion Cliffs Heritage Alliance will sponsor an archaeological symposium in Page, Arizona, Discovering the Archaeology of the Arizona Strip Region: Learning from the Past - Planning for the Future. The symposium will bring together agency archaeologists, professionals, students, tribal representatives, and the public to discuss questions that will guide a research design for the coming decades on the Arizona Strip north of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. On Friday night, November 12, keynote speakers Don and Catherine Fowler will share their archaeological experiences in the region. The public is invited without charge to the evening sessions. Early registration is $35.00 until October 1, 2010, after October 1 registration is $50.00.For symposium information and to register go to
http://www.public.asu.edu/~ohara/AZstrip.htm

Mesa Verde For Kids
here’s no time to be nervous. The kids charge ahead up the 32-foot ladder, squeezing through a narrow, 12-foot tunnel, walking in toeholds carved into dusty sandstone. Imagine if you could only get into your office or house via toeholds carved into rock. Imagine cooking by tossing a hot rock into a waterproofed basket filled with stew fixings and grinding corn with a rock. Imagine living with your family in small stone rooms. Imagine no TV or video games to entertain the kids — just stories passed down from generation to generation.
http://tinyurl.com/2bv37qh - Ventura County Star

Celebrating The Twelfth Annual Traditional Native American Indian Feast & Fundraiser Festival San Xavier Plaza
The Traditional Native American Indian Feast & Fundraiser Festival for the Golden Eagle Feather Award and Scholarship will be celebrating its TWELFTH ANNUAL, on Saturday, October 2, 2010, from 6pm to 9 pm at the San Xavier Plaza, Tucson, Arizona. This event is open to everyone.
http://tinyurl.com/2bmxup7 - Tucson Citizen

Montezuma Castle National Monument Celebrates 50th Anniversary
In the shadow of nearly 1,000-year-old ruins, Marie Carone joined a celebration of a small, but significant milestone in the Verde Valley's history. The visitor's center at Montezuma's Castle, the popular national monument, is turning 50-years old.
http://tinyurl.com/26qo8t2 - ABC 15.com

Taking a New Look at Old Digs: Trampling Animals May Alter Stone Age Sites
Archaeologists who interpret Stone Age culture from discoveries of ancient tools and artifacts may need to reanalyze some of their conclusions. That's the finding suggested by a new study that for the first time looked at the impact of water buffalo and goats trampling artifacts into mud.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100923162408.htm

Legend Rock Encodes 10,000 Years of Beliefs
Ice Age paintings and carvings in Europe are revered as sublime achievements of early humans, yet the prehistoric rock art in the American West is far less known. At Legend Rock in central Wyoming, 10,000 years of profound beliefs are inscribed on red sandstone cliffs.
http://tinyurl.com/2eagwtn - The Wall Street Journal

El Paso Museum of Archaeology Offers Free Tours
The El Paso Museum of Archaeology is offering free docent-led tours of the museum and its surrounding Chihuahuan Desert Gardens. Tours for families with children will be at 1 p.m. today and on Oct. 9 and Oct. 24. Adult tours will be at 10 a.m. on Wednesday and again on Oct. 13 and Oct. 20. Reservations are not necessary. To enjoy the gardens, wear suitable clothing, shoes and sun protection. The museum is at 4301 Trans Mountain. Information: 755-4332. - El Paso Times.

Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act: Back to Basics
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has issued a major new report evaluating how the federal government is meeting its statutory obligations to consider the effects of its activities on America’s historic and cultural resources. The report, entitled Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act: Back to Basics, urges federal agencies to take more seriously their obligations to comply with the basic statutory mandate (on the books since 1966) to consider the effects of their activities on the nation’s heritage.
http://tinyurl.com/28mnkmw - National Trust for Historic Preservation

Lecture Opportunity (Cortez)
Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society presents "Recent Investigations Along the Chaco North Road: The Artifacts Don't Lie!" by Jim Copeland on Tuesday, October 5, 7:00 p.m. at the Cortez Cultural Center. Jim Copeland has been the Senior BLM archaeologist for the Farmington Field Office for the past 19 years. His investigations along previously unstudied sections of the famed Chaco North Road have identified consistent patterns in road artifact distributions and physical characteristics north of Pierre’s Ruin, a large Chaco outlier complex located along the road. Research also shows that the phenomenon of parallel roads extend twice as far north of Pierre’s Ruin than previously known, and may ultimately reach the escarpment of Kutz Canyon, where the North Road via a prehistoric stairway descends into the badlands. Aerial photo and archaeological site and artifact data also indicates that the North Road continued to Aztec Ruins. This talk is free and open to the public. For more information about the talk or joining Hisatsinom, call Diane McBride at 560-1643.

National Register Update
Congratulations to all those involved with listing the following places on the National Register of Historic Properties: Tonto National Monument Visitors Center, Tucson's Erskine P Caldwell House, the Don Martin Apartmentment House, the First Joesler House, Gable House, Haynes Building, Heckler House, and Type A and B Joesler Buildings, as well as Clarkdale's Tuzigoot Musuem,

Reminder - First Archaeology Expo Planning Meeting for the 2011 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month.
This coming Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 1:00 PM at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center, 3711 W Deer Valley Rd in Glendale, AZ. Please come and share your ideas as the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) initiates planning for the 2011 Arizona Archaeology Expo that will be held on March 26-27, 2011 at the Deer Valley Rock Art Center (Center) in Glendale. We will be touring the Center's grounds, exchanging ideas with the various partners, discussing programming, publicity, lay out and organization, sponsors, funding, off-site activities, etc. The SHPO values our partnerships with you we hope to see you at this meeting, and at future planning efforts, for the 2011 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month public programming. For More Information, Please Contact: Ann Howard, Public Archaeology Programs Manager State Historic Preservation Office 602/542-7138, avh2@azstateparks.gov

Thanks to Carrie Gregory, Gerald Kelso, Brian Kreimendahl and Adrianne Rankin for contributing to today's newsletter.