Abusing Places of the Past Is a Violation of Human Rights

Interesting Article on Technology and Preservation Archaeology
“Our top priority is to conduct investigations that are as little damaging as possible to heritage buildings. This is why the ScanPyramids mission started with an extensive use of non-invasive, non-damaging techniques like muography,” Dr. Jean-Baptiste Mouret, a senior researcher working on the project, previously told Digital Trends. “And this is why if, one day, a team bores a hole in a 4,000-year old monument like the Great Pyramid, the hole will have to be as small as possible. Ideally, the hole would be so small that it would be invisible.” http://bit.ly/2DTdI0R – Digital Trends

Archaeology Café (Phoenix): Archaeology under the Downtown Streets (and Runways)
On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, at 6:00 p.m., Dr. Michael Lindeman will share some stories from his experiences leading archaeological excavations both downtown and amid the runways of Sky Harbor Airport. Come learn more about Phoenix underground. We gather at around 5:30 p.m. at the Changing Hands Bookstore (300 W. Camelback Road, Phoenix AZ) to visit and enjoy food and beverages. The program begins at 6 p.m. This program is made possible, in part, by The Smith Living Trust and Arizona Humanities. http://bit.ly/2pBkLIh – Archaeology Southwest

Donate Now to Protect the Southwest’s Wonders
Places like Bears Ears urgently need your help—now more than ever. But there’s still time to make your year-end, unrestricted gift in support of Preservation Archaeology. Every day of the year, we work to explore and protect the places of the past that matter across the Southwest. Make your gift today, and together we can continue to defend against the threats to our past’s most special places. https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/yearend2017/

Audio Link: Mark Varien on Bears Ears
President Trump’s decision to shrink Bears Ears National Monument by about 85 percent is drawing reactions from across the region. After the decision was announced, Crow Canyon Archeological Center in Cortez released a statement condemning the president’s decision. Crow Canyon does not have active excavations in the Bears Ears but they use data and artifacts from the area in their research. To learn more about Crow Canyon’s stance, KSJD’s Austin Cope spoke with Mark Varien, Executive Vice President of Crow Canyon’s Research Institute. http://bit.ly/2pEm8pS – KSJD.org

New Mexican Congressional Delegation Fighting to Preserve Chaco
Democratic members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation are renewing their pleas for federal land managers to limit oil and natural gas drilling in the northwestern corner of the state over concerns about archaeological and cultural sites that dot the region. U.S. Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Reps. Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham sent a letter this week to the acting state director of the Bureau of Land Management in New Mexico. There have been concerns that the Trump administration could relax rules that have provided a buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. While the agency has deferred the leasing of several parcels within the buffer zone, critics say there are more parcels that should be excluded while officials work to update the resource management plan for the region. http://bit.ly/2pztPxv – AP via USA Today

Historic Preservation Tax Benefits Weakened in New Tax Code 
In Chicago and other cities that depend on the glow of restored historic buildings to lure tourists and create jobs, there were mixed emotions over the $1.5 trillion tax package that Congress approved Wednesday — relief that legislators did not kill a major economic incentive for preservation, but uncertainty over the incentive’s future impact because it’s been weakened. The existence of the decades-old incentive, the federal historic preservation tax credit, was thrown into doubt last month when the House voted to abolish it. The final bill keeps the credit, but instead of allowing developers to reap its full 20 percent benefit when a restored building opens, as they can now, the credit will be parceled out over five years. http://trib.in/2pD4FxR – Chicago Tribune

Lecture Opportunity – Casa Grande Ruins
Beginning January 10, 2018 through February 28, 2018, Casa Grande Ruins will host its annual speaker series. The speaker series will kick off on January 10 at noon featuring Barbara Jaquay who will present a lecture titled Father Kino: Journey to Discovery. The speaker series will continue every Wednesday at noon through February 28. The program begins at 12:00 pm in the Casa Grande Ruins visitor center theater at 1100 W Ruins Drive, Coolidge AZ, 85128. There is no fee for the program, but normal entrance fees apply.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Karl Laumbach on Monday, January 15th at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Preserving the Mimbres Pueblo Legacy: The Elk Ridge Story.” Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit the AAHS website: http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/, or contact John D. Hall at john.hall@terracon.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.