Salt Lake Tribune Argues for Restoration of Federal Conservation Funding

Salt Lake Tribune Argues for Restoration of Federal Conservation Funding
The Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was established in 1965 to invest in our nation’s land, water and wildlife heritage. For 50 years, the LWCF has helped support our parks and historic sites; conserved our forests, rivers, lakes and wildlife habitat; and provided access for hiking, hunting, fishing, and other forms of outdoor recreation for current and future generations. Similarly, the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) was established in 1976 to preserve irreplaceable resources that are part of our Nation’s cultural identity. For 40 years, HPF grants to states, tribes, and local governments have helped tell the stories and preserve the irreplaceable resources associated with our shared heritage. On Sept. 30, both the LWCF and the HPF expired. http://bit.ly/1k2LWEx – Salt Lake Tribune

More Information on Inter-Tribal Coalition Supporting Bear’s Ears National Monument
On October 15, the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition made history when it presented a detailed proposal for a Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah. Sovereign tribal nations have never before joined together to ask the President to use the Antiquities Act to protect public lands, which the tribes consider sacred for ancestral, traditional and cultural values. Friends of Cedar Mesa joins many conservation organizations in expressing deep gratitude and respect for this unique Tribal-led effort to protect the Bears Ears cultural landscape. http://bit.ly/1l2nnbb – Friends of Cedar Mesa

Ancient Alaskan Infant Burials Provide Evidence of the Timing of New World Migrations
In 2013, excavators working at Upper Sun River (USR), an archaeological site in central Alaska’s Tanana River Basin, made a surprising and tragic discovery. At the bottom of a circular hearth in what had once been an early Native American hut, the team found the skeletons of two infants. One had died shortly after birth, and the other, a late-term fetus, had apparently been stillborn. Radiocarbon dating and other evidence showed that they were laid to rest together, about 11,500 years ago. This week, the researchers report another surprise: Ancient DNA from the infants shows that they came from two mothers who belonged to genetically distinct population groups. The findings provide important new support for the hypothesis that the first Americans spent thousands of years living in the far north before finally sweeping into North and South America as the Ice Age began winding down about 15,000 years ago. http://bit.ly/1GHr3sL – Science

National Park Service Seeks Better Regulation of Oil and Gas Drilling
For years, the company operating oil wells in New Mexico’s Aztec National Monument was exempt from being regulated by the National Park Service, which manages the site to protect ancient Pueblo structures. As a result, a dirt access road to one of the wells runs directly over buried ruins. A park archeologist once watched as a grader resurfacing the deeply rutted road exposed archeological remnants. The damage to these remnants of an early civilization is just one of many negative consequences of the 9B rule that gives the National Park Service only weak authority to regulate oil and gas drilling on its property. The Park Service this week proposed strengthening the rule. http://bit.ly/1HmxjAO – High Country News

Los Angeles Times Explores Delicate Balance of Preservation versus Public Access
It was a balmy March morning, and I was speeding down a glorious stretch of Utah highway alongside soaring red-rock cliffs and the churning Colorado River. I cruised through frenetic Moab, heading south past the tidy Mormon hamlets of Monticello and Blanding toward a remote canyon on Cedar Mesa that holds one of the country’s least known but most tantalizing treasures. I’d been dreaming of Moon House since learning of it on a trip to southeast Utah a few years ago. Images of the ancient, nearly pristine Anasazi compound, with its 49 buildings and cosmic artwork, loomed in my mind like some American El Dorado. http://lat.ms/1iwmW6X – LA Times

PIMA COUNTY VOTERS: Archaeology Southwest Supports the 2015 Bonds Package: Message from Bill Doelle
Archaeology Southwest is an enthusiastic supporter of the seven Pima County bond proposals that are on the November 3 ballot. Our mission—to explore and protect the places of our past—is at the core of many of the bond projects. https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/2015/10/28/invest-in-ourselves-in-our-sense-of-place/

