Southwestern Archaeology Making the News - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology
- Arizona Republic Advocates Expansion of Casa Grande National Monument: The National Park Service, which oversees Casa Grande monument, has done extensive studies and public outreach that make a strong case for the proposed expansion. The addition fits the Park Service's dual mission of preservation and interpretation. Enlarging the monument would protect evidence that current and future researchers need to continue answering the many questions about the Hohokam, whose culture faded away after 1450. This is part of our American heritage that must not be lost.
http://tinyurl.com/ya2o4wy - Arizona Republic
- BLM and Utah Stakeholders Reach Compromise on Preservation in Nine Mile Canyon: A wide coalition of interests -- including conservationists, tribal leaders, land regulators and a natural-gas developer -- has reached an agreement that could curtail the fight over damage to rock art in Nine Mile Canyon, state and federal officials announced Tuesday. The document, scheduled for signing Jan. 5, outlines how the U.S. Bureau of Land Management proposes to protect pictographs and petroglyphs created by Puebloan ancestors who lived throughout the Southwest more than 700 years ago.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_14050574
- Pressure Mounts to Reestablish Wilderness Study Areas: The conservation community is counting on Ken Salazar, the native Coloradan heading the Interior Department, to reverse a ruling by his predecessor. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) used to be able to set aside land in Colorado and elsewhere as "Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs)" to be protected from development until Congress could decide whether to permanently designate all or part of it as federal wilderness. That WSA determination process was halted by Bush administration Interior Secretary Gail Norton, but Salazar could reinstate it.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/11926-1
- Archaeology Cafe in Tucson to Examine Historical Impact and Future Potential of Tucson's Electric Streetcars: The next meeting of Archaeology Cafe will take place on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at 6:00 pm. Our guest this month will be transit historian Gene Caywood, who will share the history of Tucson's electric streetcars, as well as information about the City of Tucson's Modern Streetcar Project.
http://www.cdarc.org/2009/12/02/archaeology-cafe-tucsons-transportation-history/
- California to Examine Preservation on Route 66: Of the eight states through which Route 66 passed -- the others are Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona -- California is the only one that has not done a cultural survey of the highway.
http://tinyurl.com/yahpsg9 - Los Angeles Times
- Pueblo Grande Museum Honored with AAM Accreditation: Phoenix’s Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park has, for the second time, earned a rare distinction from the American Association of Museums. The Association recently renewed Pueblo Grande Museum’s Accreditation, an honor earned by less than 5 percent of the 17,500 museums in the United States.
http://phoenix.gov/news/122209pueblo.html
- Efforts to Save Comanche Language Begin at Texas Tech: This fall, a Texas Tech University professor of anthropology will begin the difficult task of collecting the remnants of the near-extinct Comanche language, then creating a way it can be taught in a university setting. Jeff Williams, chairman of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, will serve as an external evaluator for Numu Tekwapu, a project to document and revitalize the Comanche language. He will work with tribe members and researchers at Comanche Nation College in Lawton, Okla., to record what’s left of the language and create a method for teaching it to students at the college.
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/living/79894182.html
Showing posts with label BLM. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BLM. Show all posts
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
UNM Retirements Cause Concern, Important Early Agricultural Site in Tucson
Southwest Archaeology Making the News - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology
- Powerhouse Department Grapples with Impending Retirements: The UNM Department of Anthropology is expected to be in the top 20 anthropology programs in the nation, according to its chairman. "Anthropology is one of the strongest programs at UNM," chairman Michael Graves said in an e-mail to the Daily Lobo. "I am hopeful it will continue as such." However, the department's reputation could be in jeopardy, because four ethnology professors will retire in the next three years, Graves said.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/apfb - New Mexico Daily Lobo
- Early Agricultural Site in Tucson Rich with Evidence: In 2004, voters approved bonds to upgrade and expand the wastewater facility at Ina Road and Interstate 10. But before anything new can be built, the state and county require a dig for any archaeological ruins. Archaeologists from Desert Archaeology say they shouted when they found an ancient village which they estimate is 3,500 years old. Fred Nials says, "On a scale of 1 to 10 this is about a 9.9."
