Reexamination of Kinishba Ceramics Refines the Story of Ancient Southwestern Migrations

Reexamination of Kinishba Ceramics Refines the Story of Ancient Southwestern Migrations
Another look at a nearly 80-year-old pottery collection at the Arizona State Museum is yielding new information about migrants who abandoned the Four Corners region. Approximately eight centuries ago, people living along the Colorado Plateau in what is now the Four Corners area faced a crisis. Environmental changes that devastated their agricultural practices and likely aggravated social unrest forced significant numbers of these people to move away. http://uanews.org/node/47517

Interior Secretary Approves Nomination of San Antonio Missions as World Heritage Sites
Secretary Salazar’s visit to the urban parks of San Antonio is part of President Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative to establish a 21st century approach to conservation Century and to reconnect Americans to our nation’s natural, cultural, and historic heritage – growing outdoor recreation, travel and tourism economy and creating jobs in communities across the country. “World Heritage Sites represent an incredible opportunity for the United States to market our most significant places as destinations for domestic and international travelers,” said Secretary Salazar. “San Antonio Missions National Historical Park preserves four missions that embody the cultural roots of this great city and represents the single largest concentration of Spanish Colonial resources in the United States. As we continue to make progress in achieving this prestigious status for the Missions and for San Antonio, we also are moving forward to make America the world’s number one tourist destination – creating jobs and growing our economy.” http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/Secretary-Salazar-Approves-San-Antonio-Missions-for-World-Heritage-Nomination.cfm

Mule Creek Underground – Follow Along with the Archaeology Southwest & University of Arizona 2012 Preservation Archaeology Field School
This Tuesday, we arrived in Mule Creek with the new students, officially beginning the 2012 Mule Creek Preservation Archaeology field school. For those of you who haven’t visited the blog before, we began this journal during the 2011 field season as a way of sharing our research and experiences in the field. You can explore the older posts to get an idea of our research up to this point.  https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/what-we-do/investigations/salado/mule-creek/mule-creek-underground/

More Details on the National Geographic Four Corners Geotourism Program
The four states are launching a major four-state geotourism initiative Saturday at Aztec Ruins National Monument. Geotourism is defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographic character of a place, its environment, culture, aesthetics and the well being of residents. It’s a collaboration between National Geographic, the Utah/Colorado Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway, area nonprofit organizations and state, local and federal government agencies. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54226453-78/national-geographic-map-corners.html.csp & http://www.fourcornersgeotourism.com/index.php

It is Time to Register for the Pecos Conference
2012 Pecos Conference, August 9-12, 2012, Pecos, NM – The 85th Pecos Conference will be held at Pecos National Historical Park, co-hosted by School for Advanced Research, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office and others. Expect the highest caliber reports from the field and labs (as usual). Same great on-site camping as in 2007. For more information on the conference, please visit the conference website: http://www.swanet.org/2012_pecos_conference  or find the conference on Facebook.

Active Trails Grant Funds Winter Programs at Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde National Park will receive nearly $10,000 from the National Park Foundation to fund its new winter exploration program, which will allow visitors to enjoy the sites year-round by creating snowshoe and ski trails to outlying areas, park officials said. The Active Trails grant of $9,765 gives Mesa Verde the money to invest in a snowroller to help groom trails, signs to mark winter trails, winter trail guides, ecology brochures, binoculars and snowshoes, said Mesa Verde spokeswoman Betty Lieurance. http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20120601/NEWS01/706019900/-1/news01&source=RSS

School of American Research Prepares for Major Expansion
The 105-year-old School for Advanced Research could double the size of its east-side Santa Fe campus due, in part, to a new relationship with a national foundation.  The anthropology and archaeology institute is moving toward buying 7.44 acres immediately south of its 7.8-acre campus of 40 years at 660 Garcia St.  http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/School-for-Advanced-Research-looks-to-expand

