Tuesday, October 19, 2010

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.