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9327157&nav=HMO6HMaY
- Sky Island Alliance Urges Support of Conservation-Based Management Plan: This November the Coronado is resuming public meetings to present draft sections of the revised Forest Management Plan. The new Plan will affect management of the Forest for the next twenty years or more. The Coronado Planning Partnership has released a report entitled “State of the Coronado National Forest: An Assessment and Recommendations for the 21st Century.” The Sky Island Alliance presents more information on meeting locations and dates as well as advocacy for the aforementioned report at the following links.
http://www.skyislandaction.org/schedule_nov08.html
http://www.skyislandaction.org/about.html
- Concerns Escalate over Threats to Parks, Potential Wilderness Areas: A high-level fight has erupted within the Interior Department between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service over plans to sell leases for oil and gas drilling near Arches, Canyonlands and Dinosaur National Monument. The Park Service wants to delay the Dec. 19 lease sales. The BLM has refused to do so.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10929954?source=rss
- Monsoon Cycles Tied to Rise and Fall of Dynasties: A stalagmite rising from the floor of a cave in China is providing clues to the end of several dynasties in Chinese history. Slowly built from the minerals in dripping water over 1,810 years, chemicals in the stone tell a tale of strong and weak cycles of the monsoon, the life-giving rains that water crops to feed millions of people.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081106/ap_on_sc/sci_monsoon_in_history_2
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/uom-uom110708.php
- Exhibition Opening, New Mexico State University Museum, “From Above: Images of a Storied Land.” On Saturday, November 15, the Center for Desert Archaeology and New Mexico State University Museum will host a special reception at the University Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4:00 p.m. with a presentation by the photographer, Adriel Heisey, followed by a panel discussion with archaeologists William Walker, Karl Laumbach, and Bill Doelle, and a subsequent gallery tour led by Heisey. More information is available at the following link.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/what/exhibits/from_above.php
- Exhibition, Western New Mexico University Museum, "Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes." Modern technology has made the United States Armed Forces efficient at keeping secrets. Sixty years ago, Navajo Code Talkers were just as capable. The Western New Mexico University Museum will feature the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II in the exhibition "Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes."
http://www.scsun-news.com/news/ci_10920887
- Exhibition, James A. Michener Art Museum, "Claus Mroczynski: Sacred Places of the Southwest." The Michener Museum recognizes the important legacy of this late, outstanding German-born New Hope photographer. The 46 featured black and white photos represent 18 years spent, starting in the mid-1980s, constantly traveling back and forth from New Hope to remote sacred grounds of ancient Indians in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. This show turns against the idea that everything exciting has to be new. Instead, this stunning exhibit is about memory.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/sug - The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Lecture Opportunity, "Prodigy, Rebel, or Stepchild? Salmon, Aztec, and the Middle San Juan Region in the Chacoan and Post-Chacoan Periods." In conjunction with the New Mexico Archaeological Council's 2008 Fall Conference, Paul F. Reed will give a public talk at 7:00 pm on Thursday, November 13. This free lecture will take place at Hibben Center 105, University of New Mexico main campus. A book signing for Paul's recent edited volume, Chaco's Northern Prodigies, will follow. For more information, follow the link below.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/articles.php?req=read&article_id=706
- Lecture Opportunity, "Santa Catalina Island: Perspectives on Pimu." Pacific Coast Archaeological Society's November 13th meeting will feature archaeologist Ivan Strudwick, who will review the natural and cultural history of the island once known to the Gabrielino as Pimu (Pemuu'nga).The talk will also present the results of a cultural resource survey of a 51-mile electrical distribution system on Santa Catalina Island. The meeting is free and open to the public, and it will take place at 7:30 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District, Irvine, CA. Additional information may be found at the following link.
http://www.pcas.org/
- Call for Participation, Museum Association of Arizona Annual Meeting, Bisbee: Museum archivists are invited to participate in a proposed affinity session at the MAA conference, May 13-16, 2009. The session will give archivists that work in museums a chance to network and forge relationships that will improve working conditions and customer service. For more information and to support the proposed session, contact Ryan S. Flahive at (928) 445-3122 x.15 or ryan@sharlot.org.
- Powerhouse Department Grapples with Impending Retirements: The UNM Department of Anthropology is expected to be in the top 20 anthropology programs in the nation, according to its chairman. "Anthropology is one of the strongest programs at UNM," chairman Michael Graves said in an e-mail to the Daily Lobo. "I am hopeful it will continue as such." However, the department's reputation could be in jeopardy, because four ethnology professors will retire in the next three years, Graves said.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/apfb - New Mexico Daily Lobo
- Early Agricultural Site in Tucson Rich with Evidence: In 2004, voters approved bonds to upgrade and expand the wastewater facility at Ina Road and Interstate 10. But before anything new can be built, the state and county require a dig for any archaeological ruins. Archaeologists from Desert Archaeology say they shouted when they found an ancient village which they estimate is 3,500 years old. Fred Nials says, "On a scale of 1 to 10 this is about a 9.9."