Arizona Daily Star’s Centennial Science Blog Looks at Hohokam Canals
Arizona’s earliest feats of scientific engineering were discovered and reused by its early European settlers, who followed the imprints of vast networks of canals built by the Hohokam along the Salt and Gila rivers for their own irrigation ditches. Jack Swilling, whose “Swilling’s ditch” led to the establishment of the city of Phoenix, dug out the silted-in Hohokam canals to begin farming the Valley of the Sun. http://azstarnet.com/news/science/days-of-science-hohokam-state-s-early-canal-builders/article_7c43f6a6-82b3-512e-a9d1-2fa98cbe016b.html

Gila Cliff Dwellings Closed Due to Smoke
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is closed effective May 31, 2012, to protect the health of the public and staff from the potentially harmful effects of smoke generated by the nearby Whitewater/Baldy fire. Superintendent Steve Riley announced today the monument will remain closed until conditions improve.

Pueblo Grande Announces Summer Children’s Programs
Beginning in July the Pueblo Grande Museum in partnership with The Rossen House Museum will be offering their July 2012 Summer Programs: Hohokam Experience. Programs are offered to children ages 3-14 at Pueblo Grande Museum located at 4916 E. Washington just west of the Hohokam Freeway in Phoenix. Fun-filled days of activities celebrating ancient and modern music, archaeology, and “make and take” crafts run Tuesday through Friday for four weeks, beginning July 10th and concluding August 3rd. Classes and program times vary. http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/5/prweb9547502.htm

Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission Awards in Public Archaeology Announced
Special Congratulations to the following award recipients: Professional Archaeologist:  J. Andrew Darling. Avocational Archaeologist:  Donna Ruiz y Costello. Site Steward:  H. Jill McCormick. Tribe:  Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Cultural Resources Department, Cultural Preservation Program. Government Agency:  Adrianne Rankin, Luke Air Force Base. Private Non-Profit Entity:  Empire Ranch Foundation. Industrial Development Entity:  Jon Shumaker and the Forestry & Special Programs Department, Arizona Public Service Company. Lifetime Achievement:  Drs. Paul and Suzanne Fish, Archaeologists.  Awards will be presented at the Arizona Preservation conference on Thursday, June 14th.  The Preservation Awards Ceremony is the signature event of the 10th Annual Arizona Historic Preservation Conference. In 2007 the Governor’s Awards in Public Archaeology were combined with the annual presentation of the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards to become the primary forum for recognition of excellence in historic and cultural preservation efforts in Arizona. http://www.azpreservation.com/awards.html

Lecture Opportunity – Blanding
Winston Hurst will be giving a lecture,  the third in the series, on the archaeology of Comb Ridge. This lecture will cover the late Pueblo III period, proto-historic and history sites encountered during the Comb Ridge Archaeological Survey.  The talk will begin on Saturday, June 16th at 1pm at the Edge of the Cedars Museum.

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
Visiting scholar Steve Wolverton, Ph.D., will present issues pertaining to “Animal Conservation and Applied Zooarchaeology” at the Cortez Cultural Center, 25 N. Market Street, Friday, June 15, 2012, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.  $5.00 for Cortez Cultural Center members/$8.00 for non-members.  Call 970-565-1151 for more information.

Lecture Opportunity – Springerville
On Monday July 16, 2012  Allen Dart will present “Archaeology and Cultures of Arizona”  a free presentation by archaeologist Allen Dart for the Little Colorado Chapter, Arizona Archaeological Society, at the Old Springerville School, 418 E. Main St. (in same building as the Casa Malpais Museum), Springerville, Arizona. 6:30 p.m. business meeting, presentation starts around 7 p.m. This program, funded by the Arizona Humanities Council, summarizes the archaeology of Arizona from the earliest “Paleoindians” through Archaic period hunters and foragers, the transition to true village life, and the later prehistoric archaeological cultures (Puebloan, Mogollon, Sinagua, Hohokam, Salado, and Patayan). It also examines connections between archaeology and history, and provides an overview of the Native American and other peoples who have formed our state’s more recent history. Contact Carol Farnsworth in Springerville at 928-333-3219 or farnsc570@gmail.com for more information.

Thanks to Carrie Gregory and Cherie Freeman for contributions to this week’s newsletter.