U.S. Rep. Grijalva and Tribal Members Unite to Protect Great Bend of the Gila

U.S. Rep. Grijalva and Tribal Members Unite to Protect Great Bend of the Gila
In light of a study recently released by Archaeology Southwest which connects various tribes including those in Yuma to the Great Bend of the Gila, Congressman Raul Grijalva joined together with tribal representatives and other groups to renew the call to establish the area as a national monument. The study, titled “The Great Bend of the Gila: Contemporary Native American Connections to an Ancestral Landscape,” was revealed during a press conference at the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona office in Phoenix on Monday. After a two-year study process, it was found that 13 Native American tribes, most of whom were engaged in the development of the new ethnographic report, had contemporary, ancestral connections to the land. Back in June, Grijalva reintroduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that seeks national monument designation for the area, which had been seeing increasing vandalism. http://bit.ly/2bQruFq – Yuma Sun

Archaeology Southwest’s Study: Great Bend of the Gila – Contemporary Native Connections to an Ancestral Landscape
http://bit.ly/2bQsxFq – Archaeology Southwest (pdf file)

Fort Apache Retooling Old-School Tourism and Preservation for New Ideas in Place-Based Heritage Conservation and Community Engagement
Chartered by the White Mountain Apache Tribal Council and recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, the Fort Apache Heritage Foundation was created in the late 1990s to facilitate preservation and tourism at Fort Apache, the historic cavalry post (1870–1922) that became the Theodore Roosevelt School in 1923 and has since operated as an American Indian residential school. In the early 2010s, the Foundation shifted its mission focus from external, non-Apache ‘markets’ for information and experience to local Apache interests in education, economic opportunity, environmental quality and decolonized institutions, places and futures. This shift entails the replacement of tourism-based economic development and ‘old-school’ historic preservation with an environmentalism grounded in place-based heritage conservation and community engagement and empowerment. http://bit.ly/2bQtLR9 – IHOPE

Excavations at the Alamo Might Continue
A recent month-long excavation at the Alamo could be the first of many carefully planned archaeological projects to come — radar scans and digs aimed at revealing buried secrets of the sacred mission and battle site. James “Jake” Ivey, a veteran archaeologist considered one of the most knowledgeable experts still living on underground deposits in the Alamo area, said he would like to see a series of investigative digs planned for the future and made accessible to the public as part of the visitor experience. Seeing archaeological work in progress would be more meaningful than a video or lecture, he said. http://bit.ly/2bQAVEO – San Antonio News Express

Hands on Archaeology – Experiments in Hafting Stone Tools at Archaeology Southwest
During the field school for the past two years we have used hafted stone knives to carve the hooks in our atlatls. These knives also work incredibly well for a variety of tasks, from carving wood to cutting willows. They can be used like a saw, a rasp, or a carving knife. I also make lanyard-sheaths that can be hung around the user’s neck so the knife is always close at hand but protected. http://bit.ly/2bQt0ay – Archaeology Southwest

Touring Fortaleza
Fortaleza is typical of Hohokam settlements in this region.  The name Fortaleza translates from the Spanish as “hilltop fortress” which describes this site perfectly.  The village is perched atop the mountain.  Two sides of the butte are sheer and impenetrable.  Two sides of the butte funnel up steep narrow canyons and reach the top at the same place.  There is a large stone wall which runs the entire width of the mesa. Note: Those who wish to hike must obtain permits from the San Lucy District Office of the Tohono O’odham Nation at (520) 683-6515.  http://bit.ly/2bQwHgo – CopperArea.com

Lecture Opportunity – Cave Creek
Desert Foothills Chapter – AAS presents on September 14th from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at no charge, PhD David R. Abbott. The hypothesized scale of the Verde Confederacy was regional in size. It may have included ~12,000 members living at ~135 settlements, and a swath of land 125 km in length.  If so, the confederacy was organized at a scale that would have made it the largest alliance of its time.  But, did it truly exist?  Multiple lines of evidence have been brought to bear to address this question, including climate data, agricultural production, architectural building sequences, ceramic manufacture and exchange, and the spatial distribution of race tracks.  The meeting is 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 and Tour Opportunities –  Chimney Rock, CO
Chimney Rock National Monument’s 2016 season is winding to an end, but there is still time to visit this spectacular Monument where the Ancient Puebloans once resided. Chimney Rock offers monthly programs, annual events and daily guided and self-guided tours that are fun and educational for the whole family through September 30. On Thursday, September 8, Chimney Rock Interpretive Association (CRIA) is proud to host a special presentation given by Susan C. Ryan on Chaco Canyon and the Rise of Complexity in the Middle and Northern San Juan Regions. Susan C. Ryan (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is the Director of Archaeology at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez, Colorado. Ryan’s research interests include the nature and extent of Chaco influence in the northern Southwest, the A.D. 1130-1180 drought, semiotics, and the built environment. Ryan is the author of several journal articles and book chapters in edited volumes. http://bit.ly/2bQvMga – Pagosa Daily Post

