Mining and Gas Drilling Threatening Aztec Ruins and Petrified Forest - Free Guide to Sec 106 Tribal Consultation Online

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

- Mining and Gas Wells Planned for Aztec Ruins National Monument and Petrified Forest National Park? Drilling and mining may soon be affecting Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona and Aztec Ruins National Monument in New Mexico, according to an internal Interior Department document released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Only plummeting commodity prices caused by the current recession have delayed groundbreaking for new natural gas wells and potash mining in or adjacent to the parks.
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=1146

- John Fowler Announces Online Publication of Free Guide to Tribal Consultation in the Section 106 Process: I am delighted to announce the release of an exciting new publication, Consultation with Indian Tribes in the Section 106 Process: A Handbook. This handbook is a landmark guide to the federal responsibility for tribal consultation in the Section 106 review process. In an easy-to-follow question-and-answer format, the handbook clearly outlines the parameters of tribal consultation both for projects located both off—and on—tribal lands. The handbook provides valuable and insightful tools and tips that will greatly increase the effectiveness of federal consultation with Indian tribes. The primary target audience is federal agencies but the handbook will be of great use to all Section 106 participants. The handbook is available to download for free at the link below.
http://www.achp.gov/regs-tribes2008.pdf

- Reminder - Archaeology Cafe in Tucson, Tuesday Night " Human Adaptation to Catastrophic Events: Lessons from the 11th Century A.D. Eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano ." What happens when your world seems to come to an end? Archaeologist Mark Elson shares the story of the prehistoric farming communities that lived around Sunset Crater Volcano at the time of its eruption in the 11th century A.D. Learn what happened to the refugees and how their agricultural strategies-and indeed their worldview-were forever changed. Tuesday, January 6, 2009 at 6:00 pm on the patio at Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Avenue, Tucson, AZ. Free and open to the community-all are welcome. Guests are encouraged to support our host, Casa Vicente, by buying their own food and drinks.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/articles.php?req=read&article_id=727

- Lecture Opportunity (Tubac): Archaeologist Maren Hopkins will talk on Thursday, Jan 8 about working in the U.S.-Mexico political borderlands environment and the results of the archaeological excavation she conducted at the border in Southeast Arizona near the San Pedro River last year. Her discussion will cover details of the results of the archaeological remains that were unearthed there. The discussion will take place during the Tubac/SSC Arizona Archaeological Society meeting in Tubac starting at 5 p.m. with a potluck and at 6 p.m. with the program at the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park. There is no charge for the event, though donations are appreciated.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2009/01/04/news/doc49604dbf8feac729384354.txt

- Texas Archaeological Society Offers Archaeology Academy Training Sessions: Learn how to identify, test, and properly record archeological sites; study lithic tool production; explore prehistoric ceramic identification; discover the world of rock art. Each of these topics is covered by TAS Archeology Academy classes, held in classroom and field sessions located around the state. Refine and expand your expertise in archeological excavation during the summer Field School. Participate in recording Rock Art in the field during winter holidays, spring break or summer vacation.
http://www.txarch.org/Activities/academy/aa2009/index.php

- Scientific American Examines Clovis-Era Comet Impact Theory: Roughly 12,900 years ago, massive global cooling kicked in abruptly, along with the end of the line for some 35 different mammal species, including the mammoth, as well as the so-called Clovis culture of prehistoric North Americans. Various theories have been proposed for the die-off, ranging from abrupt climate change to overhunting once humans were let loose on the wilds of North America. But now nanodiamonds found in the sediments from this time period point to an alternative: a massive explosion or explosions by a fragmentary comet, similar to but even larger than the Tunguska event of 1908 in Siberia.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=did-a-comet-hit-earth-12900-years-ago

- Utah Heritage Foundation Seeks Nominations for Historic Preservation Efforts: The Utah Heritage Foundation is seeking nominations for its annual Heritage Awards honoring excellence in historic preservation throughout Utah. The purpose of the awards is to recognize projects, organizations, agencies and individuals that exemplify the highest standards within the preservation movement. Utah Heritage Foundation accepts nominations in December and January for projects completed in 2008. If you know of a project, individual or group deserving of statewide recognition, complete a nomination form by Jan. 15. For more information, contact UHF public outreach director Alison Flanders at 533-0858, ext. 101. - Deseret News

- Summer Institute Program to Celebrate the Legacy of Aldo Leopold: Next year, 2009, marks the 100th anniversary of ecologist Aldo Leopold’s arrival in the Southwest. Fresh from his classes in forestry at Yale, the 22-year-old Iowan stepped off the train in Arizona in 1909 and would remain in the region until embarking for Wisconsin in 1924. Although Leopold wrote his influential work in Wisconsin after leaving the Southwest, there is little doubt his thinking was shaped by his experiences in Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico. Aldo Leopold never saw A Sand County Almanac in print, having suffered a heart attack while fighting a grass fire a year before its publication. He might be surprised to learn that his collection of essays helped create the discipline of environmental ethics, that his ideas are central to contemporary issues such as “sense of place” and sustainability, and that his text is taught across disciplines beyond the natural sciences, including literature, history, and philosophy – a variety we hope to see represented among the institute’s participants. To acknowledge Leopold’s centrality to our understanding of the environment, and to celebrate his ongoing legacy, many academic and public events are being planned in Arizona and New Mexico throughout 2009, most of which are described at the Aldo Leopold Centennial Celebration website.
http://ihr.asu.edu/leopold/overview

- Arizona State Archives Building to be Dedicated Jan 15: No more grandma's attic for the state's important papers and keepsakes. Instead, the new Archives Building is a technological and climate-controlled wonder, especially when compared with the nearly 100-year-old space that housed everything from the original state Constitution to Wyatt Earp's extradition papers. The $38 million Polly Rosenbaum History and Archives Building, which opened late last fall, is being dedicated next week at a ceremony open to the public. It's named after a long-serving lawmaker who was devoted to historic preservation and has already been dubbed "the Polly building."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/01/04/20090104archives0105.html

Thanks to Gerald Kelso, Brian Kenny, and Pam Wheat for contributions to today's newsletter.

NY Times Covers Puebloan Diaspora, Employment Opportunity at the Center for Desert Archaeology

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

- Ancient Puebloan Migrations -What Really Happened? Perched on a lonesome bluff above the dusty San Pedro River, about 30 miles east of Tucson, the ancient stone ruin archaeologists call the Davis Ranch Site doesn’t seem to fit in. Staring back from the opposite bank, the tumbled walls of Reeve Ruin are just as surprising. Some 700 years ago, as part of a vast migration, a people called the Anasazi, driven by God knows what, wandered from the north to form settlements like these, stamping the land with their own unique style.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/science/08anasazi.html?8dpc

- Employment Opportunity at the Center for Desert Archaeology: The Center for Desert Archaeology seeks qualified applicants for a Preservation Outreach Coordinator. This position coordinates and implements the Center’s cultural heritage preservation activities. The Preservation Outreach Coordinator is a key member of the Center’s preservation team and will be responsible for expanding the scope of the Center’s preservation field services in the Southwest. We are seeking an applicant who is interested in working to preserve the cultural heritage--archaeological sites, historic buildings, and cultural landscapes--of the Greater Southwest.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/cdarc_preservation_announcement.pdf

- Innovative Project Creates DVD to Interpret Aztec Ruins National Monument: Touring Aztec Ruins can inspire students to capture the heart and soul of the Pueblo people. "Students' writing and artwork brings the hidden stories and the spirits of the Pueblos to life," said Terry Nichols, park ranger at Aztec Ruins National Monument. Nichols said fourth-graders and eighth-graders who visited last spring were filmed for an educational DVD, "Connections: Teaching, Writing and Art at Aztec Ruins," that will be released today. The students listened to the stories of Bennie and Edna Romero, descendants of the Santa Clara and Taos Pueblos. The students then developed their own stories and artwork.
http://www.daily-times.com/ci_8835157?source=most_emailed

- Gesture Of Kinship” Exhibit Opens At Anasazi Heritage Center: The Anasazi Heritage Center will unveil a new exhibit called A Gesture of Kinship on April 15th in museum’s Special Exhibit gallery. It weaves the thoughts and experiences of 20 young Navajos as they grew from children to adults in recent decades. Their maturation is captured in photographs and their own voices. The exhibit continues through October 31.
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/ahc.html

