Dear Friends,
In order to maintain my sanity, especially lately, I have to laugh. Every day. I crave the physiological, emotional, and social release that comes from a good, collective belly laugh. I need to commune with others who have similar senses of humor. A story came across my newsfeed this week that cracked me up, and I just had to share it with you.
According to NPR, “The British artisanal cheese community is reeling from what it’s calling the great—or grate—cheese heist of 2024 after imposters stole tens of thousands of pounds of high-value cheddar from a major distributor.” All told, 950 wheels, or 48,500 pounds, of “posh” cheddar, with a street value of $390,000, were stolen, essentially in broad daylight. You can’t make this stuff up! Truth really is stranger than fiction.
What, you ask, does this have to do with archaeology? A lot, actually. Cheese is an artifact of human creation. It can therefore be analyzed archaeologically. Just last month, Smithsonian Magazine reported that scientists have sequenced DNA from the world’s oldest cheese, found in a 3,600-year-old Chinese tomb.
Cheese, like all foods, is also deeply cultural, and can therefore be investigated anthropologically. Cheese can be studied with respect to identity politics, nationalism, cultural appropriation, and intellectual property rights, among other fields, as evinced by a recent dispute on the nature, meaning, and regulation of Gruyère.
Archaeology Southwest’s Sarah Oas is a specialist in the archaeology of foodways and cuisine. Last spring she gave a great lecture on that subject in our Archaeology Café series. I’m going to ask her, in all seriousness, to prepare a talk on the archaeology and anthropology of cheese. Stay tuned! (Update: I asked her, she’s game, and she told me about this delightful insanity.)
As a lover of classic comedy, I am compelled to note that The Three Stooges had a running gag involving cheese. In a surprising number of episodes, Curly goes crazy after seeing a mouse or some other stimulus. In so doing, he garners superhuman strength and beats up the bad guys. After saving the day, he repeatedly shouts “Moe, Larry—the cheese!” On cue, Moe and Larry subdue him and force cheese into Curly’s mouth until he is calmed. Surprisingly, Curly has a discerning, shall we say, palate, and always rejects their first offering for another type (“No—the Camembert!” “No—the Limburger!” No—the Roquefort!”).
With respect to the Great Cheese Heist, no one was physically harmed, the duped distributor made sure the artisanal cheese makers were compensated, and one presumes that an insurance payout will cover at least some of the losses. But the next time you bite a tasty bouchée de fromage, recognize that humans have been enjoying, and making meaning, out of that delicacy for at least 3,500 years. (And occasionally stealing it, too!)
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image: Morgan Sjogren
Gathering Firewood—and Redefining Land Stewardship—at Bears Ears
Indigenous communities in the Four Corners region say that maintaining these critical connections to firewood is often complicated by U.S. management policies that limit their access. Since 2015, our research team has been part of a collaborative project that’s trying to better understand the significance and challenges of wood-hauling practices for Indigenous communities. This project brings together Native American wood haulers, researchers from the University of Utah, and the Indigenous-led nonprofit Utah Diné Bikéyah (UDB), whose mission is to protect and preserve culture, traditions, language, and ancestral lands. Kate Magargal, Adrienne Cachelin, Jesse Wyasket, Samuel Enke, and Rachel Christensen in SAPIENS | Read more »
Continuing Coverage: Collaborating with Tribes to Produce Immersive Virtual Experiences
Dr. Eric Heller and a group of select USC students have contributed to the Bears Ears Digital Cultural Heritage Initiative, which aims to use Virtual Reality and Photogrammetry programs to recreate the sacred sites of the Bears Ears Monument into immersive learning experiences for its users. The project seeks to use this immersive technology as a medium to communicate and elevate the narratives of Indigenous people, land management agencies, and archaeologists alike. … By actively involving the Navajo and Zuni Tribes in the decision-making process, the initiative shifts away from traditional, top-down methodologies often seen in ethnographic work. Instead, it prioritizes their voices and perspectives, ensuring that the representation of sacred sites is both authentic and meaningful. As this dialogue continues to evolve, it opens up new possibilities for understanding and preserving cultural heritage, ultimately paving the way for more inclusive and equitable practices in the digital humanities. University of Southern California | Read more »
Continuing Coverage: SunZia Transmission Line through the San Pedro Valley
The question of “where” to put the powerline has been a nagging problem. In September, a few reporters got a birds-eye view of the San Pedro Valley in southeastern Arizona, where SunZia transmission towers are starting to bloom from the desert floor. … The ancestors of the modern Tohono O’odham people thrived near the banks of the San Pedro River. Samuel Fayuant, the tribe’s cultural affairs specialist, says the site was a bountiful place for trading between tribes, “like paradise, back in the day.” But on a recent afternoon, Fayaunt could see helicopters ferrying supplies to the site of a new transmission tower. “We’ve protested, and seems like they don’t listen,” he says. Peter O’Dowd for Here and Now (NPR) | Read more or listen now »
Archaeology Southwest is preparing a response to this story, which we participated in.
