2011 Arizona Archaeology Advisory Commission Awards in Public Archaeology Annouced

2011 Arizona Archaeology Advisory Commission Awards in Public Archaeology Annouced
The Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission is presenting its 25thAnnual Awards in Public Archaeology. The Awards are presented to individuals, organizations and/or programs that have significantly contributedto the protection and preservation of, and education about, Arizona’s nonrenewablearchaeological resources. Awards include Professional Archaeologist: Scott Wood.   Avocational Archaeologist: Cherie Freeman. Site Steward: Roger & Lesley McPeek. Tribe:  The Hopi Tribe. Government Agency: Kim Savage and the Archaeological Research Institute. Private Non-Profit Entity: The Redemptorist Society. Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Raymond Thompson.

Pair of Ancient Skeletons Restarting NAGPRA Debate in San Diego
Two ancient skeletons uncovered in 1976 on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, during construction at the home of a University of California chancellor, may be among the most valuable for genetic analysis in the continental United States. Dated between 9,000 and 9,600 years old, the exceptionally preserved bones could potentially produce the oldest complete human genome from the continent.  But only if scientists aren’t barred from studying them. http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/05/ucsd-skeleton-fight/

There is Still Time to Register For the 2011 Arizona Preservation Conference
The Arizona Preservation Foundation, Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, Arizona Department of Commerce, and the City of Tucson invite you to join them at the 9th Annual Arizona Historic Preservation Conference. This year’s conference, “Valuing Historic Perspectives” is being held in Tucson, June 22nd through June 24th, 2011. The goal of the Conference is to bring together preservationists from around the state to exchange ideas and success stories, to share perspectives and solutions to preservation issues and to foster cooperation between the diverse Arizona preservation communities. http://www.azpreservation.com/regstart.aspx

Reservations for Arizona Preservation Conference Tours and Workshops Filling Quickly
http://www.azpreservation.com/_docs/Tours_Activities_HPConf2011.pdf

Registration Still Open for American Indian Language Development Workshop
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~aildi/SummerProgram/AILDI2010.html

Peoria, Az Hopes to Nominate Palo Verde Ruin to National Register
The Palo Verde Ruin Archaeological Site Open Space, which is in the Terramar subdivision near 74th Avenue and Happy Valley Road, has been nominated for placement on the “National Register of Historic Places.”  http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/2011/05/20/20110520peoria-palo-verde-ruin-archaeological-site-open-space.html

Tempe Butte Overlooking ASU Stadium Listed on National Register
A desert hill in Tempe that towers over Arizona State University’s Sun Devil Stadium has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The East Valley Tribune reports that Tempe Butte joins more than 40 other Tempe buildings and places on the national register. http://www.fox11az.com/news/local/121986969.html

Wired Magazine Looks at Today’s State of the Art Archaeological Toolkit
Ginessa Mahar, a lab manager at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, knows the ups and downs of archaeology. “I’ve done high-altitude surveying in Nevada and underwater archaeology along the Jersey Shore,” says the 30-year-old digger, who uses everything from metal detectors to portable x-ray fluorescence machines to uncover relics. Mahar took a break from excavating 500-year-old Spanish artifacts on an island off the Georgia coast to tell us about her favorite gear. http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/04/st_toolkit_archaeologygear/

Artifacts Stolen from Small Community Museum Help Illuminate Shady Dealings in Southwestern Antiquities
Shadows of July 30, 2008, still cast a pall over Adriana Vaca and her community’s museum. That was the day the director at the Casa de la Cultura in Cuatro Cienegas, Coah., found over half of her town’s cultural museum collection ransacked by thieves. http://www.themonitor.com/articles/mcallen-50168-smuggling-artifact.html

Houston Airport Intercepts Stolen Antiquities
​A book from the 1700s that a traveler tried to smuggle through Bush Intercontinental has been formally returned to the country of Peru, federal officials said today. The manuscript had been stolen from the Recoleta Library in Arequipa, Peru, they said. The manuscript had been stolen from the Recoleta Library in Arequipa, Peru, they said. http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/05/peru_artifact_returned.php

Thanks to Mike Jacobs and Gerald Kelso for contributing to this weeks issue of Southwest Archaeology Today