- Historic Preservation is as "Green" Strategy: Historic preservation has always been the greenest of the building arts because it necessarily involves the conservation of energy and natural resources. Now it’s time to make sure everyone knows it. It’s all about sustainability. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), transportation accounts for just 27 percent of America’s greenhouse gas emissions, while 48 percent – almost twice as much – is produced by the construction and operation of buildings. Nearly half the greenhouse gases Americans send into the atmosphere is from our buildings. More than 10 percent of the entire world’s greenhouse gas emissions is from American buildings. Historic preservation must be a key component of any effort to promote sustainable development. The challenge is to help people understand that preservation is environmentally, as well as economically, sustainable.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/9d8l - New American Media

- Aztec Arithmetic System Decoded: A study by U.S. and Mexican researchers has found evidence of an ancient method of arithmetic in Aztec property records. Barbara Williams of the University of Wisconsin-Rock County and Maria del Carmen Jorge y Jorge of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico studied more than 2,000 drawings dating back to 1540 that were used to document agricultural properties by the Acolhua people who lived in the city-state of Tepetlaoztoc, the University of Wisconsin said Thursday in a release.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/koci - UPI International

- Field School Announcement: Ft Lewis College Summer 2008 field Season. Explore Southwestern Pueblo Architecture While Earning College Credit. Excavations at the Pigg Site (5MT4802) June 23 through August 1, 2008. Application Deadline May 1, 2008. Contact Charles Riggs, Ph.D, Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango, CO 81301-3999. voice: (970) 247-7409, fax: (970) 382-6952. email: riggs_c@fortlewis.edu

- Internship Opportunity with the Hopi Tribe: Two paid, summer internships are being offered through the Hopi Tribe, to assist in the Homolovi Park Project. One of the goals of the partnership between Arizona State Parks and the Hopi Tribe is to provide learning and training opportunities at the park. Two paid, full-time, ten (10) week internships at the park are offered. One funded by a generous grant received from the Institute of Museums and Library Services, Native Americans and Native Hawaiians Museum Services grant and the other by the Hopi Tribe. The internship is designed for undergraduate college students, but applications from graduate students will be considered. The Hopi Tribe, to the greatest extent feasible, will give preference to Hopis, however if unable to find a qualified candidate, this internship will be awarded to a qualified non-Hopi. This internship is not associated with any college or university therefore it does not award college credit, but the program is willing to work with the candidate’s school to process credit through their university or college. The deadline is April 30, 2008. Thanks!! Contact: Susan Secakuku, PO Box 548. Second Mesa, AZ 86043
secakuku@hopitelecom.net 928.737.2510
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/Hopi_Internship.doc

-Worst Archaeological Headline Ever:
http://www.cdarc.org/page/e3pv - Seattle Times

"Set in Stone" opens at ASM, Invasive Weeds at Aztec Ruin

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

- "Set in Stone" Exhibit Opens at the Arizona State Museum: A new exhibit at the Arizona State Museum titled "Set in Stone" might be of interest to our modern-day purveyors of Chinese jade, Colombian emeralds, Afghan lapis, Russian amber and New Zealand opal. They are the descendants, in tradition if not lineage, of the maritime shell traders, copper bell casters and turquoise miners who established the earliest gem trade centuries before Europeans arrived in the Southwest. They created art forms still mimicked in contemporary jewelry design.
http://www.azstarnet.com/accent/223227

- Salt River Project Adding Interpretive Signage to Historic Phoenix Basin Canals: The canal system is part of the Valley’s history, Lane said. He said it has been around for almost a century. The first canals were made by the Hohokam people and they were smaller and built by hand, Lane said “The canals we have today are much larger, but they follow roughly the same contours,” he said.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/107748
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/223027

- Invasive Weeds Threatening Aztec Ruin: Invasive species like salt cedar and Russian olive are a hassle wherever they grow, taking over a habitat and choking off other growth. But when their victim is an ancient monument, wild plant growth is more than inconvenient. The Aztec Ruins National Monument staff wants to tackle plant control, and they want your help. "If we don't address the issue it will just get bigger," Park Ranger Terry Nichols said. "It's a losing battle ... some growth from one year to the next is 10 times worse than the year before."
http://www.daily-times.com/ci_8105263

