The Petroglyphs of Las Labradas – More Information about the Late Archaic of Northwest Mexico

The Petroglyphs of Las Labradas – More Information about the Late Archaic of Northwest Mexico
Fifty miles north of Mazatlan in Sinaloa State, north west Mexico, there is a beach known as Las Labradas where the rocks are covered in over 600 petroglyphs. Now Mexican investigators have uncovered archaeological sites in the vicinity dating to the Archaic period (2500-1000 BCE) along with another later site that may provide clues to the creators of the Las Labradas petroglyphs. http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/12/2012/who-created-the-labradas-petroglyphs

Mesa Grande Cultural Center Opens January 19
The grand opening for the Mesa Grande Cultural Center is 9 a.m.- noon Saturday, Jan. 19 at 1000 N. Date St. There will be a program at 9 a.m., including a tribal blessing, activities, games and tours of the site, according to a press release. It is at the ceremonial center of a former civilization’s vast canal system linking irrigation water from the Salt River to crops in the Valley. Officials gave speeches and held a groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 4 at the Mesa Grande ruins, 1000 N. Date St., where a visitors’ center will be constructed at Hohokam plat form mound site previously open for an annual open house, special tours or a college archaeology class. http://arizona.newszap.com/eastvalley/118857-114/hohokam-mesa-grande-ruins-cultural-center-opens-jan-19

Flagstaff Receives Grant to Clean Up Picture Canyon
The city of Flagstaff has received $252,000 in additional grant funding from the state’s Arizona Water Protection Fund to continue clean-up efforts inside the recently purchased Picture Canyon. The money will be used for work upstream of the existing Picture Canyon Project and will include removal of dumped debris and fill, restoration of slopes, revegetation and weed management. http://azdailysun.com/news/local/article_e1dddd26-0f91-5170-b42a-d098eccfb0d1.html

From the Gambler’s House Blog: Capturing the Fremont
Any of the prehistoric cultures of the Southwest are routinely described as “mysterious,” most often in popular accounts and tourist information but also sometimes in the more serious archaeological literature. This is certainly true in a sense, in that a lot of information about any given ancient society, especially one without writing, is gone forever and cannot be recovered even by the best archaeological techniques. http://gamblershouse.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/capturing-the-fremont/

History Colorado Posts List of Preservation Grants and Success Stories for 2012
At the Office of Archaeology & Historic Preservation and the State Historical Fund, we’re excited about the projects we support.  Organizations around the state are working hard to preserve Colorado’s historic buildings and sites, and now it’s your chance to read a selection of their stories. http://www.historycolorado.org/grants/year-grants

Sierra Club Petition Drive Asks the Obama Administration to Declare Rio Grande del Norte a National Monument
The Rio Grande del Norte is a place of amazing vistas — spectacular green waters flowing through deep gorges, plains with sagebrush and wildflowers, wooded forests and mountains that rise to over 9,000 feet. This historic designation would safeguard wildlife habitat prized by hunters and anglers, and preserve rafting, camping and other recreational opportunities. It would protect clean drinking water and celebrate our region’s diverse Hispanic and tribal heritage. http://action.sierraclub.org/site/PageServer?pagename=petition_FLD_NM_RioGrandedelNorte_Petition_AA

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society is pleased to present Suzanne K. Fish, Paul R. Fish, and Mark Elson on Monday, January 21 at 7:30 PM at the Du Val Auditorium (1501 N. Campbell Ave. inside University Medical Center) to discuss University Indian Ruin: Changing Views of the Late Hohokam Classic Period in the Tucson Basin. The Fishes and Elson will discuss ongoing research conducted by The University of Arizona School of Anthropology’s archaeological field school at the University Indian Ruin, which has heightened appreciation of Hohokam architectural complexity in the Tucson Basin during a time of population movement, aggregation, and accelerated cultural change. Differential acquisition of polychrome types, distant obsidian, exotic chert, consumption of bison, and late prehispanic pottery of Zuni and probable Sonoran origin provide new insight into Classic period regional interaction as well. Contact Jon Boyd @ 520 444-6385 with questions about this, or any other AAHS program.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
During Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s January 17, 2013, 6 to 8:30 p.m.  “Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner program at Mimi’s Café, 120 S. Wilmot Rd, Tucson, archaeologist Ronald H. Towner, Ph.D., will present “Tree-rings, Documents, and Oral History along Cebolla Creek, New Mexico.” Dr. Towner will discuss Navajo, Hispanic, and Anglo populations who hunted, gathered, and farmed in what is now part of west-central New
Mexico’s El Malpais National Conservation Area.  The program is free but guests are encouraged to order dinner at the restaurant, and donations will be requested to benefit Old Pueblo’s educational efforts. reservations are required by 5 P.M. Wednesday January 16 so that the group size will not exceed Fire Code limitations and so the restaurant can schedule sufficient staff: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars presents a lecture by Dr. Vernon Scarborough, Distinguished University Research Professor and Anthropologist at University of Cincinnati on Jan. 14 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe which is majority owned by Picuris Pueblo. His topic is The Wet and the Dry: Water Abundance and Ancient Social Complexity. The lecture is part of the annual Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series held to honor the important work of The Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. For more information contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775 or email southwest seminar@aol.com or website: http://southwestseminars.org/