Crow Canyon Presents an Interactive Presentation of Pueblo History for Kids

Crow Canyon Presents an Interactive Presentation of Pueblo History for Kids
The story of how Pueblo Indian culture developed from its ancient roots is an amazing story of adaptation, ingenuity and resilience. Now children can learn about this incredible chronicle in an engaging educational resource on the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center’s Web site—Pueblo Indian History for Kids. Pueblo Indian History for Kids teaches students about a part of history that is overlooked in too many textbooks: the thousands of years that indigenous peoples thrived in North America before Europeans even knew that the continent existed.  http://www.crowcanyon.org/EducationProducts/pueblo_history_kids/introduction.asp

While Investigating Smugglers, BLM Law Enforcement Agent Finds Ancient Site
A law enforcement officer’s background in archaeology has paid off for the Bureau of Land Management and others concerned about protecting Arizona’s prehistoric sites. BLM Ranger Grady Cook was on patrol in the Ironwood Forest National Monument near Tucson in November. His partner was BLM National Chief Ranger Jason Caffey, who was in Arizona participating in a law enforcement surge against border smuggling activities in the national monuments. “We had seen a smuggling road and just followed it to see where it went, to see if there was anything out there worth looking at, anything stashed up,” Cook said. The patrol was uneventful, but on the way out, Cook saw an interesting rock pile.  http://www.dcourier.com/m/Articles.aspx?ArticleID=104355

There’s Still Time to Catch BLM Arizona Archaeology Month Events
Phoenix The Bureau of Land Management is celebrating Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month by offering a series of free events throughout Arizona this month. http://m.willcoxrangenews.com/articles/2012/03/16/news/news20.txt 

Early Registration Rates for Arizona Preservation Conference End Tomorrow
Dear Friends of Historic Preservation:  The Arizona Preservation Foundation, Arizona State Historic Preservation Office, and the City of Prescott invite you to join them at the 10th Annual Arizona Historic Preservation Conference. This year’s conference, “100 Years of Living History” is being held in Prescott, June 13th – June 15th, 2012. The goal of the Conference is to bring together preservationists from around the state to exchange ideas and success stories, to share perspectives and solutions to preservation issues and to foster cooperation between the diverse Arizona preservation communities. https://azpreservation.com/registration.html 

National Parks Offer a Week of Free Admission
 The National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, invite people everywhere to enjoy, explore, learn, share, and give back to America’s nearly 400 national parks during National Park Week 2012. Celebrating the theme, “Picture Yourself in a National Park,” National Park Week will run from Saturday, April 21 through Sunday, April 29. Throughout the country, visitors can enjoy the beauty and wonder of 84 million acres of the world’s most spectacular scenery, historic places and cultural treasures for FREE! National parks will mark the annual celebration with special events and activities including Volunteer Day on April 21, Earth Day on April 22, and Junior Ranger Day on April 28.  From ranger-led hikes and kayak trips to camping and exploring, park visitors can plan their National Park Week at www.nationalparkweek.org. Discover information about events, special activities for visitors of all ages, how to share your park adventure with other travelers, and how to support the parks. Contacts: NPS- Kathy Kupper, 202-208-6843, Kathy_Kupper@nps.gov or NPF- Marjorie Hall, 202-354-6460, mhall@nationalparks.org 

Televised Looters Accused of Illegal Excavations
Montana’s state archaeologist said a Montana duo of metal detector artifact hunters featured in a new National Geographic television program appear to have violated state law. He isn’t the only one upset by the content of the show “Diggers,” which featured Anaconda-area residents Tim Saylor and George Wyant. The show has also become the focus of Facebook petitions and write-in campaigns to the channel criticizing the show’s content. http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/diggers-tv-show-strikes-nerve/article_78af2cef-5c13-5ea1-b3d0-ba81b47df92e.html

The Case of a Contested Adena Burial Tablet Reflects Poor Practice in the Curation of Sacred Artifacts
A five-year legal battle over ownership of a prehistoric American Indian tablet might not have ended last month when an Ohio jury ruled against the former Wood County man who discovered it in Parkersburg nearly 70 years ago. The widow of Edward Low says she will appeal the Feb. 23 Franklin County Common Pleas Court verdict that left the rare tablet in the hands of the Ohio Historical Society. http://wvgazette.com/News/201203170114

Free Image Processing Tool Highlights “Lost” Pictographs
Rock art had long fascinated Jon Harman. The American mathematician sought out pictographs on vacations, snapping pictures of stones and caves even when all that remained were indecipherable red blotches. Photo-editing programs improved the images, but not by much. A friend pointed Mr. Harman to an image-enhancement technique known as decorrelation stretch. Developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it has been used to enhance photos of Mars. Perhaps the technique would work for faded pictographs, his friend suggested. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/once-thought-lost-the-rock-art-images-of-ancient-peoples-are-seen-again/article2370923/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Home&utm_content=2370923

Lecture Opportunity – Salt River
Ancient Native American Pottery of Southern Arizona will be presented by Allen Dart on March 21, 2012 at 6:00 PM in the Salt River MIC Multipurpose Building. Mr Dart will show Native American ceramic styles that characterized specific eras in southern Arizona’s prehistory and history, and discus how archaeologists use pottery for dating archaeological sites and interpreting ancient lifeways.  The Salt River Multi-Purpose Building is on the Salt River Indian Reservation at 1880 N. Longmore Road (west side of the road, just north of McDowell). The event is free and open to the public, and will begin with a light dinner served at 6:00 followed by Mr. Dart’s presentation. Call the Cultural Preservation Program for more information at 480-362-6325.

Thanks to Carrie Gregory and Michael D. Mauer for contributing to this week’s newsletter.