Rio Nuevo News, Significant Findings from Icelandic DNA, Stowe Memorial

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

- Latest Design Concepts for Rio Nuevo, Part II: Economics, City Council reluctance and a public uproar about the cost of the University of Arizona's initial proposal for its Science Center at Rio Nuevo caused the consolidation of the center and the Arizona State Museum building at the site. Architect Rafael Viñoly's $350 million Rainbow Bridge design, which would have spanned the Santa Cruz River and Interstate 10, will now use construction techniques that are "a lot like a precast-concrete parking garage," according to Viñoly's nephew and project director, Rafael Viñoly-Menendez. Bob Smith, UA vice president for Facilities Design and Construction, said the scaled-down design recognizes that "what's most important is what's inside these buildings."

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/metro/276406.php

- Mammoth Remains Begin Journey to Rio Nuevo: The opening of the Arizona State Museum at Rio Nuevo is three years away, optimistically, but its oldest artifact has already been moved. A cache of mammoth bones, containing the spear points of the migrant Clovis-era hunters who slew the beast 13,000 years ago, made its way last Friday from the museum's venerable building on the south side of the UA Mall to its conservation laboratory on the north side of the mall. The display was wrapped, loaded on a cart and pushed very carefully up ramps, down Park Avenue and over elevator thresholds, said conservator Nancy Odegaard.

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/metro/276403.php

- Higher Rates of Genetic Drift Found in Icelandic Populations: Archaeological and historical records suggest individuals from the British Isles and Scandinavia settled Iceland about 1,100 years ago. Based on studies of today's Icelanders, researchers have suggested that less than 40 percent of Icelandic mtDNA — representing matrilinear ancestry — originated in Scandinavia, while as much as 75 to 80 percent of their paternal ancestry, gauged by Y-chromosome DNA, is Scandinavian. That is consistent with the notion that Scandinavian men, namely Vikings, frequently settled the area with women from other regions.

http://www.cdarc.org/page/galh - Genome Web Daily News

- Sustainability and the Hohokam: The Earth is warming. The economy is reeling. The housing market has collapsed, and the future is unclear. We drink coffee from a paper cup, talk about the environment, the need for sustainability. A mound of dirt and rock near Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport can tell us much about sustaining life in the desert. That mound now is part of a museum, but archaeologist Todd Bostwick believes it was built as a temple of sorts by the Hohokam, who lived in the Sonoran Desert for 1,000 years.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/01/15/20090115hohokam0116.html

- Memorial Tribute to Noel Stowe Set for January 31: Dear colleagues and friends, we invite you to attend a memorial tribute and celebration of the life of Noel Stowe, who died December 13 of last year. The tribute will take place on Saturday, January 31, in the Carson Ballroom of Old Main from 2-4 pm. We look forward to seeing you. For more information and to RSVP, contact Norma Villa, 480-965-5779, norma.villa@asu.edu.

- Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Urges Obama Administration to Properly Consult on Eagle Matters: Federal laws require the United States government to consult with Indian tribes on eagle matters, but the SRPMIC said these laws have been disregarded. According to the SRPMIC, the Fish and Wildlife Service has continually failed to respond to requests for individual meetings with tribal officials; scheduled meetings with tribes only days before expiration of comment deadlines; refused tribal requests to extend comment deadlines; declined to act on comments submitted by tribes; and failed to adequately recognize the importance of the eagle species to tribal culture, religious, historic, and environmental interests.

http://www.cdarc.org/page/2z5j - NativeTimes.com

- Utah Museum of Natural History Prepares for New, State-of-the-Art Facility: Moving a museum is not something you do every day. Nor it is something that can be done in a day — or even in weeks and months. And that's why the staff and volunteers at the Utah Museum of Natural History — now, when the new museum is barely more than a big hole in the ground; now, while completion is as least a couple of years away — are already starting to focus on their Big Move.

http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705278106,00.html?pg=1

- Position Announcement (closing date 01/21/2009), Cultural Resources Program Manager, Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs: Reporting to the Natural & Cultural Resources Manager and under general direction, the Cultural Resources Program Manager performs professional, administrative, and field work assignments required for managing a major cultural resources management program. Coordinates with the Facilities Management Office on all future construction related projects on all Arizona Army National Guard managed military training lands and installations. Serves as the project manager on cultural resources projects conducted by outside contractors, including Environmental Assessments, Section 106 consultation, tribal consultation, integrated cultural resource management plans, and historic buildings. Provides major input for rules / regulations and policy / procedure development/modification in cultural resources on all Arizona Army National Guard managed training lands. Ensures compliance with Federal, State, and Army regulations. More information is available at the following link.