Stabilization Continues at Mesa Verde
A crew of archaeologist and stone masons are working hard to keep sites at Mesa Verde National Park in shape and in some cases, from sliding off the cliff they are precariously built on. Standing since the 13th century, Cliff Palace is one of the major attractions at Mesa Verde National Park and now it is part of a 5 year project to make sure that the ancient cliff dwellings stand for many years more. “It was built to last but we have to consider that it is earthen architecture and it deteriorates very rapidly when exposed to moisture,” said archaeologist Tim Hovezak. http://bit.ly/1KRkuP2 – KOB.Com

3D Casts of Stone Tools Helping Archaeological Education at NAU
Dating back to the Stone Age, ancient artifacts provide us an important window into the history of ancient civilization. Thanks to Northern Arizona University’s lithic casting lab, students are getting to work directly with these artifacts, using new technology to create replicas. Francis Smiley, professor and curator of the lithic cast teaching and research collection, has spent the last three years building NAU’s collection of more than 900 epoxy resin lithic artifact casts. http://bit.ly/1MrGvFr – Northern Arizona University

Reminder: A Discussion of Great Kivas Is on Tap for Tucson’s Next Archaeology Café 
On Tuesday, November 3, 2015, Katherine Dungan will present Religion and Religious Architecture: A Historical Approach to Interpreting Great Kivas. We meet on the patio of Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave., Tucson. Enter through the restaurant. 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. http://bit.ly/1OZSxL8 – Archaeology Southwest

New Issue of the Arizona Archaeologist Published
The latest volume in the Arizona Archaeological Society’s The Arizona Archaeologist series is now available. “An Essential Relationship: Amateurs and Professionals in Central Arizona Archaeology,” written by Andrew L. Christenson, examines a roughly 90-year period in the relationships between amateurs and professionals working in the Prescott region of central Arizona. He also explores the various archaeological societies in Prescott that have been active in important salvage work and research for nearly four decades. The concluding chapter examines how amateurs have been leaders in archaeological work in the region and where we can expect contributions to come from in the future. www.AzArchSoc.org – Arizona Archaeological Society

Preserving a Pueblo in Kansas
State officials and local historians have launched an effort to preserve El Cuartelejo, the only known Native American pueblo in Kansas. The Scott State Park Historic Preservation and Development Committee announced Oct. 19 a $1 million interpretive center to enclose what remains of the ruins of El Cuartelejo, to be built in collaboration with the Kansas Historical Society and the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. http://bit.ly/1KRe9Dc – Taos News

Amerind Brown Bag Presentation – Lessons from Repatriation
On Tuesday, November 3, 2015, at the Amerind Lab, from 12:00-1:00 pm, the Amerind Foundation will look at 25 years of repatriation practice. On November 16, 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) became a U.S. federal law. In honor of its 25th anniversary, the participants in the “Learning NAGPRA” project will present a brown bag as a space for reflection and discussion on the importance of collaborative working relationships in respecting and supporting Native American cultural traditions. A panel of invited speakers with professional NAGPRA experience will reflect on two main themes: 1) What is the importance and the meaning of NAGPRA? and 2) What lessons from NAGPRA can be applied to the broader challenges of working together in a multicultural society? Audience participation will be invited and encouraged as we discuss how to equip and excite the next generation to engage with these important issues. Contact us for more information at: lrnagpra@indiana.edu at Indiana University or by phone at 812-856-5314.

Retired Teacher Publishes Rock Art Trail Guide
When Casey arrived in New Mexico in 1982 to teach world history and geography at Aztec High School, he accompanied a Farmington High School teacher to Split Rock Ruin south of Blanco. The site is one of several Dinétah defensive sites used by the Navajo in the late 17th and early 18th century. The four-room on top of a large boulder on the edge of a cliff impressed Casey, but it was the nearby petroglyphs, or carved rock art, that have captured his attention for the past three decades. So, after retiring 10 years ago, Casey dedicated himself to learning more about the petroglyphs. http://bit.ly/1l2M4UW – Farmington Daily News

