The City of Mesa Breaks Ground on Mesa Grande Visitors Center

The City of Mesa Breaks Ground on Mesa Grande Visitors Center
At the age of 93, Sam Lewis still gets emotional about his grandparents’ former property in west Mesa — the one he and his family knew as home in the 1920s, long after the ancient Hohokam lived there. When he was a boy, Lewis, the grandson of Elmer and Anna Rebecca Lewis, lived in the 1000 block of Date Street near Brown Road and 10th Street — on the Mesa Grande Ruins property — and liked running “up the hill” next to their house. “I grew up on that hill,” Lewis said Tuesday as he pointed to the 27-foot high mound after the long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony of the Mesa Grande Ruins Visitors Center for what history preservationists deem an archaeological treasure. http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/mesa/article_3eb09ce0-f6f5-11e1-a955-001a4bcf887a.html

National Trust Conference to Feature Session on Preservation Archaeology in the Southwest
The Annual Conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Spokane, Washington will feature an education session by four Southwest archaeologists. On Thursday, November 1 from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m., Bill Lipe, Professor Emeritus, Washington State University, will moderate a session titled “Archaeological Preservation Perspectives in the Southwest.” A three-person panel will focus on ways to improve protection of archaeological sites on the public lands sharing specific cases including the successful collaborations between archaeologists and Pueblo tribes to preserve the integrity of the sacred Zuni Salt Lake in New Mexico, ongoing efforts to bring the spectacular Chimney Rock ruin in Southwest Colorado into the National Monument system, and successful efforts to promote a community-based preservation ethic in small towns adjacent to public lands in Arizona. Panel members are: Deborah Gangloff, Executive Director, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center; Andrew Duff, Associate Professor, Washington State University; Bill Doelle, President and CEO, Archaeology Southwest. The theme of the National Preservation Conference is “Beyond Boundaries.” It runs from October 31 through November 3, 2012. www.preservationnation.org.

Bandelier National Monument Seeks Public Comment on Transportation Plans
Bandelier National Monument is looking for ideas and feedback from visitors on different ways of getting to the park. A shuttle has ferried most visitors from White Rock into Frijoles Canyon, the park’s main attraction, since floods that followed a wildfire last year washed out a bridge and almost half of the visitor center parking lot. The park’s administration is thinking about making the shuttle permanent.  http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/090312bandeliertransportation

Lee University Reports on Field Schools in Southwestern Colorado
During the summer of 2012, two Lee University archaeology field schools were conducted in southwestern Colorado under the auspices of the Bureau of Land Management, Western Wyoming College, and Lee University.  Both May and August excavations included a team of four Lee University students with Murl Dirksen, Lee professor of Anthropology.  The primary site for the field work was the Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) area of Paradox Valley of southwestern Colorado near Mesa Verde National Park and Arches National Park in southeastern Utah.  http://www.chattanoogan.com/2012/9/3/233467/Lee-Universitys-Summer-2012-Colorado.aspx

Travelogue – Four Corners Visitors Find the Past Can Coexist with the Present
A road trip to the Four Corners region of the Southwest offers a window into Native American culture, from ruins older than any other man-made structure in the U.S., to glimpses of contemporary life amid the Navajo and Hopi. Named for the spot where the borders of four states — Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona — intersect, the Four Corners region is also home to surreal landscapes like the Painted Desert and Monument Valley. http://www.standard.net/stories/2012/09/08/modern-life-ancient-ruins-coexist-southwest-us

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society is pleased to present Patricia A. Gilman on Monday, September 17 at 7:30 PM at the DuVal Auditorium (1501 N. Campbell Ave. inside University Medical Center) to discuss What is the Meaning of Mimbres Art. Gilman will discuss parallels noted between some of the images and narratives in the creation story related in the Popul Vuh and other Mesoamerican sources. Contact Jon Boyd @ 520 444-6385 with questions about this, or any other AAHS program.

Lecture Opportunity – Vail, Az
Historian Reba Wells Grandrud, a Arizona Humanities Council Road Scholar, will present In Their Own Words: Overland Diaries of 19th Century Westering Women. The Southern Emigrant Road passed through Vail carrying people with a vision for the future. Begin your week by hearing about what travel by wagon train was like for those brave enough to venture west. Lecture will be held on Monday, September 10, 2012 at 6:30 pm at 10701 E. Mary Ann Cleveland Way – At the corner of Houghton and Mary Ann Cleveland Way.

Educational Opportunity – Tucson
Registered professional archaeologist Allen Dart offers a Prehistory of the Southwest class from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday evenings September 14-November 16, 2012, at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 2201 W. 44th Street, Tucson. This introductory course in the study of the American Southwest, developed by the Arizona Archaeological Society (AAS), will cover cultural sequences, dating systems, subsistence strategies, development of urbanization, abandonments of different areas at different times, and the general characteristics of major cultural groups that have lived in the Southwest over the past 13,000-plus years. The class can be used as prerequisite for all other courses offered to AAS members interested in enrolling in the AAS Certification Program. Fee is $50 ($40 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary members), not counting cost of the recommended text or of optional membership in the AAS (a separate organization from Old Pueblo). Reservations required: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Training Opportunity – Phoenix
The National Preservation Institute, in cooperation with the Public History Program at Arizona State University, and the State Historic Preservation Office is offering a pair of training sessions in historic preservation.  Section 106: An Introduction, will be held October 15-17, 2012. Consultation and Protection of Native American Sacred Lands is scheduled for October 18 – 19, also in Phoenix.   http://www.npi.org.