Dear Friends,
CNN recently published a story about a 4-year-old boy who accidently broke a 3,500-year-old Bronze Age jar at the Hecht Museum in Haifa. The jar was on open display because the museum’s founder wants to keep artifacts more accessible to the public, even if they are not supposed to be touched.
As the father of three (now nearly grown) boys myself, I can certainly empathize with the boy’s father, who reportedly thought to himself “it wasn’t my child that did that” and then realized that it was, in fact, his child. The museum handled the situation well, issuing a statement, “Don’t be afraid. Things like this happen. We will fix (the jar) and put it back.”
The museum’s reassuring response is pleasantly astonishing, really, and got me thinking about the already fragmentary nature of the archaeological record.
The vast majority of things archaeologists study are already broken, and have been for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. We are so enamored of broken things that we have specialized terms for many of them, not least of which is “sherds,” because we rarely find or recover whole ceramic vessels. With flaked stone “debitage”—the detritus left behind from making a stone tool such as an arrowhead or dart point—we can often learn more about the manufacturing process than we can from the finished tool itself.
The archaeological record is also fragmentary in another important way—not everything gets preserved in archaeological sites. Ever wonder why the oldest archaeological sites are full of stone tools? It’s not just because ancient humans made and used stone tools (they did!), it’s also because those tools are of a material that preserves well through time! Ancient humans also made and used wooden tools and other implements made of what we now call perishable (organic) materials. Under most conditions, those tools and belongings simply decayed long ago.
Online, some folks have expressed dismay at the loss of the “priceless” object at the Hecht Museum. That jar was not truly priceless—Bronze Age jars like that are not even all that rare. (If they were, even the Hecht Museum would have protected it in a case.) And ceramic experts are no strangers to fragments—they often learn more from sherds than they do from whole vessels.
In any event, when you hear chatter about this incident, please cut the kid and his parents some slack. He’s 4. He’s curious. He didn’t mean to break it, and I am quite sure this is not the 15 minutes of fame he and his family hoped for. But let’s credit the Hecht Museum for showing no small dose of grace and empathy in what is surely a difficult time for all involved. Mistakes happen. We learn from them and move on.
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Archaeology Journal Goes Open Access
We’re delighted to announce that all articles accepted for publication in Advances in Archaeological Practice from August 23, 2024 will be ‘open access’ [OA]; published with a Creative Commons licence and freely available to read online. The costs of open access publication will be covered through agreements between the publisher and the author’s institution, payment of APCs from grant or other funds, or else waived entirely, ensuring every author can publish and enjoy the benefits of OA. Advances in Archaeological Practice | Learn more »
Co-Stewardship Comes to Everglades
This week, The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida signed a historic agreement with the National Park Service regarding Tribal costewardship at Everglades National Park. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) supports this partnership, which establishes cooperative administration of fire and water resources and visitor services at the park. National Parks Conservation Association | Read more »
A Diné Rain-Bringing Ceremony
In northern Arizona a dry spell can last for weeks, even months, before the monsoon rains kick in. During a severe drought a Navajo medicine man, known as a singer, invited commentator Scott Thybony to join a rain-bringing ceremony below the San Francisco Peaks. He wanted outsiders to know how important the mountains remained to his people. KNAU (public radio) | Listen now or read more »
Feature on Archaeologist Tom Dillehay
Dillehay is still known mostly for Monte Verde and the war over the peopling of the Americas. But he has long since lost interest in both, and has continued working on what he’s loved about archaeology from the beginning: how foraging groups of people eventually changed into settled and increasingly complex societies. The changes were long and slow, and Dillehay wanted to find all possible evidence for them, and then to understand what people did to undertake them. Dillehay’s archaeological and ethnographic evidence showed that the foraging society at Monte Verde had the necessary and intimate knowledge of the landscape through which they moved and on which they counted for survival. The transition from foragers to settlers Dillehay found at Huaca Prieta, a site over 5,000 kilometers northwest of Monte Verde, in northern Peru. People had lived there at about the same time Monte Verde was occupied, but over thousands of years, had stayed on to set up farms and collect into towns, developing the culture that allowed them to get along with each other. Ann Finkbeiner for Hakai Magazine | Read more »