Reminder: Celebrate the Publication of Archaeology Southwest Magazine’s Latest Issue – Santa Fe Underground
On Wednesday, November 11, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., join Archaeology Southwest and the City of Santa Fe at Collected Works Bookstore, Santa Fe, NM, for an evening with archaeologists Cherie Scheick and Stephen Post in celebration of the release of Archaeology Southwest Magazine: Santa Fe Underground. http://bit.ly/1RvBZtw – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity – Cave Creek
Desert Foothills Chapter of AAS presents on November 11th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at no charge, Dr. Laura Tohe, a member of the Navajo Nation and the daughter of a Navajo Code Talker. During WWII a select group of Navajo men enlisted in the Marines with a unique weapon, the Navajo language. Forbidden to speak Navajo language at school, they developed a secret code and created new words for radio transmission in the South Pacific during World War II. The meetings are held in the community building (Maitland Hall) at The Good Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 East Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen). http://bit.ly/1aYMEY2 – Desert Foothills Chapter of the Arizona Archaeology Society

Multimedia Presentation – Durango
Craig Childs and Larry Ruiz will present Mammoths In Durango:  A Multi-media Adventure into the Ice Age, on Friday, November 6, at 7 p.m. at the Durango Arts Center. First, Waking the Mammoth, an award-winning film documenting and honoring the mammoths and ancient peoples that roamed North America tens of thousands of years ago will be shown. Then, Craig Childs takes the stage with, People at the Beginning of Time:  A Journey Through Layers of History in a Storied Land. Craig’s presentation will challenge people’s notion of time in the context of their lives. For tickets and more information, go to: http://bit.ly/1MrMJox or email Larry Ruiz at larryr@mydurango.net

Lecture Opportunity – Grand Junction
Nov. 10 at 7 PM, the Grand Junction chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society is showing the video The Mystery of Chaco Canyon. After the video, Jerry Otero, Energy Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association will speak about the Master Lease Plans currently being developed for the Chaco Canyon area. Otero’s work at the NPCA focuses on conservation, energy development and the planning process on public lands managed by the BLM near national parks. The event will be held in the KAFM Radio Room, 1310 Ute Ave in Grand Junction. http://bit.ly/1RHVcs6 – Farmington Daily Times

Lecture Opportunity – Taos
The Taos Archaeological Society is pleased to present Mark Varien, Executive Vice President of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Research Institute in Cortez, Colorado, who will lecture on The Pueblo Indian Occupation of the Mesa Verde Region on Tuesday, November 10, 2015, at 7 pm at the Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos. Contact Chris Riveles @ 575-776-1005 for questions or further information.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Dr. Deni Seymour on Monday, November 16, at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1500 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724). She will discuss The Earliest Apache in Arizona: Evidence and Arguments. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the AAHS website: http://bit.ly/1uhONZh, or contact John D. Hall at jhall@sricrm.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On November 19, archaeologist Allen Dart will present Ancient Native American Pottery of Southern Arizona during Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 6-8:30 p.m. “Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner at the ULike Asian Buffet Restaurant, 330 S. Wilmot Rd., Tucson. Mr. Dart will show PowerPoint slides of Native American ceramics that characterized specific eras in Arizona prehistory and history from as early as 800 B.C. into the early twentieth century, and will discuss how archaeologists use pottery for dating archaeological sites and interpreting ancient lifeways. Reservations required at 520-798-1201 before 5 p.m.Wednesday November 18.

Reminder: Fancy Flinging a Few Atlatl Darts? Join Archaeology Southwest at the Oro Valley Harvest Heritage Festival
On Saturday, November 7, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., join us at Steam Pump Ranch, Oro Valley, AZ, for Hands-On Archaeology demonstrations with Allen Denoyer and Heritage Garden activities with Joyce Rychener and Doug Gann. http://bit.ly/1OZSHlB – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity – Winslow
The Homolovi Chapter of AAS (Arizona Archaeological Society) is pleased to present Dennis and Sky Roshay on Wednesday, 11 November, at 7 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St, Winslow, AZ, with a presentation on the Pecos Conference, its history and role in southwest archaeology, including video clips. For question or further information, call Sky Roshay at 928-536-3307.  You can also join us for dinner at 5 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).

Thanks to Brian Kreimendahl for contributing to this week’s Newsletter