- National Preservation Institute Seminars to be Held Feb 27 - 29 in Phoenix: The National Preservation Institute, a nonprofit organization founded in 1980, educates those involved in the management, preservation, and stewardship of our cultural heritage. The 2008 National Preservation Institute seminar schedule is now available online at www.npi.org. The 2008 NPI News Release includes the calendar and seminar descriptions.
http://www.npi.org/NewsRelease2008.pdf

- 2008 Arizona Archaeology & Heritage Month Events Listing: The Archaeology Expo is sponsored by the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Arizona State Parks, and the Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission. The Arizona State Museum (ASM) is host and partner for the highlight event for 2008 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month (AAHAM). Many other partners will be joining together to present a varied Expo format offering two days of educational, hands-on archaeology programs to the public. The Expo offers many attractions for those interested in archaeology and history. Over 35 special displays and booths by archaeological and historical organizations, museums, Native American tribes, state and federal agencies, and others will allow you to participate as an archaeologist might in their research today, or make crafts that teach how prehistoric Native Americans survived in the Southwest, or play games like the historic settlers did. Living history re-enactors, Native American demonstrators and entertainers, interactive activities, and tours of archaeology laboratories and museum collection areas and exhibits will help make the past come alive! In addition, tours of local prehistoric and historic archaeological sites will be featured.
http://www.azstateparks.com/text/calendar.html#expo

- BLM Provides Land for Center for New Mexican Archaeology: The state has acquired 25 acres in Santa Fe for a planned Center for Archaeology. Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman has signed an agreement to transfer the site from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
http://kob.com/article/stories/S331284.shtml?cat=504

- Journalist Finds Historic Preservation in Dallas Lacking: According to the Dallas Landmark Commission's Web site, historic buildings are structures that possess any of the following properties: character; cultural, economic or social heritage; architectural style or innovation; archaeological significance; identification with a significantly historical event or person; or value as an aspect of community sentiment and pride. So it seems that the Hard Rock building didn't possess any of these merits, otherwise it would have been saved. But the Hard Rock did possess some of these merits. Actually, it possessed a lot of them. Many have asked the question (and we're going to ask it again), what is the point of having a preservation committee if it's not going to preserve anything?
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/107748

- Brian Fagan to Speak on the Rcent History of Climate Change (Santa Fe): Cathedrals, Droughts, and the Flail of God, Thursday, February 7, 2008, 7:30 P.M. James A. Little Theater, NM School for the Deaf. Global warming--we have been here before! Anthropologist Brian Fagan looks back at four centuries of warming that had a startling but subtle impact on the course of human history. Dr. Fagan will take us on a journey to times when temperatures were warm as today, harvests were abundant, cathedral building was at its peak, Genghis Kahn ruled, and drought was a constant threat. Admission is free to the public. Contact the SAR Membership Office at (505) 954-7203 or email members@sarweb.org, for more information.

- Native American Art Tours Utah: Marjorie Chan, chairwoman of the University of Utah department of geology, enjoys yard-sale expeditions. "It's a lot like geology," she says. "You don't know what you'll find, and the stories behind it are interesting." A few years ago she struck gold — a collection of more than 600 pieces of American Indian art works, mostly jewelry, collected by the late Dorothy Haslam. It's a discovery that will benefit all Utahns, from visitors to the Utah Museum of Natural History to residents of far-flung communities across the state. Last week, a selection of the treasures were prepared for a two-year jaunt through Utah.
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695247756,00.html

- Gila Cliff Dwellings Temporarily Closed, Tours Offered of TJ Ruin: Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Superintendent Steve Riley announced today an alternative tour for visitors to the monument while road crews repair the road that leads to the namesake dwellings. Rain on January 27, combined with snowmelt from the Mogollon Mountains, caused impressive flooding along the Gila River’s West and Middle Forks. While much of the flooding has now subsided, sections of Hwy 15, including the approaches to the West Fork bridge that leads to the cliff dwellings, suffered damage. The road near Little Creek, just past the community of Gila Hotsprings, is expected to be re-opened by Saturday, February 2. At that time, the road will be open to the Gila Visitor Center. The cliff dwellings, Upper and Lower Scorpion Campgrounds, TJ and Woody’s Corrals will be closed until repairs are completed, estimated to take at
least one more month.

- Employment Opportunity (El Paso): Archaeology Museum Education Curator.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/a7b1 - PDF Job Specification.