Annenberg Foundation Purchases and Plans to Repatriate Hopi and Apache Sacred Objects

Annenberg Foundation Purchases and Plans to Repatriate Hopi and Apache Sacred Objects
The Annenberg Foundation has revealed that it was an anonymous bidder that paid $530,000 for 24 Native American artifacts that were being sold at a controversial auction in Paris earlier this week. The Los Angeles-based charitable organization headed by Wallis Annenberg said that it will return the artifacts to the Hopi Nation and to the San Carlos Apache tribe. http://lat.ms/1j9EPYk – Los Angeles Times

Larry Turk Named Superintendent for Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument
Larry Turk, Aztec Ruins National Monument superintendent since 2011, has just doubled his duties. Earlier this month, Turk, a 14-year veteran of the National Park Service, was named the new superintendent of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Since January, Turk served as interim Chaco superintendent, which gave him nearly a year of practice dividing his time between the two parks, both designated as World Heritage sites in 1987. http://bit.ly/1dfWaHG – Farmington Daily Times

Oldest Known Footprints in North America
A hunter-gatherer who trekked through a desert oasis a hundred centuries ago left the continent’s most lasting impression: the oldest known human footprints in North America. There are only two of them — one left and one right — but the ancient traveler’s path through mineral-rich sediment in the Chihuahuan Desert allowed them to become enshrined in stone, and now dated, some 10,500 years later. http://bit.ly/1kMZSLV – Western Digs

Winter Celebration at Mesa Grande
Mesa Grande Cultural Park will step into the season with a special winter celebration for the whole family on Dec. 21. The event will feature guest speaker Allen Dart, a registered professional archaeologist, discussing how Native Americans developed the ability to predict seasons well before people in the world. Other activities include crafts, demonstrations and seasonal festivities. http://bit.ly/1hVqa1r – East Valley Tribune

Reminder – Phoenix Archaeology Café to Examine Chaco Phenomenon
What was Chaco, really? Find out what Steve Lekson thinks on December 17, 2013. Archaeology Café begins at 6 p.m. in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave. Seating is open and unreserved, but limited. It is best to arrive half an hour before the presentation begins. We encourage guests to share tables and make new friends at this free event. Please support our hosts at Macayo’s Central (near the Indian School light rail stop) by purchasing refreshments from the menu—at happy hour prices!