Bringing Chaco Home

Bringing Chaco Home
Her favorite piece in the collection is easy to choose. Even though Wendy Bustard manages more than 1 million artifacts from 120 sites in Chaco Canyon that are in the custody of the National Park Service, it takes her just a few seconds to come up with it. “Probably, at the moment, the badger,” she says…. Yet today’s visitors to New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park have a much better chance of seeing a live badger than this object of art. That’s because he currently lives in a locked cabinet in the basement of a building on the University of New Mexico campus, where tours are by appointment only. http://bit.ly/1TfItBA – Santa Fe Reporter

Preservation Is a Civil Right
When it comes to treating Native peoples and their ancestral lands with respect, some politicians and outdoor enthusiasts seem to have a double standard. When ISIS ravages the antiquities in the Middle East, it is a deplorable show of terrorism, when your neighbors, politicians, decision-makers, and even individuals you consider as friends and family are vandalizing, developing, and otherwise destroying the antiquities and heritage of Native American peoples, it is declared as progress. http://bit.ly/21t1yEO – Indian Country Today

Arizona Archaeology Expo to Be Held this Saturday, at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is hosting a number of events throughout 2016 to celebrate the National Park Service’s 100^th birthday. The first large event is planned for Saturday, March 5, 2016. On March 5, the Monument will host the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office’s annual Arizona Archaeology Expo, in conjunction with the National Park Service Centennial History and Heritage Celebration that will be hosted by the City of Coolidge and other community partners. Casa Grande Ruins National Monument is partnering with the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office/Arizona State Parks to celebrate the annual Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month. Casa Grande Ruins will host the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office’s Arizona Archaeology Expo as part of its National Park Service Centennial celebration, which will include events throughout 2016. The Archaeology Expo and the History and Heritage Centennial Celebration will take place on Saturday, March 5, 2016, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.  The Expo and activities are open to the public and admission is free.

Burial Excavated in Northern Chihuahua May Shed Light on the Early Agricultural Period
Archaeologists working in the borderlands of northern Mexico have uncovered a camp used by ancient hunters as much as 10,500 years ago, revealing insights into some of the earliest human history in the Greater Southwest. On a ranch near the Santa Maria River in northern Chihuahua, researchers have unearthed more than 18,000 artifacts, including thousands of stone flakes, cores, and hammers, along with 370 projectile points, and a dozen stone ovens. But the most surprising find has been the grave of a teenage girl, who was interred among the rocks, alone and unadorned, some 3,200 years ago. http://bit.ly/1SaedXr – Western Digs

Can Petroglyphs and Target Shooting Coexist in the Same Monument?
The Bureau of Land Management is collecting public comments related to a court order mandating the agency to reanalyze its policy allowing recreational target shooting in the Sonoran Desert National Monument. The Sonoran Desert National Monument near Gila Bend is managed by the BLM and contains more than 487,000 acres of Sonoran Desert landscape, as stated on the BLM website. The U.S. District Court in Arizona ordered the BLM to correct its land-use plan to ensure the monument’s objects of interest, such as saguaros and petroglyphs, “are protected from damage from recreational target shooting,” said Phil Hanceford, assistant director of the BLM Action Center at the Wilderness Society. http://bit.ly/1LNO0r4 – West Valley View

Federal Investigation of Rock Art Vandalism near Tucson
Federal authorities are investigating the vandalism of an American Indian petroglyph at Catalina State Park near Tucson that occurred sometime in January. “Sometime between January 9 and 21, a boulder with a petroglyph, a carved design sometimes referred to as “rock art,” was pushed over and displaced from its original location,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)Forest Service said in a statementon February 9. “Vegetation near the boulder was also damaged, including uprooted cacti and cut or broken tree limbs.” http://bit.ly/1QPShSh – Indian Country Today

Public Meetings Continue on Colorado BLM Master Leasing Plans
A BLM citizen advisory committee held its third of five meetings last week to determine if future oil and gas development in western La Plata and eastern Montezuma counties warrant additional regulations. Because of public concerns, the BLM decided to investigate whether a master leasing plan was needed to further preserve popular recreation areas and cultural resources from energy development. http://bit.ly/1QlF2GY – Cortez Journal