http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9327157&nav=HMO6HMaY
- Sky Island Alliance Urges Support of Conservation-Based Management Plan: This November the Coronado is resuming public meetings to present draft sections of the revised Forest Management Plan. The new Plan will affect management of the Forest for the next twenty years or more. The Coronado Planning Partnership has released a report entitled “State of the Coronado National Forest: An Assessment and Recommendations for the 21st Century.” The Sky Island Alliance presents more information on meeting locations and dates as well as advocacy for the aforementioned report at the following links.
http://www.skyislandaction.org/schedule_nov08.html
http://www.skyislandaction.org/about.html
- Concerns Escalate over Threats to Parks, Potential Wilderness Areas: A high-level fight has erupted within the Interior Department between the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service over plans to sell leases for oil and gas drilling near Arches, Canyonlands and Dinosaur National Monument. The Park Service wants to delay the Dec. 19 lease sales. The BLM has refused to do so.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_10929954?source=rss
- Monsoon Cycles Tied to Rise and Fall of Dynasties: A stalagmite rising from the floor of a cave in China is providing clues to the end of several dynasties in Chinese history. Slowly built from the minerals in dripping water over 1,810 years, chemicals in the stone tell a tale of strong and weak cycles of the monsoon, the life-giving rains that water crops to feed millions of people.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081106/ap_on_sc/sci_monsoon_in_history_2
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-11/uom-uom110708.php
- Exhibition Opening, New Mexico State University Museum, “From Above: Images of a Storied Land.” On Saturday, November 15, the Center for Desert Archaeology and New Mexico State University Museum will host a special reception at the University Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 4:00 p.m. with a presentation by the photographer, Adriel Heisey, followed by a panel discussion with archaeologists William Walker, Karl Laumbach, and Bill Doelle, and a subsequent gallery tour led by Heisey. More information is available at the following link.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/what/exhibits/from_above.php
- Exhibition, Western New Mexico University Museum, "Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes." Modern technology has made the United States Armed Forces efficient at keeping secrets. Sixty years ago, Navajo Code Talkers were just as capable. The Western New Mexico University Museum will feature the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II in the exhibition "Our Fathers, Our Grandfathers, Our Heroes."
http://www.scsun-news.com/news/ci_10920887
- Exhibition, James A. Michener Art Museum, "Claus Mroczynski: Sacred Places of the Southwest." The Michener Museum recognizes the important legacy of this late, outstanding German-born New Hope photographer. The 46 featured black and white photos represent 18 years spent, starting in the mid-1980s, constantly traveling back and forth from New Hope to remote sacred grounds of ancient Indians in Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. This show turns against the idea that everything exciting has to be new. Instead, this stunning exhibit is about memory.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/sug - The Philadelphia Inquirer
- Lecture Opportunity, "Prodigy, Rebel, or Stepchild? Salmon, Aztec, and the Middle San Juan Region in the Chacoan and Post-Chacoan Periods." In conjunction with the New Mexico Archaeological Council's 2008 Fall Conference, Paul F. Reed will give a public talk at 7:00 pm on Thursday, November 13. This free lecture will take place at Hibben Center 105, University of New Mexico main campus. A book signing for Paul's recent edited volume, Chaco's Northern Prodigies, will follow. For more information, follow the link below.
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/articles.php?req=read&article_id=706
- Lecture Opportunity, "Santa Catalina Island: Perspectives on Pimu." Pacific Coast Archaeological Society's November 13th meeting will feature archaeologist Ivan Strudwick, who will review the natural and cultural history of the island once known to the Gabrielino as Pimu (Pemuu'nga).The talk will also present the results of a cultural resource survey of a 51-mile electrical distribution system on Santa Catalina Island. The meeting is free and open to the public, and it will take place at 7:30 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District, Irvine, CA. Additional information may be found at the following link.
http://www.pcas.org/
- Call for Participation, Museum Association of Arizona Annual Meeting, Bisbee: Museum archivists are invited to participate in a proposed affinity session at the MAA conference, May 13-16, 2009. The session will give archivists that work in museums a chance to network and forge relationships that will improve working conditions and customer service. For more information and to support the proposed session, contact Ryan S. Flahive at (928) 445-3122 x.15 or ryan@sharlot.org.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Phosphenes and Rock Art , Vanishing Treasures, BLM Threatening Archaeology of Utah.
Southwestern Archaeology Making the News, a Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology
Editor's note: Some days we really have to struggle to find enough archaeology news to carry a newsletter. Today is not one of those days.