Lecture Opportunity – Phoenix
On Tuesday, September 13, 2016, at 7:00 pm, the Phoenix Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society invites you to join us in the Pueblo Grande Museum Community Room for a lecture by Dr. Aaron Wright, a Preservation Archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest in Tucson. Dr. Wright will present An Archaeological and Historical Overview of the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site along the Lower Gila River. Although the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site is the most publicly accessible rock art site along the lower Gila River, a comprehensive site recording of this site has never been published, and little is actually known about the archaeological context in general and the rock art specifically. This talk reviews previous research and situates the site in the archaeological and historical setting of the lower Gila River. The Pueblo Grande Museum is located at 4619 E. Washington Street, Phoenix. Attendance is free and the public is welcome.

Lecture Opportunity – Taos
The Taos Archaeological Society is pleased to present Carrie Leven, Questa District Archaeologist, who will lecture on “Busted Prospects and Ghosted Boomtowns: Historic Mining Archaeology in Amizette and Twining, New Mexico,” on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 7 pm at the Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos.  Contact Don Keefe @575-224-1023 or Phil Aldritt @575-770-3408 for questions or further information.

Huge Used Book Sale – Tucson
On Saturday, October 1st from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) will hold its largest ever sale of used books to benefit the Arizona State Museum library. Located at the Arizona State Museum, North Building (1013 E. University Boulevard Tucson, AZ 85721), just inside the Main Gate at University & Park Ave. A unique opportunity, for a good cause, that book lovers should not miss.  Advanced admission for AAHS Members & University of Arizona Faculty, Students, and Staff on Friday, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. For more information please visit the AAHS website: http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/, or contact John D. Hall at jhall@sricrm.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Educational Opportunity – Tucson
A 10-week, 20-hour “Prehistory of the Southwest” class is offered from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, September 13 through November 15, at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 2201 W. 44th Street, Tucson. Taught by archaeologist Allen Dart, this introduction to the archaeology of the American Southwest covers cultural sequences, dating systems, subsistence strategies, development of urbanization, abandonments of different areas at different times, and the general characteristics of major cultural groups that have lived in the Southwest over the past 13,000-plus years. Fee $95 ($80 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center members). Reservations and prepayment required by Thursday September 8. 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Iva Honyestewa, (Hopi-Shungopavi Village, Second Mesa) Basket Weaver and Jewelry Artist; Owner Iskasokpu Gallery, Second Mesa, Arizona; and Eric and Barbara Dobbin Fellow, School for Advanced Research; Author Understanding Access to and Use of Traditional Foods by Hopi Women and Volunteer, Songoopafhaoyam Youth Project and Hopi Language Classes who will give a presentation on Weaving Hopi Tradition in Basketry on September 12 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Native Culture Matters Lecture Series held to honor and acknowledge the Indian Arts Research Center at School for Advanced Research. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Contact Connie Eichstaedt: tel. 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; website: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Winslow
On Wednesday, 14 September, the Homolovi Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society features Darlene Brinkerhoff, who will introduce a video entitled “Chocolate: Pathway to the Gods”, documenting the significance of chocolate (cacao) to the gods, the rulers and everyday people, over several millennia in Meso-America (where it comes from) and the Southwest. Be creative – bring your favorite chocolate to share as we watch the video (or popcorn, another Meso-American development, if chocolate isn’t your thing). HAS meetings are the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St. in Winslow.  You can also join us and the speaker(s) for dinner at 5 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).

Tour Opportunity – Winslow
Park Rangers at Homolovi State Park in Winslow, Arizona will present guided walks, hikes, and lectures from September through November 2016 that will educate visitors about the sacred Hopi land the park resides on. There will also be Star Parties where you can gaze at the stars through astronomer’s telescopes. The cost is Homol’ovi State Park’s Entrance Fee of $7 per vehicle. A reservation is required where noted. For more information, call (928) 289-4106 or visit http://AZStateParks.com/parks/HORU.  On September 17 at 9 a.m.: Enjoy a sunset hike on Tsu’vö Trail with a Park Ranger. The tour will be approximately two miles on sandy trails to Diné Point and back. Wear sturdy walking shoes, wear a hat and bring water. Along the trail, participants will be able see petroglyphs from Homol’ovi’s earliest pit-house period.