Reminder – Archaeology Café (Tucson): Fire, Climate, and Society—Past, Present, and Future
On March 1, 2016, Christopher Roos (Southern Methodist University) will present “Fire, Climate, and Society—Past, Present, and Future.” In the Southwest U.S., a century of fire suppression has turned old growth forests into tinderboxes that burn in increasingly destructive ways as the climate warms. But do all fire-climate-society relationships conform to this story? We meet on the patio of Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave., Tucson. 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/1UgzKy1 – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity – Cave Creek
Desert Foothills Chapter – AAS presents on March 9th from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., at no charge, Dr. Deni Seymour.  “The Great Battle of 1698: A Historical Turning Point for the O’odham and Apache” reviews a significant event along the San Pedro River in the vicinity of Fairbank on Easter Day in 1698. This was the battle at Santa Cruz de Gaybanipitea, when 500 Apache and their allies attacked the still-sleeping Sobaipuri-O’odham village of 80. Against all odds, the Sobaipuri-O’odham won the battle. Dr. Seymour corrects the historical record with new translations of historic battle-related documents. A newly identified battlefield signature is discussed based on projectile point breakage patterns. 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

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe NM
As part of our continuing lecture series, the Santa Fe Archaeological Society of the Archaeological Institute of America is pleased to present Shawn Kelly on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pecos Trail Cafe, 22339 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM  87505. The lecture will be preceded by a short business meeting and a dinner at 5:30 p.m. Mr. Kelly will lecture about Route 66 and the Native Americans. Mr. Kelly is a local historian with extensive knowledge of local geology and Native American culture. Please contact Sue-Ellen de Beer @ 505-989-1875 or Diane Lenssen @505-455-2444 with questions about this program.

Lecture Opportunity – Taos NM
The Taos Archaeological Society is pleased to present Gary Grief, who will lecture on “A Ritual Site on the Lower Rio Hondo” on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos. Gary has 10 years of recording petroglyphs and doing survey work in New Mexico. Contact Rebecca Quintana @ 575-770-7460 for questions or further information.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On March 17 archaeologist Aaron Wright presents “Hohokam Rock Art, Mountain Ritualism, and Social Transformation in the Salt River Valley” for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 6:00-8:30 p.m. “Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner at ULike Asian Buffet, 330 S. Wilmot Rd., Tucson. Wright suggests that the Hohokam made and used most of Phoenix’s South Mountains petroglyphs between AD 450 and 1050, largely for rituals but not just by shamans, and that use of the rock art may have ended by 1150. No entry fee. Guests may purchase their own dinners. Reservations required at 520-798-1201 before 5 p.m. Wednesday March 16.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Dr. Debra Martin on Monday, March 21^st at 7:30 p.m. in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Hard Times in Dry Lands: Apocalypse in the Ancient Southwest or Business as Usual?” 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.

Tour Opportunity – Tucson
Celebrating the vernal equinox, on March 19 from 8 a.m. to noon, archaeologist Allen Dart leads Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Spring Equinox Tour of Los Morteros and Picture Rocks Petroglyphs Archaeological Sites,” departing from the Silverbell Road and Linda Vista Blvd. area in Marana, Arizona. Los Morteros includes a Hohokam ballcourt and bedrock mortars, and ancient petroglyphs at Picture Rocks include a solstice and equinox marker, dancing human-like figures, whimsical animals, and other Hohokam rock symbols. Fee $20 ($16 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary members). Reservations required by 5 p.m. March 18: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Archaeology and Native Arts Fair – Verde Valley
For the fifth year, Camp Verde Spring Heritage, Pecan & Wine Festival-goers can expect the Verde Valley Archaeology Center to make an impact. According to VVAC Director Ken Zoll, the Archaeology Fair and American Indian Art Show is a two-fold event. “The fair is intended to provide a number of free activities to educate the public on the science of archaeology,” Zoll said. http://bit.ly/214mlcs – Glendale Journal