- A Linguist's Approach to the Study of Southwestern Rock Art: Dr. Malotki’s latest focus is on designs called phosphenes, which are as fundamental to art as time is to language. He said the same 15 abstract geometric constants appear globally in art created as early as 300,000 years ago. They are grids, zigzags and patterns of dots. They are the first objects drawn by children; we doodle them when we talk on the phone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/science/09rock.htm
- Vanishing Treasures Program Highlighted by N.Y. Times: Inside the dark, cliffside space last occupied by the people of Frijoles Canyon some 500 years ago is evidence of more recent human activity: graffiti proclaiming ''2008'' and ''I love you'' carved into a wall. ''Oh, man,'' art conservator Larry Humetewa muttered as he bent to inspect the damage in the ''cavate,'' a large, cave-like room. Vandalism is just one of many threats to the fragile archaeological sites that are the heart of national parks and monuments in the arid West. They're hammered by sun and rain, freezes and thaws, wind and the abrasive sand it carries. They're invaded by pests and human visitors who can't resist touching. In short, the ruins are in ruins.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Vanishing-Treasures.html
- Salt Lake Tribune Chastises BLM for Potential Damage to the Archaeological Record: The Bureau of Land Management under the Bush administration is trying to make a clean sweep of it before President Bush leaves office, issuing management plans for Utah public lands that favor all-terrain vehicles and energy development over wildlife, water, scenic beauty and archaeological treasures.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10413231
- Oil and Gas Drilling Destroying the Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon: Last summer, Constance Silver spent a week examining the world-renowned rock art in Utah's Nine Mile Canyon, a two-hour drive south of Salt Lake City. Tucked into the rugged Tavaputs Plateau, the place contains upwards of 10,000 images, painted and pecked onto sandstone walls. Many of them are visible from the curving, roughly graded road. But the respected art conservator wasn't there to admire the renderings of hunters, bighorn sheep and geometric patterns. Rather, she came to study dust. More specifically, to take air samples and observe the brownish-gray clouds kicked up by an armada of oil and gas trucks as they rumbled through the canyon. After wrapping up her fieldwork, Silver stopped by the local Bureau of Land Management office in nearby Price, which oversees Nine Mile Canyon, and sought out its lone archaeologist, Blaine Miller. She informed Miller that the dust was having an "alarming effect" on the rock art and "had to be taken care of immediately."
http://www.hcn.org/issues/40.16/dust-on-the-rocks
- Archaeological Perspectives on Modern Sustainability: Pueblo La Plata didn’t look like much — a low rise of rubble where dwellings once stood, housing perhaps up to 50 people. Archaeologists figured the first inhabitants arrived about AD 1200. Block the rubble pile from view, however, and the modest mesa top in Agua Fria National Monument, just north of Phoenix looked, well, natural. Until Arizona State University archaeologist Katherine Spielmann pointed to the stones around the base of the handful of agave plants that dotted the mesa top. The plants were scattered among grasses and other low-lying shrubs. She explained that the agaves, which looked “natural” to me, were planted by the inhabitants, who placed the volcanic stones around the plants’ bases to ward off frost damage.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/2a91 - Bright Green Blog @ Christian Science Monitor
- Call for Papers, 2009 Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology: Call for Participation by Archaeologists in CRM, Community, Tribal and Academic Settings. 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology Santa Fe, New Mexico Community Convention Center. March 17-21, 2009 In keeping with the Society’s interdisciplinary roots, the Program Committee invites the participation of a wide variety of professionals, students and community partners, working actively inside and outside of academia to understand, document and create sustainable community systems. Posters, papers and sessions are welcome. Deadlines for submission is October 15th.Registration materials and instructions are on the SfAA website.
http://www.cdarc/org/sat/s_app_anth-2009.doc
http://www.sfaa.net/
- Call for Participation, 2009 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month: The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) would like to announce their call for participation in the 2009 celebration of Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month (AAHAM), March 1-30, 2009. If you have an event that you would like to have publicized in the statewide Listing of Events brochure, please complete the form attached to the link below and return it to SHPO by November 1, 2008. We hope to have even more events and activities to promote this coming year than last year, so please consider helping to support public archaeology education in Arizona by sponsoring an event during AAHAM. We need your help! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ann Howard at ahoward@azstateparks.gov.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/aaham_09.doc
- Archaeo-Nevada Society Starts 2008-2009 Lecture Series: This month will start off with Jeanne Howerton who will speak on Tracks in the Desert the Great Race through Nevada. 100 years ago, four nations raced their premiere automobiles around the world, from New York to Paris a portion of the race passed through Nevada where the racers met some of there greatest challenges. Join us for this informative talk. As the oldest archaeology club in Nevada, we are made up of poeple interested in archaeology as well as professional and avocational archaeologists. Our meetings are on the Second Thursday of each month, September through May. Each meeting consists of a no host dinner at 5:00 pm at Denny's on 6300 W Charleston Blvd.Las Vegas,Nv. The regular meeting starts at 7pm across the street on the campus of The College of Southern Nevada in room D-213 of the student services building.
