Pecos Conference Starts Thursday

Pecos Conference Opens Thursday, August 11th
The Pecos Conference is an annual conference of archaeologists that is held in the southwestern United States or northwestern Mexico. Each August, archaeologists gather under open skies somewhere in the southwestern United States or northwestern Mexico. They set up a large tent for shade, and then spend three or more days together discussing recent research and the problems of the field and challenges of the profession. http://www.swanet.org/2011_pecos_conference/index.html

Old Tires Used as Substitute Bison in Experimental Archaeology Program
UA researchers are looking for, among other things, how fire changed the landscape of the Northern Great Plains as ancient hunters went after big game. Researchers from the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona are investigating the complex relationship between climate change and modifications that humans have made to the landscape. And among the tools they are using in the pursuit of this knowledge are a bunch of old tires. http://uanews.org/node/40925

Learn More About Efforts to Save Camp Naco and the Arizona Site Steward Program
Meet with local preservationists and hear a presentation about the history of Camp Naco and the efforts to save it by Rebecca Orozco from Cochise College.  There will also be a presentation by Jacquie Dale,  a Preservation Archaeologist with Center For Desert Archaeology, who will talk about how you can volunteer to monitor historic and prehistoric sites in the area, including Camp Naco. Please come and find out how you can get involved in the Arizona Site Steward Program.  Presentations will be followed by a tour of Camp Naco. Date: Sunday August 14, 2011 at 9:30.  Location: Turquoise Valley Golf Course meeting room, 1794 W. Newell St., Naco, AZ. Individuals can purchase breakfast and refreshments at the restaurant. RSVP Requested: Call Jacquie at 520-820-9944 or email: jdale@cdarc.org

Utah Highway Archaeology Program Tours People through the Past
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is nearing successful completion of archaeological fieldwork on a portion of Southern Utah’s newest road following a rare firsthand view of archaeology-in-action by the public two months ago. Since that time, archeologists have methodically exposed five Virgin Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloan) habitations at one of the sites located within the corridor of state Route 7 known as the Southern Parkway, including one that may have been built as early as two thousand years ago. http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2011/08/02/udot-archaeologists-transport-the-public-through-the-past-and-the-future/

Archaeological Research to Begin on “Bent’s New Fort”
The National Park Service has awarded a $43,533 grant to a local heritage group to help complete a historical and archaeological investigation at Bent’s New Fort in Bent County. After William Bent destroyed the original Bent’s Old Fort east of La Junta in Otero County, the pioneer established Bent’s New Fort in Bent County near Las Animas.  http://www.chieftain.com/metro/bents-new-fort-site-targeted-for-preservation/article_6401abde-bd93-11e0-8cc4-001cc4c002e0.html

Archaeologists “Hack” X-Box Game System to Develop Inexpensive Three-Dimensional Scanner
Archaeological digs are a painstaking process even after the earth has been excavated — artifacts must be carefully catalogued so researchers know exactly where they were found, which tells information about their past. On an upcoming dig in Jordan, a modified Kinect could serve as a 3-D scanner, making this process simpler — and decidedly more high-tech. Researchers hope students traveling to an archaeological dig in Jordan will use a hacked Microsoft Kinect as a mobile scanning system, making 3-D models of ancient sites that can then be visited in a virtual-reality environment. http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/archaeologists-will-use-hacked-kinect-produce-3-d-scans-dig-sites

Archaeologist Develops 3d Views of Ancient Hopi Settlements
Rather than write a book about ancestral Hopi villages and migration patterns, associate professor of anthropology and sociology at the University of Redlands Wes Bernardini has been working with the university and the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office on mapping software letting users travel through 3D reconstructions of 32 Hopi villages. http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/08/new-software-brings-hopi-history-to-life/

Two New Arizona Listings on the National Register of Historic Places
Congratulations to Tucson’s Valley of the Moon and the Bisbee Residential Historic District for their recent inclusion on the National Register.

Lecture Opportunity (Santa Fe)
Dr. Clay Mathers, Ph.D, R.P.A., GISP Archaeologist, Historian, and Executive Director, The Coronado Institute and Co-Editor (with Jeffrey M. Mitchem and Charles M. Haecker) Native and Imperial Transformations: 16th c. Entradas in the American Southwest and Southeast will present “Initial Encounters, Deep Time: An Archaeological and Historic Context for the Vazquez de Coronado Entrada, 1539-1542 AD” – A Southwest Seminars program assisted by the Hotel Santa Fe, A Picuris Pueblo Enterprise. 6 pm, Monday, August 15 at the Hotel Santa Fe.

Thanks to Gerald Kelso, Brian Kreimendahl, and Adrianne Rankin for contributions to this week’s issue of Southwestern Archaeology Today.