Feature on Diane Dittemore’s Woven from the Center
“In the beginning there was basketry,” is Dittemore’s fantastic opening line. While white collectors and their influence loom large in the first part of the book, they’re soon superseded by the ancestrally informed expressions of named and anonymous weavers across millennia. In her introduction, Dittemore espouses a multidimensional approach to interpreting historical basketry, informed by nearly fifty years of ethnological practice and over forty years at ASM, where she is the associate curator of ethnology (and organized a permanent basketry exhibition that corresponds with the book). She writes that each object in the ASM collection “is infused with layers of aesthetic, cultural, and historic meanings.” She continues, “The meanings are derived from the objects themselves, from individuals and communities of origin, from the collectors, and from those who have subsequently spent time with them—artists, curators, researchers, and members of descendant communities.” Jordan Eddy for Southwest Contemporary | Read more »
Free Curriculum Guide and Activity Book Accompany Grounded in Clay Exhibition
Grounded in Clay is a collaborative exhibit curated by the Pueblo Pottery Collective and organized by the School for Advanced Research and the Vilcek Foundation. The lesson plans included in this curriculum guide, like the exhibition itself, are intended to both teach about Pueblo pottery and its history as well as encourage students to understand the ways in which “objects” hold and carry stories. Through process-driven art activities, students are given the opportunity to engage in inquiry and in practices that are aligned not only with Pueblo artistic conventions—but also with cultural values themselves. The Grounded in Clay Activity Book was illustrated by several members of the Pueblo Pottery Collective for Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery exhibition. We hope that you enjoy coloring these pages and become inspired to create as you bring your own uniqueness to each page. School for Advanced Research and the Vicek Foundation | Download now »
Women in Paleoanthropology
When you think of paleoanthropology, names like Louis Leakey, Donald Johanson, and Richard Leakey might come to mind—often overshadowing the equally groundbreaking contributions of women in the field. But make no mistake: women have been at the forefront of paleoanthropology since its inception, challenging stereotypes, uncovering new fossils, and reshaping our understanding of human evolution. Today, not only do we have prominent figures who have made a lasting impact, but we also see a vibrant new generation of female paleoanthropologists rising through the ranks. Let’s delve into the stories of some of these pioneering women, both the legends and the rising stars, whose work continues to revolutionize our knowledge of human origins. Seth Chagi for World of Paleoanthropology | Read more »
Visual Podcasts: Learn about Archaeology through ASL (American Sign Language) with Amelia the Archaeologist
Audio: Mesa Verde Indigenous Ranger Stories: Ian Bowekaty
Ian Bowekaty, an intern with the Mesa Verde Indigenous Ranger program, speaks with KSJD’s Cara Gildar about his experience as a Zuni tribal member who gives cliff dwelling tours at Mesa Verde National Park. He shares some highlights from his tour talks, and what people in his community are curious to ask him about when he returns home. KSJD (public radio) | Listen now »
Podcast: African American Museum of Southern Arizona
Host Patricia Schwartz welcomes Beverley Elliott, the Executive Director of the African American Museum of Southern Arizona, the only museum of its kind in the state. In this episode she gives us a tour of the young museum’s exhibitions, tracing Black history in the Sonoran Desert. Journal of the Southwest | Listen now »
September Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Sept. 2, Dr. Frances Levine, Two, Too Strong Women: Reassessing Colonial Women in Santa Fe & St. Louis; Sept. 9, Chris Lewis (Zuni), Maintaining Zuni Weaving Traditions; Sept. 16 Nicolasa Chavez, M.A., History of Flamenco; Sept. 23, Dr. D. Clark Wernecke, Peopling of the Americas and the Central Texas Gault Site; Sept. 30, Iva Honyeestewa (Hopi Second Mesa), Hopi Second Mesa Weaving. 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe. $20 at the door of $90 for the series of 5 lectures. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: Sept. 5 Livestream: Telling the American Story on Our Public Lands