- Lecture in Tucson on Presidio Reconstruction: Sunday, Sept. 14, 3 p.m. The first talk in the Tucson Presidio Trust fall lecture series will present Gayle Hartmann, anthropologist and former president of the Tucson Presidio Trust for Historic Preservation, speaking on "Reconstruction of the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson" Location: Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, 133 W. Washington St. (corner of Church and Washington in downtown Tucson). Parking is free on nearby streets.
- Lecture Opportunity Tonight (Glendale): Archaeologist David Doyel presents the "Hohokam Escalante Community" near Florence at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of the Glendale Public Library, 5959 W. Brown St. The excavations at Escalante have focused on the Classic period (A.D. 1100-1450) ruins there. Doyel will discuss his research interests in settlement patterns, community organization, cultural ecology and ceramics. Free and open to the public. Information: 602-569-1526.
- Museum and Library Exhibits on Southwestern Archaeology Available in Deming New Mexico: Here's the chance for all those future Indiana Jones to get a look and feel for artifacts of New Mexico's history. The Marshall Memorial Library, along with the Deming-Luna-Mimbres Museum, is welcoming Chuck Hannaford — Education Director for the Office of Archaeological Studies at the Museum of New Mexico — for a two-day hands-on exhibit from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the local museum, 301 S. Silver St.
http://www.demingheadlight.com/news/ci_10384263
- Arizona State Museum Book Sale This Weekend: Friday and Saturday, Sept 12-13, 2008 Very Nearly Annual Discount Benefit Booksale, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free admission Save 40-70% on remainders and first-quality NEW books: visual arts, humanities, poetry, ethnology, Southwest studies, world archaeology, anthropology, cooking, lifestyle, architecture, and childrens books. ASM members admitted one hour early on Friday for best selection!
- Native Groups Oppose Trails through Sacred Sites in California: The East Bay Regional Park District and the Livermore Area Recreation and Parks District have considered a trail that would run across the top of Brushy Peak, a landmark and a sacred site to local Native people. Brushy Peak is a 1,702-foot landmark which links the San Francisco Bay Area, the California Delta, and the Central Valley. This area was home to the Ohlones, Miwoks and Northern Valley Yokuts, who traded, socialized and held sacred ceremonies in the area.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096418082
Thanks to Brian Kenny and Adrianne Rankin for contributions to today's newsletter.
Editor's note: Some days we really have to struggle to find enough archaeology news to carry a newsletter. Today is not one of those days.
- A Linguist's Approach to the Study of Southwestern Rock Art: Dr. Malotki’s latest focus is on designs called phosphenes, which are as fundamental to art as time is to language. He said the same 15 abstract geometric constants appear globally in art created as early as 300,000 years ago. They are grids, zigzags and patterns of dots. They are the first objects drawn by children; we doodle them when we talk on the phone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/science/09rock.htm
- Vanishing Treasures Program Highlighted by N.Y. Times: Inside the dark, cliffside space last occupied by the people of Frijoles Canyon some 500 years ago is evidence of more recent human activity: graffiti proclaiming ''2008'' and ''I love you'' carved into a wall. ''Oh, man,'' art conservator Larry Humetewa muttered as he bent to inspect the damage in the ''cavate,'' a large, cave-like room. Vandalism is just one of many threats to the fragile archaeological sites that are the heart of national parks and monuments in the arid West. They're hammered by sun and rain, freezes and thaws, wind and the abrasive sand it carries. They're invaded by pests and human visitors who can't resist touching. In short, the ruins are in ruins.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Vanishing-Treasures.html
- Salt Lake Tribune Chastises BLM for Potential Damage to the Archaeological Record: The Bureau of Land Management under the Bush administration is trying to make a clean sweep of it before President Bush leaves office, issuing management plans for Utah public lands that favor all-terrain vehicles and energy development over wildlife, water, scenic beauty and archaeological treasures.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10413231
- Oil and Gas Drilling Destroying the Rock Art of Nine Mile Canyon: Last summer, Constance Silver spent a week examining the world-renowned rock art in Utah's Nine Mile Canyon, a two-hour drive south of Salt Lake City. Tucked into the rugged Tavaputs Plateau, the place contains upwards of 10,000 images, painted and pecked onto sandstone walls. Many of them are visible from the curving, roughly graded road. But the respected art conservator wasn't there to admire the renderings of hunters, bighorn sheep and geometric patterns. Rather, she came to study dust. More specifically, to take air samples and observe the brownish-gray clouds kicked up by an armada of oil and gas trucks as they rumbled through the canyon. After wrapping up her fieldwork, Silver stopped by the local Bureau of Land Management office in nearby Price, which oversees Nine Mile Canyon, and sought out its lone archaeologist, Blaine Miller. She informed Miller that the dust was having an "alarming effect" on the rock art and "had to be taken care of immediately."
