Homeland Security Act Raises Troubling Issues for Archaeological Protection and Historic Preservation

Homeland Security Act Raises Troubling Issues for Archaeological Protection and Historic Preservation
The proposed National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act would let the agency waive 36 federal environmental protection laws in the name of better border patrols on public lands. Supporters say it would help U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents secure the nation’s borders. Opponents say it would give Homeland Security unchecked authority to disregard major environmental laws covering wilderness areas, national parks and wildlife refuges. http://content.usatoday.com/dist/custom/gci/InsidePage.aspx?cId=azcentral&sParam=50561694.story

Maine Museum to Repatriate Hohokam Remains
It’s an orange and black pot that stands about 5½ inches tall and is about 4 inches in diameter. It’s hidden away in the carefully climate-controlled storage areas in the University of Maine’s Hudson Museum among more than 8,000 other tribal artifacts from across the Americas. But this pot contains the centuries-old cremated remains of a member of the Hohokam people of the Southwest — and it’s going home after spending nearly three-quarters of a century in Maine.  http://bangordailynews.com/2011/10/07/news/bangor/hudson-museum-to-send-centuries-old-indian-remains-back-to-arizona-tribes/?ref=latest

Gila Cliff Dwellings to be Closed From October 24 to Dec 24
The Cliff Dwellings Unit of the National Monument is anticipated to be closed from October 24, 2011 until December 24, 2011 due to major repairs to the West Fork Bridge on New Mexico Highway 15, one mile south of the Cliff Dwellings. To allow visitors to a unique experience during this closure, guided tours will be available at no cost at the TJ Unit of the Monument, an unexcavated 250 room Classic Mimbres pueblo located just east of the Gila Visitor Center.  The Site is accessible ONLY by guided tour, and tour times and the number of tours offered each day will be determined in the next week or so as staffing is scheduled.  For up to date information please call the Gila Visitor Center at 575-536-9461 or visit the Monument’s web site at www.nps.gov/gicl

Sling Some Mud at Pueblo Grande and Celebrate the AIA’s National Archaeology Day
Help to preserve the Pueblo Grande platform mound with the  Central Arizona Society of the American Institute of Archaeology. The event is hosted by the Pueblo Grande Museum and Archaeological Park, located at 4619 E. Washington St. in Phoenix. Contact Mira at almira.poudrier@asu.edu for more information or to sign up if you want to participate!

Prescott, AZ Purchases Land for Preservation
Connecting trails and better access to a well-known prehistoric petroglyph site are some of the benefits Prescott city leaders say will come from a recent land purchase.  http://www.kpho.com/story/15601583/prescott-buys-30-acres-for-land-preservation

Flint Festival Starts off Texas Archaeology Month
October marks the start of Texas Archeology Month at Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument near Fritch and to help kick off that month long celebration, the second annual Flint Fest “rocked” the park all weekend — literally!  The “Alibates Rocks” Flint Fest happening Saturday and Sunday featured expert flint-knappers who have mastered the skill of shaping stone into various tools and weapons, like arrowheads. Also happening during Flint Fest were tours of the only excavated flint quarry in the monument, tours of the native garden and ranger-led walks on the Mesquite Trail. http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/story.aspx?id=669973#.TpHPod4r2dA

Reward Offered for the Identification of 9 Mile Canyon Vandals
Several companies and organizations interested in protecting the archaeology of Nine Mile Canyon against vandalism have pooled their resources to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons responsible for defacing the so-called First Site this summer. http://www.sunad.com/index.php?tier=1&article_id=23118

5 Young People Given Probation for Vandalizing Hohokam Site Near Tucson
Five people have been sentenced to probation and restitution after pleading guilty to leaving graffiti on an archeological site on federal land west of Sahuarita. http://www.kold.com/story/15627884/five-people-face-restitution-probation-for-tagging-historic-site

Conference Annoucement & Call for Papers
The 2012 Visiting Scholar conference of the Center for Archaeological Investigations at SIUC is entitled “The Archaeology of Slavery: Toward a Comparative Global Approach.”  We are interested in exploring, among other issues, the difficulty of identifying slavery in prehistoric contexts by purely material means.  We also want to facilitate interaction between historical and prehistoric archaeologists interested in similar interpretive issues about slavery, which is begining to be explored in Southwestern contexts–at, for example, La Plata, New Mexico by Debra Martin. http://cai.siuc.edu/vspages/marshall/vsconf.html

Help us raise $5,000 to keep Southwest Archaeology Today going strong!
Thank you for trusting the Center for Desert Archaeology to keep you updated on the latest news and developments in the world of southwestern archaeology. It is our privilege to provide you with Southwest Archaeology Today every Monday morning, but this service does incur costs — staff time, equipment, and technology requirements alone add up to more than $10,000 a year. If each of our 1,500 subscribers gives just $5.00, we will easily exceed our goal. Please consider a contribution to help us continue providing you and others with this valuable online resource. Make your gift today at https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/how-to-help/sat/

Tonto Forest Archaeologist Chosen to Receive AAS Award Scott Wood, Tonto National Forest Archaeologist and Heritage Manager was nominated by two chapters of the Arizona Archaeological Society (AAS) and selected to receive their prestigious Professional Archaeologist Award for 2011.  Ron Robinson, outgoing President of the AAS will present Scott with this award at the AAS State Meeting, held October 14-16, in Benson, Arizona at the Cochise Community College-Benson.  The official presentation will be Saturday, October 15th, following a member dinner and silent auction. http://www.sonorannews.com/archives/2011/111005/outdoors.html

Position Announcement
University of New Mexico, Department of Anthropology invites applications for a historical and/or protohistorical archaeologist specializing in the Greater Southwest at the rank of Assistant Professor for a full-time, probationary appointment leading to a tenure decision. The department expects to make an appointment beginning in Fall 2012. Candidates must be able to teach introductory, core undergraduate and graduate courses in archaeology, and will assume administrative responsibility for the public archaeology MA program. Starting salary will be competitive and commensurate with experience. For best consideration applications must be received by December 5, 2012, and should include a letter of intent addressing the applicant’s qualifications for the position and a description of the applicant’s current research activities, teaching interests and experience, and future research plans; a curriculum vitae; and full contact information of three references. Applications must be submitted through UNM Jobs (http://unmjobs.unm.edu), job posting #0812928.

Position Announcement
Assistant or Associate Curator of Archaeology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History; and Tenure Track Assistant Professor or Tenured Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. This appointment is a joint position.  The curator’s responsibilities include four areas:  (1) developing and maintaining a program of externally funded scholarly research in archaeology; (2) overseeing care and obtaining support for a collection of more than 3 million objects; (3) exhibit development and support, including obtaining or collaborating to obtain external funds to assist with exhibits; and (4) museum-related outreach activities (service).  For appointment to Associate Curator an active record of external funding and publication is expected.   A full-time collection manager is funded in this collection, and a rotating graduate assistant appointment is assigned to the collection. Send vita, summary of research and teaching experience and goals, publication examples, and names, addresses, and telephone numbers of references via email to:  Dr. Michael A. Mares, Director, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (mamares@ou.edu) and to Wanda Downs, Administrative Assistant to Department of Anthropology at wdowns@ou.edu.  The review of applications will begin on November 15 and continue until the position is filled.