Southwest Archaeology Today for Sept 7, 2010

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

The Archaeological Institute that Helped Define Santa Fe
Adolph Bandelier was broke. Although he had received a $1,200 grant to explore the indigenous peoples and wondrous ruins of New Mexico, that money went quickly to travel and supplies. Exasperated, curious and probably a little bitter, Bandelier investigated the disbursements of funds dedicated to archaeology by American institutions. The vast majority of gifts and funds, he found, went to classics, the study of ancient civilizations in Europe. Very little money and very little attention went to scholarship of American antiquities. The United States needed a center for its own archaeology.
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/400-9SARS

Archaeology Cafe Tonight in Tucson
The next Archaeology Cafe will convene on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. We will be joined by a panel of archaeologists from William Self Associates, Inc., who will discuss their work at the Marsh Station Road (MSR) site. This 20-acre site is located near the confluence of Cienega Creek and Mescal Wash, southeast of Tucson. MSR was inhabited at several points in time between 1050 B.C. and A.D. 1400. The panel – which will be led by project director Michael Boley – will share what they have learned about life and subsistence at MSR, especially during the Early Agricultural and Hohokam Sedentary (Middle Rincon) periods. Their findings have implications for use of the “hinterlands” concept in Hohokam archaeology in the region.
http://tinyurl.com/343syqd – Center for Desert Archaeology

Tribes Seek Faster Repatriation of their Ancestors’ Remains
Amid the broken treaties, confiscated lands and other injustices that Native Americans have endured at the hands of white people, few are as personal as the removal of their buried ancestors. For a culture that assigns special meaning to burial rites, it’s been painful, Native Americans say, knowing that the remains of tens of thousands of their ancestors have been unearthed, carted off and kept in various federal agencies, museums and other institutions – and not being able to do much about it.
http://www.argusleader.com/article/20100830/NEWS/8300314/1001/news

Impact Hypothesis Loses Its Sparkle: Shock-Synthesized Diamonds Not Found
About 12,900 years ago, a sudden cold snap interrupted the gradual warming that had followed the last Ice Age. The cold lasted for the 1,300-year interval known as the Younger Dryas (YD) before the climate began to warm again. In the August 30 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of scientists led by Tyrone Daulton, PhD, a research scientist in the physics department at Washington University in St. Louis, reported that they could find no diamonds in YD boundary layer material.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100830152530.htm

Lima Beans Domesticated Twice
Lima beans were domesticated at least twice, according to a new genetic diversity study by Colombian scientists. Big seeded varieties known as “Big Lima” were domesticated in the Andean Mountains, while small seeded “Sieva” and “Potato” varieties originated in central-western Mexico.The researchers also discovered a “founder effect,” which is a severe reduction in genetic diversity due to domestication. This means that today’s Lima bean varieties contain only a small fraction of the genetic diversity present in their respective wild ancestors.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100831222310.htm

Sacred Site gets Respite
A site in rural San Diego County deemed culturally and environmentally sensitive by Indians was given a respite Aug. 5 from being turned into a landfill. The Pala Band of Mission Indians, whose community sits two miles away from the site, and an environmental group, objected to the application to operate the proposed 1,770-acre landfill filed from Gregory Canyon Landfill Ltd of San Diego, the tribe said in a press release. A San Diego County public agency rescinded its previous green light on the application after the tribe and the Natural Resources Defense Council pointed out the lack of financial responsibility and other inaccuracies in the application, the tribe said in the press release.
http://tinyurl.com/38fwj5s – Indian Country Today

Supaulovi Village and the City of Winslow Host Suvoyuki Day Celebrations
Sipaulovi Village hosts Suvoyuki Day on Sunday, September 12, 2010 at Hopi Second Mesa in northeastern Arizona. The day begins at 5:00 a.m. MST with registration for the 5-mile traditional foot race and 2-mile fun run and walk. From 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MST, enjoy the Food and Artists Market, walking tours, and lectures. All events originate at the Sipaulovi Visitor Center on Second Mesa and are open to the public. Follow signs from the Highway 264/87 junction to the village.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/suvoyuki.doc– MS Word Document

2011 – Arizona Archaeology And Heritage Awareness Month Poster Design Competition
The Arizona State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) is pleased to announce a call for original designs to be used on the 2011 Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month (AAHAM) poster. The winning poster design will receive $250.00! In addition to being featured on the AAHAM poster, the chosen design will also be utilized on other 2011 AAHAM publicity tools, e.g., the statewide Listing of Events brochure, bookmarks, websites, and other venues/materials to be determined by the SHPO. The poster design should address the theme for the month: “Arizona Through Time: Stories of Stone”
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/poster_competition.doc – MS Word Document

Coffee with the Curators at ASM
Join us Wednesday, September 8, 2010 at 3 Pm in the Arizona State Museum Library for a cup of coffee and an informal conversation with one of our curators! Dr. Dale Brenneman, assistant curator of documentary history, talks about the challenges and the fun of working with Spanish colonial documents to research the history of Native peoples. Enjoy freshly brewed coffee donated by Tucson Mountain Coffee Roasters and a delicious assortment of cookies donated by Paradise Bakery and Cafe. Future conversations on Oct 6, Nov 3, and Dec 1.

Publication Announcement – Leaving Mesa Verde – Peril and Change in the Thirteenth-Century Southwest
Crow Canyon is pleased to announce the publication of Leaving Mesa Verde: Peril and Change in the Thirteenth-Century Southwest. The 14-chapter volume, published by the University of Arizona Press, is edited by Dr. Timothy Kohler, regents professor at Washington State University (WSU) and a Crow Canyon research associate; Dr. Mark Varien, Crow Canyon vice president of programs; and Aaron Wright, a Ph.D. student at WSU and a preservation fellow at the Center for Desert Archaeology. As the title suggests, the book examines the depopulation of the northern Southwest, with a focus on the Mesa Verde region.
http://www.imakenews.com/crowcanyon1/e_article001851348.cfm?x=b11,0,w

Hiking Opportunity – 1230 to 1930. How Much has Changed
Grants, New Mexico – Saturday, September 11 – Hike from the stunning Lobo Canyon petroglyphs into the heart of BLM El Malpais NCA wilderness. End at a homestead built on a “Mogasazi” site in Mexican Spotted Owl habitat. Look for evidence that technology in the 1230s was more helpful than in the 1930s.
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/1230_to_1920.doc

Lecture Opportunity (Irvine CA)
The Pacific Coast Archaeological Society’s September 9th meeting will feature Dr. John Collins speaking on “An Introduction to Southwest and Southern California Indian Baskets.” Meeting information: Thursday, September 9, 2010, 7:30 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine, CA. Meeting is free and open to the public. For information follow the link below.
http://www.pcas.org

Travelogue – Navajo National Monument
The visitor center at Navajo National Monument traces the history and culture of both the ancient cliff dwellers and the Navajo Nation through displays of centuries-old pottery; sandals, cord, cloth and baskets woven from fibers of native plants; flaked stone tools; wooden utensils; shell, bone and turquoise beads and ornaments; and demonstrations by contemporary Navajo artisans of such traditional crafts as rug-weaving.
http://tinyurl.com/3azpeeq – The Chieftan.Com

Travelogue – Mesa Verde
There’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://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38937842/ns/travel-family_travel/

Thanks to Adrianne Rankin for Contributions to Today’s Newsletter.