Haaland: Righting Historical Wrongs
[Secretary] Haaland has also led Interior at a time of seemingly monumental social and environmental change in the West, where the DOI controls about a half billion acres of public land, including the national parks and monuments, cattle ranges and oil and gas fields. On public lands management, Haaland hopes she’ll be remembered for her work righting the historical wrongs by bringing long-ignored tribes to a seat at the table on decisions. She’s increased tribal co-management agreements tenfold since 2021. Kirk Siegler for NPR | Read more or listen now »
Documenting and Preserving Indigenous Trails—Implications for CRM
Generally speaking, Indigenous people see landscapes as interconnected and indivisible while Western people see the reverse. But the Western mind-set governs preservation practices on lands slated for development. Cultural resource management policies typically focus on discrete sites, not on landscapes. By extension, preservation most often centers on the tangible stuff found at excavated sites—old foundations for houses and buildings, pottery shards, arrowheads and the like—rather than the intangible memories and stories woven into the land. For development projects in Canada and elsewhere, only land within the footprint of the project is subject to archaeological (and environmental) review. Vast or linear cultural features, such as trails, that intersect with that footprint might appear in these assessments but rarely as contiguous wholes. Sujata Gupta for Science News | Read more »
Visit with Respect Adds Seasonal Guideline
Among the 20 Visit with Respect guidelines, one special tip is exclusive to the Indian Creek area: Observe All Raptor Closures. This guideline helps protect raptor nesting sites, which are being carefully studied by biologists. It also reminds visitors to stay clear of these sensitive areas to ensure the safety of these incredible birds. Visit with Respect (Bears Ears Partnership) | Learn more about the guidelines »
Archaeology Café Welcomes Laurie Webster on Nov. 12
Join us in-person at Catalyst Creative Collective in the Tucson Mall, where Webster (anthropologist and independent scholar) will discuss “Weaving the Hair of the Dog: White Dog Hair Textiles in the Ancient Southwest.” White dog hair played a unique role in Southwestern weaving during the period from 100 to 900 CE. Laurie will explore the cultural importance of this fiber, types of woven items produced, and evidence that early Southwestern peoples bred white dogs. Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
LiDAR Data Guide Archaeologists to Maya City
The dense jungle kept Valeriana hidden from the scientific community, but archaeologists found the settlements with an aerial mapping technology called Lidar. Marcello Canuto is a professor of anthropology at Tulane University and a coauthor on the study. He joins us now. Ailsa Chang and Marcello Canuto on All Things Considered (NPR) | Read more or listen now »
Please be aware that this interview and other reporting on this story use a frame of “discovery” that is often inappropriate and inaccurate with respect to Indigenous and local/regional knowledge and history.