http://www.cdarc.org/page/87e3 - azstatejobs.gov

- Workshop Opportunity, Flintknapping and Arrowhead-making: On Saturday, January 24, flintknapper Allen Denoyer will teach a hands-on workshop on making arrowheads and spearpoints out of stone. The class is designed to help modern people understand how prehistoric Native Americans made and used artifacts, and is not intended to train students how to make artwork for sale. The workshop will take place at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 2201 W. 44th Street, Tucson, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There is a fee, and places are limited. For more information and to make required reservations, contact Old Pueblo at 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Thanks to Brian Kenny for his contribution to today's newsletter.

Archaeological Controversy Continues in Waco, Spanish Trail Reception at Anasazi Heritage Center

Archaeological Controversy Continues in Waco, Spanish Trail Reception at Anasazi Heritage Center

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

- Waco Texas Ranger Archaeology Controversy Continues: The Waco City Council today will be asked to bite the bullet once again for the Texas Ranger Museum annex project and spend another half-million dollars for its archaeology and construction budget.. That brings the city’s total tab to about $1.9 million for dealing with the unmarked graves that stand in the way of utility lines needed for the new Texas Ranger Company F headquarters and education center behind the museum. That’s in addition to the $2.1 million the state of Texas had agreed to pay for the new building.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/32i1 - Waco Tribune

- Old Spanish Trail Exhibit Reception & Program At Anasazi Heritage Center: Dolores – The public is invited to the Bureau of Land Management Anasazi Heritage Center for a special reception on Sunday, December 14, 2008 from 1pm to 3pm. The reception celebrates the new special exhibit “The Old Spanish Trail: A Conduit for Change” which was jointly produced by the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango and by the Museum of New Mexico’s Palace of the Governors. This exhibit traces the trail's history through Spanish colonial artifacts, textiles, maps, and illustrations. Special guest Jeanne Brako from the Fort Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies, will conduct a tour through the exhibit beginning at 2pm. The Bureau of Land Management Anasazi Heritage Center is 3 miles west of Dolores on State Highway 184. The museum is free during the winter. Hours are 10 to 4 daily (November through February). The Center will be closed Christmas Day and New Years Day. For more information, call the Center at (970)882-5600.
http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/ahc/exhibits_and_events.html

- Construction on Tucson Rio Nuevo Musuem Complex to Begin in 2009: There's been a lot of talk for many years, plenty of false starts, endless chapters of public discord. No construction cranes currently fill downtown, but two major Rio Nuevo projects have quietly reached milestones, with real start dates on the horizon. Construction is set to start in the summer on the $130 million University of Arizona Science Center/Arizona State Museum just west of Interstate 10. Formal design work will start next week on the hotel for the Tucson Convention Center following a Monday open house where public input will be sought for the hotel's look.
http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/ss/local/104991.php

- Public Historian Noel Stowe Passes Away: Dr. Noel J. Stowe died on December 13, 2008 Professor Stowe came to Arizona State University in 1967, after receiving his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and teaching briefly at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. In 1978, he became the History Department's director of graduate study. In his eight years in that position he expanded the master's and doctoral degree programs and founded the Public History Program, which under his direction achieved national and international recognition. He directed more than fifty graduate theses and dissertations. His students have gone on to direct public history programs at other universities, and to work in museums, historical societies, and archives across the country.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/noel_stowe.doc - Ms Word Document

- Nevada Historian and Preservationist Frank Wright Honored with Courtyard Dedication: A courtyard at the restored Fifth Street School in downtown Las Vegas has been named in honor of Frank Wright, the late historian known for his infectious enthusiasm for local history and historic preservation. "Frank really loved this building," said his wife, Dorothy, at a ceremony Thursday night. "He spent a long time working with the state historic preservation office to get it on the national register. He was so pleased, as we all were, when it was listed."
http://www.lvrj.com/news/36099529.html

- Archaeology Magazine Lists the Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of 2008: Archaeology magazine's top 10 finds of 2008 include Maya paint and ancient poop. And there are bonus finds as well, including a monumental discovery that the discoverers have been trying to keep under wraps. Most of these revelations haven't gotten the kind of hype that we saw this year for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/12/1713325.aspx