http://www.hcn.org/issues/40.16/dust-on-the-rocks
- Archaeological Perspectives on Modern Sustainability: Pueblo La Plata didn’t look like much — a low rise of rubble where dwellings once stood, housing perhaps up to 50 people. Archaeologists figured the first inhabitants arrived about AD 1200. Block the rubble pile from view, however, and the modest mesa top in Agua Fria National Monument, just north of Phoenix looked, well, natural. Until Arizona State University archaeologist Katherine Spielmann pointed to the stones around the base of the handful of agave plants that dotted the mesa top. The plants were scattered among grasses and other low-lying shrubs. She explained that the agaves, which looked “natural” to me, were planted by the inhabitants, who placed the volcanic stones around the plants’ bases to ward off frost damage.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/2a91 - Bright Green Blog @ Christian Science Monitor
- Call for Papers, 2009 Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology: Call for Participation by Archaeologists in CRM, Community, Tribal and Academic Settings. 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology Santa Fe, New Mexico Community Convention Center. March 17-21, 2009 In keeping with the Society’s interdisciplinary roots, the Program Committee invites the participation of a wide variety of professionals, students and community partners, working actively inside and outside of academia to understand, document and create sustainable community systems. Posters, papers and sessions are welcome. Deadlines for submission is October 15th.Registration materials and instructions are on the SfAA website.
http://www.cdarc/org/sat/s_app_anth-2009.doc
http://www.sfaa.net/
- Call for Participation, 2009 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month: The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) would like to announce their call for participation in the 2009 celebration of Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month (AAHAM), March 1-30, 2009. If you have an event that you would like to have publicized in the statewide Listing of Events brochure, please complete the form attached to the link below and return it to SHPO by November 1, 2008. We hope to have even more events and activities to promote this coming year than last year, so please consider helping to support public archaeology education in Arizona by sponsoring an event during AAHAM. We need your help! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Ann Howard at ahoward@azstateparks.gov.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/aaham_09.doc
- Archaeo-Nevada Society Starts 2008-2009 Lecture Series: This month will start off with Jeanne Howerton who will speak on Tracks in the Desert the Great Race through Nevada. 100 years ago, four nations raced their premiere automobiles around the world, from New York to Paris a portion of the race passed through Nevada where the racers met some of there greatest challenges. Join us for this informative talk. As the oldest archaeology club in Nevada, we are made up of poeple interested in archaeology as well as professional and avocational archaeologists. Our meetings are on the Second Thursday of each month, September through May. Each meeting consists of a no host dinner at 5:00 pm at Denny's on 6300 W Charleston Blvd.Las Vegas,Nv. The regular meeting starts at 7pm across the street on the campus of The College of Southern Nevada in room D-213 of the student services building.
- Lecture in Tucson on Presidio Reconstruction: Sunday, Sept. 14, 3 p.m. The first talk in the Tucson Presidio Trust fall lecture series will present Gayle Hartmann, anthropologist and former president of the Tucson Presidio Trust for Historic Preservation, speaking on "Reconstruction of the Presidio San Agustin del Tucson" Location: Presidio San Agustin del Tucson, 133 W. Washington St. (corner of Church and Washington in downtown Tucson). Parking is free on nearby streets.
- Lecture Opportunity Tonight (Glendale): Archaeologist David Doyel presents the "Hohokam Escalante Community" near Florence at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the auditorium of the Glendale Public Library, 5959 W. Brown St. The excavations at Escalante have focused on the Classic period (A.D. 1100-1450) ruins there. Doyel will discuss his research interests in settlement patterns, community organization, cultural ecology and ceramics. Free and open to the public. Information: 602-569-1526.
