Mount Taylor Stripped of Traditional Cultural Property Designation

Mount Taylor Stripped of Traditional Cultural Property Designation
It was about respect, said the Acoma, Hopi, Laguna, Navajo and Zuni tribes in mid-2008 pitching the designation of Mount Taylor as a traditional cultural property. A year later the TCP designation was a done deal, except that some other guys felt they were given insufficient respect. So they sued the New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee and Acoma Pueblo. The petitioners included individuals, uranium mining companies and the Cebolleta Land Grant. http://capitolreportnm.blogspot.com/2011/02/mt-taylor-tcp-designation-thrown-out.html

Richard Wilshusen Named New Colorado State Archaeologist
CU grad Dr. Richard Wilshusen has been chosen to be the new State Archaeologist for Colorado. Dr. Wilshuse’s 25-year career encompasses a diverse set of skills as an administrator, educator and researcher in anthropology and archaeology. He is considered a specialist on the southwest with a national reputation as an expert in the Mesa Verde and Dinétah regions, early village emergence, and public archaeology issues.

William Lipe Honored for Continuing Contributions to Scholarship and Southwestern Archaeology
Dr. Lipe, professor emeritus of anthropology, has earned the 2011 WSU Emeritus Society Legacy of Excellence Award, to be presented at WSU’s annual Showcase celebration on March 25. The award is given for outstanding contributions while in retirement to academia, the university, the community and mankind. He was nominated “based on a career of service to and teaching of archaeology; on outstanding achievements in research into prehistoric Southwestern societies; and on continuing contributions after retirement to academia, the university and the community.” http://wsutoday.wsu.edu/pages/publications.asp?Action=Detail&PublicationID=24203&TypeID=1

New Effort to Designate Chimney Rock as a National Monument
A mere 30 minutes east of Durango is an archeological wonder – Chimney Rock. The 4,700-acre site is inside the San Juan National Forest and is recognized as perhaps the most significant historical site managed by the entire U.S. Forest Service, according to the federal agency. Whether Chimney Rock will gain permanent and lasting protection remains an unknown. http://www.durangotelegraph.com/telegraph.php?inc=/11-02-10/coverstory.htm

New Photography Exhibit at the Maxwell Museum Explores Archaeological Field Schools in Chaco Canyon
The rich history found in the ruins at Chaco Culture National Historical Park is not the only legacy worth celebrating.  A new photography exhibit opening this week showcases the archaeological expeditions that uncovered the national monument. “Chaco Uncovered: The Field Schools 1929 to Present” opens Wednesday at the Maxwell Museum’s Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the University of New Mexico. http://www.daily-times.com/farmington-news/ci_17316028?source=rss

Could Southeastern Utah Petroglyphs Represent Mammoths in the Ancient Southwest?
While researchers in northern Colorado dig up the bones of giant Ice Age mammoths, others nearby in southeastern Utah are looking at a very different record of these extinct creatures.  High on a cliff overlooking the floodplain of the San Juan River, rock art specialists Ekkehart Malotki and Henry Wallace have examined several highly stylized images carved into the rock face including what they believe to be the first example of prehistoric Native American rock art to show a mammoth. While such images are common in the caves of Europe, they are surprisingly unknown in the New World. http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/news/chiefeditor/2011/02/wildest-mammoth-in-the-west-fo.html

The March 1st Archaeology Cafe will Feature Steven Shackley’s Research on Obsidian (Tucson)
On Tuesday, March 1, 2011, we will be joined by Dr. M. Steven Shackley (University of California at Berkeley) for an expert look at how the science of obsidian sourcing has both challenged and facilitated interpretation of exchange and interaction in southwestern archaeology. Dr. Shackley directs the Berkeley Archaeological X-Ray Fluorescence Laboratory.  Come settle in with a drink and a plate of delicious tapas at downtown Tucson’s own Casa Vicente. The presentation will begin around 6:00 p.m, and seating is open on a first-come, first-served basis—be ready to make new acquaintances! https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/2010/08/29/what-obsidian-studies-hath-wrought/

Center of Southwest Studies Provides a Peak Inside the “Vault”
The Center of Southwest Studies is like an iceberg – whatever is on display at any given moment is just a small fraction of the items the center owns. But “Treasures Unveiled,” an exhibit selected to celebrate the center’s 10th anniversary of being in its own building at Fort Lewis College, is intended to give visitors a glimpse into that vast trove. http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20110210/NEWS01/702109940/Deep-in-the-vaults#/storyimage/DU/20110210/NEWS01/702109940/AR/AR-702109940.jpg&maxw=620&maxh=400

The Arizona State Museum’s Annual Southwestern Indian Art Fair Set for Feb. 19 and 20
Join us for our 18th annual Southwest Indian Art Fair, southern Arizona’s premier Indian art show & market. Meet 200 artists! Top-quality, handmade art includes pottery, Hopi katsina dolls, paintings, jewelry, baskets, rugs, blankets, and more. Artist demonstrations, Native food, musical performances, and a film showcase round out the two-day celebration. Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Admission fees and event details at http://www.statemuseum.arizona.edu/events/swiaf/index.shtml

Lecture Opportunity (Tucson) – The Bluff Great House and the Chaco Phenomenon
Catherine Cameron (University of Colorado) will present her research on the Bluff Great House at 7:30 Pm, Monday Feb 21, during the the monthly meeting of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society.  The Bluff great house site is located on the San Juan River in southeastern Utah, and was the focus of research conducted by the University of Colorado (CU) between 1995 and 2004.  Bluff had some involvement with Chaco Canyon, the great Pueblo center of the 9^th to 12^th centuries and is one of the few Chacoan sites in this region to have been recently excavated. The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society meets at the UMC Duvall Auditorium, 1501 N Campbell Ave.   http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/2010/09/catherine-cameron-the-bluff-great-house-and-the-chaco-phenomenon/

UCLA’s Costen Institute Closes Undergraduate Archaeological Field Schools
The UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology recently closed its undergraduate field research schools for the year because of financial pressures.  Over the past few months, budget cuts and insurance risks have led to a deficit in funding for the program, which once thrived with more than 200 students enrolled and 20 sites worldwide. http://www.dailybruin.com/index.php/article/2011/02/archaeology_field_schools_run_by_the_ucla_cotsen_institute_have_been_temporarily_cut_because_of_fund

Yale to Repatriate Incan Artifacts
Yale University has agreed to return thousands of ancient Inca artifacts removed from Peru in 1912 by a U.S. archaeologist and explorer. The objects are to be housed in a new International Center for the Study of Machu Picchu and Inca Civilization to be run jointly by Yale and San Antonio Abad University in Cuzco, Peru, the BBC reports. Hiram Bingham III, a Yale professor and later a U.S. senator from Connecticut, rediscovered Machu Picchu in 1911. http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=281018&catid=3

Thanks to Brian Kreimendahl for contributions to this week’s newsletter.