Murray Springs Declared a National Historic Landmark

Murray Springs Declared a National Historic Landmark
About 13,000 years ago, the earliest-known human inhabitants of the New World killed and butchered mammoths and bison near the San Pedro River east of Sierra Vista – a site designated this week as a National Historic Landmark. The Murray Springs Clovis site was excavated from 1966 to 1972 by a University of Arizona team led by C. Vance Haynes, Jr. and Peter Mehringer, both archaeologists at the Arizona State Museum. It is now part of the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. http://azstarnet.com/news/science/spear-point-site-in-se-ariz-gets-landmark-status/article_b984505e-caa0-5678-8ec6-98c7132b5aa3.html

27 New National Historic Landmarks include Murray Springs, San José de los Jémez Mission and Gíusewa Pueblo Site, and Poston Internment Camp School
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced the designation of 26 national historic landmarks and one national natural landmark as places that possess exceptional value and quality in illustrating or interpreting the heritage of the United States. Currently there are only 2,527 designated national historic landmarks and 592 national natural landmark sites across the country that bear this national distinction.  http://www.nps.gov/news/release.htm?id=1398

Two Sites in New Mexico are Designated as National Historic Landmarks
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s designation of 27 sites nationwide includes the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad’s San Juan Extension in New Mexico’s Rio Arriba County and Colorado’s Conejos and Archuleta counties. The narrow-gauge line is now owned by the two states and operated as the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. New Mexico’s other new landmark is the San José de los Jémez Mission and Gíusewa Pueblo Site. The Interior Department says the site is associated with the spread of Spanish control into the present-day American Southwest and is an early representation of the intersection of European and native cultures. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21793970/us-gives-historic-designations-2-sites-nm#ixzz29ykWp2zc

Arizona State Museum’s Iconic Tree Ring Specimen is Moving to New Tree Ring Laboratory
While the Romans ruled the Mediterranean and the ancient Mayan civilization of Tikal reached its peak, a giant sequoia sprouted in present-day California. When the tree died in 1913, it was 1,701 years old. A 10-foot-diameter section weighing 2 tons arrived at the University of Arizona in 1931. The slice was studied and displayed in the Arizona State Museum before being placed in storage in the late 1990s. Now it will become the centerpiece of an exhibit in the new Bryant Bannister Tree-Ring Building. Its new home will open on the UA campus early next year. http://azstarnet.com/news/science/ancient-sequoia-slice-is-new-lab-s-star/article_f64f5936-6cb1-5c8e-91a7-2af9d7874d23.html

New Mexico Gains New Curation Facility
State archaeologists and some of the artifacts — from chipped stone and pottery to blankets and human remains — they have collected over almost a century soon will be reunited in a new building west of Santa Fe.  The 34,000-square-foot, single-story, modern-looking, energy- and water-efficient building will house the 33 New Mexico Archaeological Studies employees as well as 10 million artifacts held by the state Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/101512archaeology#.UISBJ8VUWHd

Arizona Governor’s Advisory Council Posts Survey on Training Needs
Dear Historic Preservation Community:  The Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission (GAAC) has put together a survey in order to gather input on the Community’s training needs and desires.  Once the survey results are tallied, the GAAC will examine the training priorities indicated by the respondents and will seek to offer these trainings in the future.  The link for the survey on Survey Monkey is:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GAAC2012.  This survey is very short, so please take a few minutes and complete it; surveys are due by November 15, 2012. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Kris Dobschuetz, the SHPO staff liaison to the GAAC, at kdobschuetz@azstateparks.gov.