William A. Longacre Jr. Passes

William A. Longacre Jr. Passes
Professor Emeritus William Longacre passed away peacefully in Tucson, AZ, on November 18 after a short illness. Dr. Longacre will be interred in the family plot in Houghton, MI in the spring. Funeral arrangements are pending. The School of Anthropology will host a celebration of life in Tucson, also in the spring. Bill’s receipt of the Raymond H. Thompson Award will be acknowledged at the School of Anthropology Centennial Gala Dinner on December 4. Following Bill’s wishes, the dinner will be a celebration of our centennial year and an opportunity to enjoy good food, drink, and conversation with colleagues and friends. – University of Arizona

Archaeologists Claim Chilean Stone Tools Date to 18,500 Years Ago
Archaeologist Tom Dillehay didn’t want to return to Monte Verde. Decades ago, his discoveries at the famous site in southern Chile showed that humans occupied South America by 14,500 years ago, thousands of years earlier than thought, stirring a long and exhausting controversy. Now, Dillehay, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, has been lured back—and he is preparing for renewed debate. He reports in PLOS ONE today that people at Monte Verde built fires, cooked plants and meat, and used tools 18,500 years ago, which would push back the peopling of the Americas by another 4000 years. http://bit.ly/1PIJBvt – Science

More on New Monte Verde Results
Stone tools, cooked animal and plant remains and fire pits found at the Monte Verde site in southern Chile provide greater interdisciplinary evidence that the earliest known Americans—a nomadic people adapted to a cold, ice-age environment—were established deep in South America more than 15,000 years ago. The research, led by Tom Dillehay, Rebecca Webb Wilson University Distinguished Professor of Anthropology, appears in the Nov. 18 issue of PLOS ONE. http://bit.ly/1Sdxep6 Vanderbuilt University via Popular Archaeology

Ismael Sánchez-Morales Receives Beca Complemento Grant
Ph.D. student Ismael Sánchez-Morales has been awarded the Beca Complemento Grant of the 2015–2016 academic year by the Mexican government through the Directorate of External Relations of the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Secretary of Public Education). The funding will support his research focused on early Paleoindian mobility and land-use patterns in Sonora, Mexico. This research is part of a larger international project co-directed by Professor Vance Holliday and SoA alumn Guadalupe Sánchez (Ph.D. Arizona, 2010). Learn more about the latest results of this project in this UANews story. – http://bit.ly/21c8FyM University of Arizona

Archaeology Café (Tucson): Ancient Cultural Landscapes in Southeastern Utah and the Big Questions of Anthropology
On December 1, 2015, Jonathan Till (Edge of the Cedars) will present Ancient Cultural Landscapes in Southeastern Utah and the Big Questions of Anthropology. His presentation will focus on the ancient and historic cultural landscapes of the Bluff valley in southeastern Utah. Till will describe several possible scenarios for the management of these landscapes and consider the outcomes of these management practices for Native American peoples, for the United States citizenry, and for humanity in general. 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/1jeW7Vl – Archaeology Southwest

The BLM’s Master Leasing Plans Could Protect Ancient Places and Restrain a Fracking Binge, but only If the Plans Can Be Implemented
“This is one of the most spectacular places on the planet,” Clark argues. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to allow oil companies to disturb this landscape.” Hoping to strike a better balance, in August, the BLM released a draft “master leasing plan” for nearly 800,000 federal acres here that would significantly curtail future development near national parks, trails and other sensitive sites. http://bit.ly/1SdnzPu – High Country News

Public Forum in Albuquerque on Cultural Landscapes At‐Risk: Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde
This timely conversation with archaeologists, Native Americans, and other experts will take place on December 5, 2015, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., at the Hibben Center, Maxwell Museum, University of New Mexico, 450 University Blvd. NE, Albuquerque.  Archaeology Southwest and the National Trust for Historic Preservation host this second public forum addressing ongoing efforts to protect the fragile Greater Chaco and Mesa Verde landscapes. http://bit.ly/1jeWgb7 – Archaeology Southwest

Tensions over the Future of a Frank Lloyd Wright Home in a Residential Neighborhood
The Phoenix Historic Preservation Commission voted Monday to recommend an Arcadia home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright be listed as a historic landmark, in the first city vote on a controversial plan to open the house to the public. The commission voted 7-2 to designate 6 acres surrounding the 1952 David and Gladys Wright House as significant, going beyond what the city’s historic preservation staff recommended for the land. http://bit.ly/1Mwv5U0 – Arizona Republic

The Complicated Legislative Path to Change the Boundary of Yucca House National Monument
Last year, ranch managers and owners expressed frustration that visitor parking interfered with farm-equipment traffic. They asked the county to officially abandon the public road, but easement language attached to the deed requires an alternative route be established to the monument before that can happen. The problem appeared to have a quick and generous solution when Bernard and Nancy Karwick decided to donate 160 acres of adjacent land to the monument. All that was needed was a boundary adjustment, and a new access route could be installed that doesn’t interfere with the ranch. http://bit.ly/1lDjvxt – Cortez Journal

Travelogue: A Rare Tour of Utah’s Danger Cave
Ken Linares made his way down a wooden ladder and, along with roughly 20 other tour guests, admired the rock formations of Utah’s Danger Cave on Saturday. The Grantsville man grew up in the area and said he used to visit the cave with his family when he was young. He said Saturday’s tour, one of only a few held each year in the renowned archaeological site, was the first time he had stepped into Danger Cave in more than 40 years. http://bit.ly/1YoahDw – Salt Lake Tribue

Editor’s note: Thanks for everything, Uncle Willie. Rest in Peace.