Podcast: Ancient Technologies
Host Troy Swank speaks with Allen Denoyer of Archaeology Southwest. In this episode, Allen illustrates the tools and practices originating from the day-to-day lives of peoples from the past. Allen then tells the story of his passion in recreating ancient technologies, shares his experience as a career archeologist, and provides resources for listeners interested in becoming further involved in the world of archaeology. Surface Exposure | Listen now »
November Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
Nov. 4, Shanna Diederichs, Architecture & History of Chaco Canyon Great Houses: Captured with New Methods; Nov. 11, Pat Gilman, Scarlet Macaw Husbandry in the Southwestern U.S. & Northwestern Mexico; Nov. 18, Paul Minnis, Reframing Paquime: My Final Thoughts After Forty Years; Nov. 25, Kerry Frances Thompson (Diné), To Be Diné: Southwestern Archaeology, Oral Tradition & the Story of the Navajo. $20 at the door or $75 for the series of 4 lectures. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: Nov. 2 In-Person Event (Scottsdale AZ): Huhugam Ki: Museum 37th Anniversary Celebration
Join the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community for a mesquite pancake breakfast, hammer-milling of mesquite pods, refurbishing the olas ki: (traditional round house), museum exhibit opening, and more. 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the Huhugam Ki: grounds, 10005 E. Osborn Rd. Huhugam Ki: Museum (Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community) | Learn more »
Nov. 7 Online Event: (Re)connecting and (Re)learning Culture, Language, & History through the Native Teen Guide In-Training Program
With Colleen Cooley. The Native Teen Guide in Training (NTGIT) is a program of the Canyonlands Field Institute based out of Moab, Utah. An immersive river trip experience for Native youth between ages 13 and 17, the NTGIT is more than a youth summer camp. It is a unique opportunity for Native youth to connect and/or reconnect to a landscape that many Indigenous nations call home. It’s about identity and (re)learning the history and rights as Indigenous people. It’s about the importance of Indigenous representation as well the importance of water, land, culture, language, food, and family. It’s also about making new friends, learning to row a boat, and finding your voice, as a leader. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Nov. 9 In-Person Event (Oro Valley AZ): Make a Pot (and Come Back to Fire It)
With Allen Denoyer. Learn to shape and decorate your own pinch-pot. Allen will provide clay and pigments to help you replicate ancient techniques and craft your unique pottery piece. Bring your creation back for our annual pottery firing event with expert Andy Ward on December 14. Hands-On Archaeology (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn more »
Nov. 18 Online Event: The Past, Present, and Future of Camp Naco
With Brooks Jeffery and Becky Orozco. Camp Naco is a cornerstone of Buffalo Soldier history in Arizona and represents the proud tradition of Black military regiments after the Civil War. The Camp’s 17-acre site and 100+ year-old adobe buildings sit just 600 yards north of the US-Mexico border in the community of Naco Arizona and reside on the ancestral lands of the Chiricahua Apache. In 2022, the City of Bisbee and Naco Heritage Alliance received $8.1M in funding support, initiating a 4-year journey to: 1) Preserve and rehabilitate the site’s 20 buildings and open spaces; 2) Develop place-based programming to reactivate the site by interpreting its diverse cultural landscape and addressing community needs; and 3). Build organizational capacity to successfully sustain Camp Naco’s mission into the future. This presentation will outline the diverse histories of the Camp Naco site, the tireless efforts to preserve its buildings, and the future vision to reactivate Camp Naco as a destination to honor its past while addressing contemporary needs in the border community of Naco, Arizona. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more and register (free) »
Nov. 20 Online Event: Pueblo Baseball
In honor of Native American Heritage Month, join us for a lively discussion of the central role of mentorship in the culture of Pueblo baseball. The Panel Discussion will feature members of the Pueblo baseball community that will share their experiences of mentorship in this annual summer pastime while reflecting on the past and future of the sport. Pre-registration for this Zoom webinar is required. Indian Pueblo Cultural Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Remember to send us notice of upcoming in-person events, webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!