With Secretary Haaland. Our vast and stunning public lands are not only celebrated for their natural beauty and natural resources—they also play a prominent part in conveying the American Story to visitors from across the country and around the globe. How can we ensure that we meet the need to more accurately and inclusively tell American history in these public spaces, and to preserve and expand access to the voices and stories they hold for future generations? US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland joins Mellon Foundation President Elizabeth Alexander for a discussion about the reparative work Haaland leads on our public lands, the charge of stewardship for racial and environmental justice, and the role of Interior in telling the American Story. Mellon Foundation | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: Sept. 5 Online Event: Two Years of Zooarchaeological Research from the Norther Chaco Outliers Project
With Jonathan Dombrosky. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center started the Northern Chaco Outliers Project in 2016. This project focuses on the Lakeview Community, a collection of four neighboring Chaco period Great Houses located in southwestern Colorado. Ongoing fieldwork at the Haynie site (5MT1905)—containing two of the Great Houses in the Lakeview Community—is a substantial portion of the project. Dombrosky discusses findings from two years of archaeofaunal analysis at the Haynie site. He examines how such material was identified, the preservation of skeletal material, fascinating specimens recovered from the site (like bison and wolf remains), and what these findings can tell us about past Pueblo life. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Sept. 5 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Beyond Jelly: Prickly Pear Fruit Cooking Demo & Tasting
With cookbook author Carolyn Niethamer. Learn the quick way to juice the ruby-red fruit. Then, Carolyn will demonstrate a few easy recipes that aren’t jelly. Prickly pear combines deliciously with apple, another autumn fruit. And nobody can resist meatballs with prickly pear barbecue sauce. Find inspiration for including prickly pear in our own favorite recipes. Everybody gets to taste! Fees apply. Presidio San Agustín del Tucson Museum | Learn more »
REMINDER: Sept. 7 In-Person Class (Tucson AZ): How Did People Make Dart Points & Arrowheads?
With Allen Denoyer. You will use traditional techniques using deer antlers and rocks to create stone projectile points. Learn about the history of stone tools and their uses. Each class lasts approximately 3 hours. Beginners are welcome! Open to individuals 18 years and older. $50 registration fee for nonmembers. Hands-On Archaeology (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
Sept. 12 Online Event: A Hidden History: An Overview of African American History and Northern Arizona
With Margaret Hanagan. The history of African Americans in the West, and the archaeological sites associated with their lives, has had little rigorous archaeological study. This webinar will discuss the history of African Americans in Northern Arizona and the diaspora out of the south to work in the timber industry of Arizona. The talk will conclude with a general discussion on the challenges with identifying African Americans in the archaeological record. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Sept. 28 In-Person Event (Price UT): Nine Mile Canon Stewardship Day
Come learn about the canyon and its cultural history with archaeologists, descendant communities, and cultural site tours. Be prepared for a free fun day outside in Nine Mile Canyon. Walk away with a deepened sense of who the ancient peoples were that passed through the canyon. Understand the cultural landscape, and why it must be preserved and protected. Play and learn about archaeology through hands-on activities for all ages. Nine Mile Canyon Coalition | Learn more »
Save the Dates: Aug.8–9 2025: Conference on Public Archaeology
The 2025 Conference on Public Archaeology is happening in Washington, DC on August 8–9, 2025! Hosted by Archaeology in the Community, this event is a must-attend for public-minded archaeologists and cultural heritage professionals. This unique conference will skip traditional paper presentations in favor of discussions, hands-on activities, and networking opportunities. Let’s shape the future of archaeology together! Florida Public Archaeology Network | Learn more »
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. Thanks!