4,000 Years of Farming in Tucson

4,000 Years of Farming in Tucson
When Tucson was selected as the first U.S. Creative City of gastronomy by UNESCO last week, its long history of cultivated crops was cited as part of the reason for its designation. Road builders, sewer plant operators and backhoe operators can share some of the glory, along with the archaeologists who uncovered evidence of early agriculture in the Tucson Basin, said archaeologist James Vint. http://bit.ly/1kaS4d1 – Arizona Daily Star

Utah County Commissioner Sentenced for Illegal ATV Stunt
A Southern Utah county commissioner who became a cause celebre in the movement challenging the federal government’s management of Western public lands was sentenced Friday to 10 days behind bars for organizing an ATV protest ride through a closed canyon. A federal judge also gave San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman three years’ probation. http://lat.ms/1TaX51x – Associated Press via Los Angeles Times

Nine Tips on the Etiquette of Visiting Ancient Places
It first came in the form of a casual conversation. I was told that the site had been located by someone who had reported it to a guidebook author. The location of the sensitive site was now publicly accessible. Little by little, the people came. A year or two later, I revisited the site with Jim Keele, an Emery High School teacher and artist who made, not only good company, but a skilled hiking companion. Together, we regularly explored the depths of the unknown in Utah’s canyon country. As we approached the alcove, my heart dropped. “EFRA” was now carved in large, bulky letters over the delicate wings of a painted bird. I placed my feet in the alcove, realizing the full extent of the damage. The floor mural was almost entirely absent. Stolen. The entire chapel, desecrated. http://bit.ly/1Quz8oa – Indian Country Today

Fort Lewis College Finds New Director for Southwest Studies
The first female director in the 50-year history of the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College will take the helm in February. Shelby Tisdale comes to the center from the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, where she was vice president for curatorial and exhibitions. “What sparked my interest in this position is that I see the Center of Southwest Studies as being at the crossroads where the interpretation of human history and historic preservation are debated and discussed in an environment that is respectful to both ideological and cultural differences,” Tisdale said. http://bit.ly/1OcUztx – Durango Herald

Jeff Altschul Announces That 24 SRI Technical Series Volumes Have Been Released as Open Access
SRI Press is pleased to announce that 24 volumes of Statistical Research Technical Series are now available in “open access” as free downloads from the SRI Press Web site (www.sripress.com). The volumes represent the most important cultural resource management reports from the first 10 years of SRI’s existence (1983–1992). These volumes report on surveys, data recoveries, test excavations, and overviews from diverse settings in Arizona and California, including the Upper Santa Ana River drainage in southern California, the San Pedro Valley of southern Arizona, and the Arizona Strip. Topics covered include Archaic settlement in southern Arizona, statistical analysis of Hohokam settlements in the Tucson Basin, the eating habits of the residents of the Yuma Quartermaster Depot, and the Cold War deployment of Titan Missile silos in and around Tucson, Arizona. SRI Press, in cooperation of tDAR (the Digital Archaeological Record), is in the process of archiving and making all volumes of the Statistical Research Technical Series available now and into the future. This process will take several years, but I am glad to say that we are on our way. Please check us out.

Failed Spanish Colony Located in Florida
The University of West Florida archaeology program recently identified the archaeological site of the Luna settlement – the first multi-year European settlement in the United States – in a developed neighbourhood in Pensacola. The artefacts discovered are evidence of the Spanish settlement by Tristán de Luna y Arellano from 1559 to 1561, the earliest multi-year European colonial settlement ever archaeologically identified in the United States. http://bit.ly/1Rtz1JA – Past Horizons

Archaeology Magazine’s Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of 2015
This year’s Top 10 Discoveries reach us from vastly different cultures and across eons. Some raise new questions about what it means to be human and what separates us from our species’ relatives. Others bring us face to face with individual people, their travels, their faith, their hold on power. Several, covering matters as diverse as slavery and the origins of art, come to us via newly applied scientific methods. Taken together, this year’s discoveries present an array of insights into endeavors, large and small, spanning millions of years. http://bit.ly/1IdlPWn – Archaeology

Thanks to C. Purcell and Cherie Freeman for contributing to today’s newsletter.