Dear Friends,
As this arrives in your inboxes this morning, I should be airborne and well on my way to Baltimore. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is holding a blended meeting with in-person and online options. I’m going to be there in person.
And I get to talk about Preservation Archaeology. I have the honor of delivering the Patty Jo Watson Distinguished Lecture for the Archaeology Division of the AAA. The title of my talk is “Preservation Archaeology from Bear’s Lodge to Bears Ears: Tracing an Evolving Ethic.”
I’m looking forward to it.
And Monday’s announcement by President Biden that he intends to put a 20-year hold on new oil and gas extraction in the 10-mile zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park was a wonderful way to start the week.
Paul Reed, our Preservation Archaeologist in New Mexico, is among those who have been working long and hard to achieve this positive protection for the Chacoan cultural landscape. We are honored to have worked with Tribes, other nonprofits, and many of you to advocate for Chaco.
Fortunately, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and President Biden are taking meaningful action. We’ll keep you informed, because we still want to see Congress get behind this effort and make this protection permanent.
We will be taking next week off. I hope you enjoy a Happy Thanksgiving with friends and family.
All my best,
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
P.S. Check out this cool (and incredibly important) new resource from our friends and colleagues at the Conservation Lands Foundation: The Climate Atlas. I look forward to diving in soon.
Banner image: Andy Laurenzi
Chaco Protection Zone Comes Closer to Becoming a Reality
The Biden administration on Monday proposed a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling in Chaco Canyon and surrounding areas in northwestern New Mexico, a sacred tribal site that also contains valuable oil and gas. … “Chaco Canyon is a sacred place that holds deep meaning for the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived, worked, and thrived in that high desert community,” [Interior Secretary Deb] Haaland said in a statement. “Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations.” Joshua Partlow and Darryl Fears in the Washington Post | Read More >>
In the coming weeks, administration officials said, the Bureau of Land Management, which is part of the Interior Department, will publish a notice in the Federal Register that will initiate the process of banning new oil and gas leases on federal land in the 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historical Park for a period of 20 years. One that notice is published, there will be an initial two-year moratorium on issuing new oil and gas drilling leases in the federal land in the 10-mile radius while the proposal is subject to a public comment period, environmental analysis and formal tribal consultation. The ban would not affect existing valid leases or rights and would not apply to oil, gas or other minerals owned by private, state or tribal entities. Coral Davenport in the New York Times | Read More >>
One archaeologist said there are at least 4,000 documented Indigenous sites within the buffer zone that will receive much stronger protection under this action than what federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management normally provide. “This protection, while it’s not completely permanent, is huge,” said Paul Reed of Archaeology Southwest, based in Tucson, Ariz. “Keeping oil and gas out of there, at least on BLM surface lands, is going to give myself and many other archaeologists and tribal members a chance to experience those places without the threat of … development.” Scott Wyland in the Santa Fe New Mexican | Read More >>
Ft. Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies Completes NAGPRA Requirements
Ask Shelby Tisdale about major accomplishments at Fort Lewis College’s Center of Southwest Studies in the last six years, and you’ll get a one-word answer: NAGPRA. “Bringing the college into compliance with NAGPRA,” Tisdale said, has been a top priority in her strategic plan as the center’s director. “When I came here in February 2016, there was a concern about so much change in leadership and where we stood on NAGPRA. Early on, the staff and I developed a five-year strategic plan. And despite COVID, we’ve accomplished a lot—most importantly—compliance with NAGPRA.” Judith Reynolds in the Durango Herald | Read More >>
Archaeology Café Welcomes Bill Lipe and Mary Weahkee on Dec. 7
Join us for their presentation of “Turkey Feather Blankets in Ancestral Pueblo History.” For over 1,600 years, a distinctive Southwestern domestic turkey furnished feathers for ritual uses and for making warm blankets. The birds also became a significant food source after about 1200 CE. Bill Lipe will discuss archaeological evidence of the development of feather blankets and how they contributed to Ancestral Pueblo lives, and Mary Weahkee, the best-known present-day replicator of turkey feather blankets, will discuss some techniques used in making them. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
Video: Indigenous Views on Ancestors, Archaeology, and Interaction with Archaeologists
Jefford Francisco is a Cultural Affairs Specialist for the Tohono O’odham Nation in Arizona. He conducts archaeological surveys on the Tohono O’odham lands and works with the Indian Health Service and the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Ki:Ki: Housing. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center | Watch Now >>
Video: From the Long Walk to the Sky Walk: A Brief History of the Hualapai People
With Jeffrey P. Shepherd. Based on more than a decade of archival research, oral history interviews, and participant observation, this presentation summarizes some of the main turning points in Hualapai history. Long overshadowed by well-known groups such as the Navajo, Hopi, and Apache, the Hualapai Nation has lived in northwest Arizona for thousands of years. Amerind Foundation | Watch Now >>