- Museum and Library Exhibits on Southwestern Archaeology Available in Deming New Mexico: Here's the chance for all those future Indiana Jones to get a look and feel for artifacts of New Mexico's history. The Marshall Memorial Library, along with the Deming-Luna-Mimbres Museum, is welcoming Chuck Hannaford — Education Director for the Office of Archaeological Studies at the Museum of New Mexico — for a two-day hands-on exhibit from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. today and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the local museum, 301 S. Silver St.
http://www.demingheadlight.com/news/ci_10384263
- Arizona State Museum Book Sale This Weekend: Friday and Saturday, Sept 12-13, 2008 Very Nearly Annual Discount Benefit Booksale, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Free admission Save 40-70% on remainders and first-quality NEW books: visual arts, humanities, poetry, ethnology, Southwest studies, world archaeology, anthropology, cooking, lifestyle, architecture, and childrens books. ASM members admitted one hour early on Friday for best selection!
- Native Groups Oppose Trails through Sacred Sites in California: The East Bay Regional Park District and the Livermore Area Recreation and Parks District have considered a trail that would run across the top of Brushy Peak, a landmark and a sacred site to local Native people. Brushy Peak is a 1,702-foot landmark which links the San Francisco Bay Area, the California Delta, and the Central Valley. This area was home to the Ohlones, Miwoks and Northern Valley Yokuts, who traded, socialized and held sacred ceremonies in the area.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096418082
Thanks to Brian Kenny and Adrianne Rankin for contributions to today's newsletter.
Friday, May 9, 2008
New Mexico BLM Sabotages Preservation Law, Pottery Project at Arizona State Museum
Southwestern Archaeology Making the News - A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology
- New Mexico BLM Turns Preservation Law Inside Out; Gives Oil and Gas Developers Options to Fund Excavations on Known Sites Rather than Archaeological Survey to Assess Potential Impacts: Under the new agreement, oil and gas developers who participate in the voluntary program will not have to pay for a survey but they will be required to pay a special fee that will go toward excavation and other research. The BLM expects to raise about $1 million a year. Much of the area has been surveyed over the years. In fact, nearly 12,000 surveys have been done and officials are confident that more than 70 percent of the cultural sites in the area have been recorded. Fosberg said the agency has been very good at documenting these sites and avoiding them during oil and gas development. However, not much is known about the sites themselves, making it difficult for the agency to manage them accordingly.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_9173089
- Related Post: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/8/124227/4348/788/511782
- The Pottery Project Debuts this Saturday at the Arizona State Museum: On May 10, 2008 Arizona State Museum is opening its newest exhibition, The Pottery Project. At some 20,000 whole vessels, ASM’s collection of Southwest Indian pottery is the world’s largest and most comprehensively documented. Museum patrons will be able to explore a prototype of the Virtual Vault, a digital artifact browser under development by the Center for Desert Archaeology. Arizona State Museum’s public celebration for The Pottery Project is Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 1–4 p.m. In addition to guided tours through the exhibit and conservation laboratory, there will be hands-on pottery-making activities and demonstrations by Native potters. Free and open to the public. Free garage parking at Euclid/Second and Tyndall/Fourth.
http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/exhibits/ppia/index.shtml
- Debate on North American Pleistocene Comet Impact Continues: Stuart Fiedel from the Louis Berger Group, a private archaeological firm in Richmond, Virginia, argued that the theory fails to address some major questions—like how comet blasts could have wiped out woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats in North America, while leaving humans unscathed. "If this [impact] was powerful enough to fricassee mammoths and mastodons and short-faced bears and other big fauna that were on the landscape, you would think that it would have decimated the human population as well—not only by direct thermal shock but by wiping out much of their food source," said Fiedel, who presented his criticisms of the theory to a packed crowd.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080506-comet-extinct.html
- Dating on Organic Remains Confirms Pre-Clovis Occupations in North and South America: Remains of meals that included seaweed are helping confirm the date of a settlement in southern Chile that may offer the earliest evidence of humans in the Americas. Researchers date the seaweed found at Monte Verde to more than 14,000 years ago, 1,000 years earlier than the well-studied Clovis culture.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/08/seaweed-monte-verde.html
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Starts Public Planning Process: The National Park Service is undertaking a planning effort for the future of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The monument does not currently have a general management plan and a planning team has been formed to develop one with the input of other agencies, organizations, and the public. The planning effort is in the start-up or “scoping” phase of the project. The goal of this phase is to initiate public outreach as well as gather information on the resources and the socioeconomic environment of the monument. A public meeting will be held at the Silco Theater, 311 Bullard Street in Silver City, New Mexico, on Monday, June 2, at 7:00 pm. National Park Service representatives will explain the planning process and record the comments and ideas presented by participants.
