Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society Announces the Recipients of This Year’s Byron Cummings and Victor Stoner Awards

Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society Announces the Recipients of This Year’s Byron Cummings and Victor Stoner Awards
Archaeology Southwest joins in celebrating the memory of James Ayers, who was posthumously awarded the Byron Cummings Award, and we celebrate the Byron Cummings Award presented to Alan Ferg. The Cummings award honors outstanding contributions to anthropology or history in the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest. The Victor R. Stoner award for excellence in leadership, preservation, and public interpretation was presented to Ann Howard and John Ware. Archaeology Southwest hopes you will join us in celebrating the achievements of these brilliant and dedicated colleagues.

Archaeological “Who Done It” Continues – Study Claims Humans Responsible for Clovis Era Megafauna Extinctions
Scientists claim their research settles a prolonged debate over whether mankind or climate change was the dominant cause of the demise of massive creatures in the time of the sabretooth tiger, the woolly mammoth, the woolly rhino and the giant armadillo. http://bit.ly/1fiOACM – Science Daily

The Future of Bear’s Ears and Cedar Mesa to Be Discussed in Boulder
Friends of Cedar Mesa is hosting a public presentation on the future protection of Cedar Mesa and Bears Ears next Wednesday, August 19, at the CU Museum of Natural History in Boulder, CO. Steve Lekson of CU will be doing the introduction and Josh Ewing will give the presentation. We are trying to get the word out to our Colorado supporters and we wondered if you might be able to help us spread the word by including a little blurb about our event in your weekly blog.

Gila National Forest Provides Update on Excavations at Elk Ridge
In June and July 2015, excavations were conducted at Elk Ridge, a Mimbres pueblo of over 200 rooms located on the Wilderness Ranger District of the Gila National Forest. Dr. Barbra Roth of UNLV directed the excavations with the help of the Grant County Archaeological Society and a rotating crew of researchers, other professionals, students, volunteers, and Forest Service archaeologists. Previous work at Elk Ridge (in the 1980s and 1990s) primarily focused on private land adjacent to the Forest. http://1.usa.gov/1hGejXK – National Forest Service

Citizen Scientist Finds Site Stewardship Akin to Time Travel
Time traveling is one of my favorite things to do as a citizen scientist. As part of the New Mexico Site Steward Program, I walk slowly through an archeological site, the ground littered with the remains of pottery from people who lived here a thousand years ago. I am free to touch and finger these clay shards as long as I carefully put them back where I found them. http://bit.ly/1Ew8Ojk – Albuquerque Journal

Verde Valley Archaeology Center Raises Funds for Preservation
Graffiti. It etches itself onto rocks throughout the Verde Valley in an attempt to immortalize the defamer. The problem for many archaeologists, aside from the criminal nature of the act, is that it shortens the lifespan of artifacts that help immortalize ancient cultures. The Verde Valley Archaeology Center has received three grants to help protect sites from this destruction. http://bit.ly/1Nzihv7 – Red Rock News

Las Vegas Starts Planning for Neighborhood Preservation
Preservation and the eternal are not things usually associated with the City of Sin and all its fleeting pleasures. Despite the flashy draw of Las Vegas nightlife, however, city council is underscoring that the town isn’t just about an ever-adapting tourism market, but offers longstanding historical pockets as well. The city is currently eying six neighborhoods built in the 1940s for nomination for designation on the National Register of Historic Places. The Las Vegas Sun reports the houses that characterize these neighborhoods represent the city’s transition from a desert outpost. http://bit.ly/1hgBvvE – Next City

Innovative Programs in Historic Preservation: HistoriCorps
HistoriCorps offers what some would consider an alternative vacation or escape from one’s daily routine. But it also has a bigger purpose. “We are kind of a hybrid between a nonprofit construction company and an outdoor adventure company,” says Townsend Anderson, who has been part of HistoriCorps since 2009 and now serves as its executive director. HistoriCorps mobilizes and engages a volunteer workforce to work on historic preservation projects on public and publicly accessible lands. Based in Denver, it manages projects throughout the country, assembling teams of volunteers and skilled tradespeople who provide training and supervision throughout a project. http://bit.ly/1Pgi0xP – Christian Science Monitor

Speaking of Innovative Programs, You Can Help the Adobe Preservation Heroes at Cornerstones with Just Three Mouse Clicks
Cornerstones is a finalist for EMC Corporation’s Heritage Trust Project. The project recognizes and supports digitization of the world’s information heritage in local communities. If Cornerstones wins, Cornerstones and University of New Mexico will work together to digitize more than 10,000 photographs of 350 cultural sites Cornerstones restored. The photographs depict sacred Native American sites, mission churches that date to 1610, remote historic sites, and at risk adobe buildings throughout southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The digitized photos will be turned into a site map hosted on New Mexico’s Digital Collections website with a link between photos and the map. Cornerstones made it to the top 7 and we need your vote to win. Polls close Thursday, August 20th at 5 p.m. EST. To help follow this Facebook link and select the Heritage Trust Project: http://on.fb.me/1MslTAs – EMC Corporation via Facebook

Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month Planning Meeting – August 25, 2015
It’s that time again to start planning for the Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month – and the Archaeology Expo. Please join us as we begin planning for the Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month on Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 10:00 am at Arizona State Parks in Phoenix. At this meeting, we will brainstorm on the “theme” for the month and take suggestions on potential poster designs. Bring your creative ideas and join us on Thursday. All are welcome to attend. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kris Dobschuetz at 602-542-7141 or kd2@azstateparks.gov.

Travelogue – Southern Utah’s Anasazi State Park
Anasazi State Park Museum near the farming community of Boulder in southern Utah preserves an important archaeological site where excavation has revealed nearly 100 structures and thousands of artifacts from prehistoric Native Americans. Visitors exploring the 6-acre park learn about the early native people by following trails past ruins, wandering through a six-room replica dwelling and touring museum exhibits. http://bit.ly/1LfG7yS – Las Vegas Review Journal

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents John Haworth, (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian-New York who will give a lecture Native Culture Definitely Matters on August 17 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Native Culture Matters Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary and seating is limited. Refreshments are served. Contact Connie Eichstaedt 505 466-2775 email: southwest seminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr– Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Suzan Shown Harjo (Southern Cheyenne/Hodulgee Muscogee), 2014 Recipient, United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, Founding Trustee, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and President, The Morning Star Institute, Washington, D.C., who will give a lecture Nation to Nation: Treaties and Native Peoples on August 24 at 6pm at Unitarian Universalist Church, 107 W. Barcelona Road, Santa Fe, as part of the annual Native Culture Matters Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary and seating is limited. Refreshments are served. Contact Connie Eichstaedt 505 466-2775 email: http://bit.ly/YhJddr– Southwest Seminars

Thanks to Adrianne Rankin for contributions to this week’s newsletter.