Podcast: Edward Jolie on Perishable Artifacts and Tribally Driven Archaeology
Host Jessica Yaquinto interviews Dr. Edward Jolie (Oglala Lakota and Hodulgee Muscogee), the new Clara Lee Tanner Associate Curator of Ethnology at the Arizona State Museum and Associate Professor at School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona. We talk about perishable materials, such as textiles, baskets, nets, and footwear, and why they are understudied, how they offer unique insights into the past, and what they can teach us about diversity and continuity both within and across regions. Heritage Voices | Listen Now >>
Audio: New Curator of Anthropology at Dickson Mounds State Museum
Logan Pappenfort is the Curator of Anthropology at Dickson Mounds State Museum. He is also a member of the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma. Pappenfort spoke to Community Voices about what is offered at the Dickson Mounds State Museum. He also gave insight into the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Vanessa Ferguson for WUIS 91.9 (NPR) | Listen Now >>
Blog: On Archaeology
For me, archaeology is science, and learning new things that are inherently interesting and will also benefit everyone is why I love it. But…what if learning these new things doesn’t benefit everyone? What if it turns out that some of the science is excluding or even harming people? There’s a growing awareness that archaeology has a history of doing that, and readers will see that reflected in this blog series. Karen Schollmeyer at the Preservation Archaeology blog (Archaeology Southwest) | Read More >>
REMINDER: TODAY, Nov. 17, Webinar: Tewa Pueblos at the Dawn of Atomic Modernity
With Dmitri Brown. In late 1942, Manhattan Project officials evaluated potential locations for their scientific headquarters. They found a site that met their needs on the Pajarito Plateau in the western hills of the Tewa Pueblo world. Employing traditional patterns and dynamics, Tewa communities had long drawn strength from accommodating potentially shattering modern incursions like the railroad, pottery markets, and archaeology. They used these same traditions and experiences to meet the coming of the Atomic age. Viewing the Manhattan Project in the context of the Tewa world, this talk offers an opportunity to understand the connections between physics, history, and Tewa philosophy. School for Advanced Research | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
Nov. 18 Webinar: Indigenizing Archaeology and Museums
With Joseph Aguilar. Pueblo Indian people of the American Southwest have multi-faceted and nuanced relationships with their material culture associated with archaeological activities. Many of these activities result in collections of material culture that are eventually housed in museums and other institutions. One starting point toward gaining some understanding of this relationship revolves around the idea that the material culture within the collections embodies history, both physically and spiritually, and that historical memories are given life when Pueblo people re-encounter these collections. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
REMINDER: Nov. 18 Webinar: Horses in Rock Art
With Larry Loendorf. Horse and rider pictographs and petroglyphs on the northern Plains have enabled archaeologists to recognize rock art of the Crow, Blackfoot, Comanche, and other peoples. Horse depictions on rock are less common on the southern Plains and the Colorado Plateau. This talk focuses on horse images in Canyon del Muerto, Arizona. Third Thursday Food for Thought (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
REMINDER: Nov. 21 Webinar: Chaco and Me
For over four decades, much of Stephen Lekson’s archaeological research was focused on Chaco Canyon. This presentation is an “autobiography” of a set of ideas about one of the most important archaeological sites in the Southwest. The Friends of Coronado Historic Site | More Information and Zoom Link >>
Dec. 2 Webinar: The Ethnoarchaeology of Mongolia’s Dukha Reindeer Herders
With Todd Surovell. Surovell’s excavations at Barger Gulch in Grand County, Colorado yielded numerous spatial patterns in chipped stone artifacts in interior and exterior spaces of a Folsom campsite. While spatial patterns were easy to identify, Todd found it challenging to link those patterns back to the human behaviors that produced them. His inability to confidently interpret the behavioral significance of archaeological patterns is what led to the desire to actually observe living nomadic peoples, ultimately with the intent of understanding how human behavior is organized spatially at small scales in nomadic contexts. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | More Information and Zoom Registration >>
Jan.–Feb. Master Class: Ancient Southwestern Ceramics
With Patrick D. Lyons, Director. This four-part ASM Master Class will focus on painted pre-Hispanic pottery. Sessions will be 90 minutes, plus extra time for Q&A. In the first session, we will address typological conventions and nomenclature used in the US Southwest; the origin and development of ceramics in the region; pottery-making technology; and what pottery can tell us about the dating of archaeological sites, as well as ancient diets, migrations, trade, and religion. Tuition fees apply. Arizona State Museum | Learn More >>
Job Opportunity, Archivist, Arizona State University (Tempe AZ)
The School of Human Evolution and Social Change at Arizona State University seeks to hire a qualified Anthropological Collections Archivist to manage archival materials housed in the Center for Archaeology and Society Repository. Duties include the development of standards, policies, and procedures for the arrangement, tracking, description, and preservation of archival materials to ensure their proper care, access, and use in perpetuity. Center for Archaeology and Society Repository | Learn More >>
See you in two weeks! Remember to send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the friends.