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/gicl
- Peabody Coal, Black Mesa and Vanishing Navaho Heritage: Big Mountain, an area near Black Mesa, Ariz., used to be a place of peace and tradition, but now the land is being destroyed by the Peabody Coal Company, said Allen Cooper, a former member of the Big Mountain Support Committee. Cooper said the Navajo land has no electricity or water, and the people there provide for themselves. The land also happens to be extremely rich in strippable coal. Bahe Katenay, spokeswoman for the tribe, said people of Big Mountain have lost part of their simple traditions and culture. The way of life on the mountain has changed because the effect of having a coal-mining operation near the land has left a large portion industrialized.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/dmlm- New Mexico Daily Lobo
- New Mexico BLM Turns Preservation Law Inside Out; Gives Oil and Gas Developers Options to Fund Excavations on Known Sites Rather than Archaeological Survey to Assess Potential Impacts: Under the new agreement, oil and gas developers who participate in the voluntary program will not have to pay for a survey but they will be required to pay a special fee that will go toward excavation and other research. The BLM expects to raise about $1 million a year. Much of the area has been surveyed over the years. In fact, nearly 12,000 surveys have been done and officials are confident that more than 70 percent of the cultural sites in the area have been recorded. Fosberg said the agency has been very good at documenting these sites and avoiding them during oil and gas development. However, not much is known about the sites themselves, making it difficult for the agency to manage them accordingly.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/ci_9173089
- Related Post: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/8/124227/4348/788/511782
- The Pottery Project Debuts this Saturday at the Arizona State Museum: On May 10, 2008 Arizona State Museum is opening its newest exhibition, The Pottery Project. At some 20,000 whole vessels, ASM’s collection of Southwest Indian pottery is the world’s largest and most comprehensively documented. Museum patrons will be able to explore a prototype of the Virtual Vault, a digital artifact browser under development by the Center for Desert Archaeology. Arizona State Museum’s public celebration for The Pottery Project is Saturday, May 10, 2008 from 1–4 p.m. In addition to guided tours through the exhibit and conservation laboratory, there will be hands-on pottery-making activities and demonstrations by Native potters. Free and open to the public. Free garage parking at Euclid/Second and Tyndall/Fourth.
http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/exhibits/ppia/index.shtml
- Debate on North American Pleistocene Comet Impact Continues: Stuart Fiedel from the Louis Berger Group, a private archaeological firm in Richmond, Virginia, argued that the theory fails to address some major questions—like how comet blasts could have wiped out woolly mammoths and saber-toothed cats in North America, while leaving humans unscathed. "If this [impact] was powerful enough to fricassee mammoths and mastodons and short-faced bears and other big fauna that were on the landscape, you would think that it would have decimated the human population as well—not only by direct thermal shock but by wiping out much of their food source," said Fiedel, who presented his criticisms of the theory to a packed crowd.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080506-comet-extinct.html
- Dating on Organic Remains Confirms Pre-Clovis Occupations in North and South America: Remains of meals that included seaweed are helping confirm the date of a settlement in southern Chile that may offer the earliest evidence of humans in the Americas. Researchers date the seaweed found at Monte Verde to more than 14,000 years ago, 1,000 years earlier than the well-studied Clovis culture.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/05/08/seaweed-monte-verde.html
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Starts Public Planning Process: The National Park Service is undertaking a planning effort for the future of Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The monument does not currently have a general management plan and a planning team has been formed to develop one with the input of other agencies, organizations, and the public. The planning effort is in the start-up or “scoping” phase of the project. The goal of this phase is to initiate public outreach as well as gather information on the resources and the socioeconomic environment of the monument. A public meeting will be held at the Silco Theater, 311 Bullard Street in Silver City, New Mexico, on Monday, June 2, at 7:00 pm. National Park Service representatives will explain the planning process and record the comments and ideas presented by participants.
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/gicl
- Peabody Coal, Black Mesa and Vanishing Navaho Heritage: Big Mountain, an area near Black Mesa, Ariz., used to be a place of peace and tradition, but now the land is being destroyed by the Peabody Coal Company, said Allen Cooper, a former member of the Big Mountain Support Committee. Cooper said the Navajo land has no electricity or water, and the people there provide for themselves. The land also happens to be extremely rich in strippable coal. Bahe Katenay, spokeswoman for the tribe, said people of Big Mountain have lost part of their simple traditions and culture. The way of life on the mountain has changed because the effect of having a coal-mining operation near the land has left a large portion industrialized.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/dmlm- New Mexico Daily Lobo
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