Ancient Southwestern Peoples Enjoyed Caffeine

Dr. Patrica Crown’s Research on Ancient Caffeinated Drinks Reveals New Insights on Ancient Life in the Southwest
People were hankering for a jolt of caffeine more than a thousand years ago, but the drinks were a lot different than the Starbucks espresso or can of soda we gulp down today. New research has found that inhabitants in what is now the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico drank cacao and holly beverages, which were both high in caffeine, between 750 and 1,400 A.D. http://cbsn.ws/1KLIwl7 – CBS News

Related: Dr. Patricia Crown presents Science and Serendipity: The Recovery of Cacao in Chaco Canyon
In this Tea and Archaeology presentation from Archaeology Southwest, Dr. Crown relates a series of events that led to a discovery that further illuminates the ancient ties between Chaco Canyon and Mesoamerica.  Launch Video >>

Fracking The Chaco Landscape: How Close Is Too Close?
Environmental groups and some — but not all — Native Americans nearby want to shut down drilling in the area that includes the San Juan Basin, one of the nation’s largest natural gas formations and a promising site for the crude oil business. “It’s a fragile area,” said Eleanor Bravo, senior organizer of Food and Water Watch. “It’s one of the few UNESCO sites in the world. Once you open up those roads it will be the demise of Chaco Canyon. It is crumbling as we speak.” http://bit.ly/1O8WwFS – Watchdog.Org

Announcing the Return of Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café (Tucson)—Big Data and Big Questions
In 2015–2016, we feature presenters who will explain the “so what?” of their findings. Accordingly, we encourage audiences to consider not only the past, but also their own place in our human story. On October 6, 2015, Jeffrey Ferguson (University of Missouri) will present Big Data and Big Questions: The Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor. Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive before 5:30 p.m., as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Share tables and make new friends! http://bit.ly/1Qy2GxL – Archaeology Southwest

The Los Angeles Times Examines the Ethics and Legality of Collecting Antiquities
In one photograph, Dr. Jonathan Bourne crouches over an ancient wooden bow sticking out of a melting glacier in the High Sierra. In another picture, he is digging the bow out of the ice with a rock. The photos of Bourne, an anesthesiologist at Mammoth Hospital, appeared on a hiking-club website — and soon, he had visitors. Federal agents searched Bourne’s mansion in December, recovering roughly 30,000 ancient items they believe were unlawfully taken from hundreds of public land sites across the West: stone mortars, glass beads, projectile points and pendants. They also seized logbooks containing details of his archaeological finds. http://lat.ms/1Y02ht2 – Los Angeles Times

High Country News Creates Interactive View of National Park Vandalism
Across the Western National Park System, vandalism of natural features, like rock faces and trees, has risen steadily in recent years, with more than 600 incidents reported since 2013. The hardest-hit areas are near large urban centers — such as Lake Mead National Recreation Area, a mere 39 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. http://bit.ly/1i8P9Rw – High Country News

Gambling, Marijuana, and Historic Preservation Funding in Colorado
Gambling was supposed to create a historic jackpot in Colorado. In 1990, Coloradans approved a constitutional amendment allowing “limited-stakes gaming” in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City, a proposal pushed as a historic-preservation measure designed not just to save those crumbling mining towns by allowing gambling in their old buildings, and only their old buildings, but to put part of the state’s take into historic-preservation grants. http://bit.ly/1OHWcLI – Westworld

“Spanish Armor” Provenience is a Terrible Thing to Lose
It seems to have passed through more hands than The Maltese Falcon. And it’s proving to be nearly as mysterious. Two pieces of iron armor — reportedly first found in the desert of West Texas about 150 years ago — have recently been analyzed by scientists in Nebraska, where the artifacts have been sitting for decades in museum storage.  http://bit.ly/1NqCSno – Western Digs

San Francisco Is Losing Historic Artifacts “Right and Left”
San Francisco is a city rich in history, but its government agencies often do a poor job of preserving it. That’s the key finding from a new report commissioned by the city administrator’s office that found many city agencies have no guidelines for what artifacts to keep and what to discard, and it’s often left to untrained employees to decide what to do with old items. http://cbsloc.al/1XUDmqT – KCBS.Com

Here They Come: Archaeological Research with Drones
When Mike Searcy is in the field, he likes to get a bird’s-eye picture of his study area. “That means I’m teetering on top of a ladder or climbing up on some truck, trying to get a good angle,” says the Brigham Young University archaeologist. Sometimes it’s meant taking an expensive, and nausea-inducing ride in a small plane. Things can get difficult, he says. These days, however, Searcy has an easier option: He can, so to speak, call in a drone strike. In minutes, the flying, instrument-laden robot can skim across large archaeological sites, collecting high-resolution images that once would have been beyond the reach of most meagerly-funded archaeologists. http://bit.ly/1iGWb0j – The Archaeological Conservancy

Tour Opportunity – Guevavi
Tubac Presidio will sponsor a rare occasion of touring two nearby Spanish colonial period archaeological sites: Los Santos Angeles de Guevavi Mission and the remains of the original 1752 Tubac town site. These special tours will take place on Saturday, October 3, from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM. For reservations call the Tubac Presidio at (520) 398-2252 or email at info@TubacPresidio.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance presents Dr. Steve Lekson on Saturday, September 26, 7:00 pm, at the Sunflower Theatre in Cortez, CO. Lekson will discuss Chaco, Cahokia, and Postclassic North America. The prehistory of North America should be understood on the continental scale. There are local histories, but they are local within a much wider world. This presentation reviews two contemporary centers, Chaco and Cahokia, in their Mesoamerican context.

Lecture Opportunity – Safford, AZ
Prehistoric Bajada Hanging Canals will be the subject of a free Discovery Park lecture as the park lecture series welcomes back local researcher and author Don Lancaster Saturday, October 3, at 6 PM in the Jupiter room on the Discovery Park campus. Don will be speaking on the latest discoveries involving a spectacular series of “hanging” canals that literally exploited every drop of Northeastern Mount Graham stream water in the 1250 CE to 1450 CE time frame. Discovery Park is located near the junction of Discovery Park Boulevard and 20th Avenue in Safford, Arizona. To reach the Jupiter Room, just follow the main walkway south. For additional info, please contact Paul Anger or Jackie Madsen at (928) 428-6260. http://bit.ly/1LrPYML – Don Lancaster’s Tinaja Website

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Honorable Judge William Paul Johnson, Federal Judge for the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico, who will present a talk entitled Tribal Law Issues in New Mexico. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Seating is limited. Please come early to get a seat. Refreshments are served. Contact Connie Eichstaedt tel: 505 466-2775 email: southwest seminar@aol.com  http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars