Southwest Archaeology Today for Dec 11, 2006

Archaeology Making the News – A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

– 100 Years of the Antiquities Act: From the Grand Canyon to Governors Island, ancient Alaskan villages to Virgin Island reefs, American archaeology is quietly celebrating a centennial. At two national parks – El Morro (N.M.) and Montezuma Castle (Ariz.) national monuments – simple commemorations on Friday marked 100 years since the federal Antiquities Act was signed by President Theodore Roosevelt.
http://tinyurl.com/yhmnpw – USA Today

– Arizona State Museum Building Pottery Vault to Protect Collections: The Arizona State Museum on the University of Arizona campus is spending millions of dollars to save a collection that’s designated as one of America’s national treasures. The Arizona State Museum houses the world’s best collection of southwestern pots. There are 20,000 of them, and some of them are 2000 years old. For decades the museum stored the pots on shelves in five crowded rooms, but the humidity in the rooms caused problems.
http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=5775782

– Petroglyphs on Signal Hill (Tucson):One day – maybe 600 years ago, maybe 1,000 or more – someone carved a design on a rock atop a hill west of Tucson. It’s still there today – a stone etching known as a petroglyph. That spiral-shaped design and many other petroglyphs were pecked into boulders on Signal Hill by ancient people known as the Hohokam.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/159404

– Mohave Petroglyphs at China Lake Naval Weapons Testing Facility: There are some nifty pictures to be seen in them thar hills – once, that is, you’ve risen at the crack of dawn, obtained security clearance, had your car searched, listened to a pep talk from the local police and driven deep into a weapons testing base. The pictures, or rather petroglyphs, are well worth the inconvenience. Far inside the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, past 90 minutes of desert scrub and rocks, we saw primitive drawings chipped into rock – of men hurling spears and shooting arrows; mountain lions leaping; rattlesnakes slithering; and bighorn sheep, bighorn sheep, bighorn sheep, sproinging about on seemingly every surface. Some of the designs, which were pecked into the rock by ancient Native Americans living around the Coso Range, date back a century or so. Others are more than 10,000 years old.
http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-chinalake5nov05,0,4036833.story

– Unintended Impacts of Uranium Mining, Life in a Radioactive Hogan: Mary and Billy Boy Holiday bought their one-room house from a medicine man in 1967. They gave him $50, a sheep and a canvas tent. For the most part, they were happy with the purchase. Their Navajo hogan was situated well, between a desert mesa and the trading-post road. The eight-sided dwelling proved stout and snug, with walls of stone and wood, and a green-shingle roof. They didn’t know their new floor was radioactive.
http://tinyurl.com/yhuxgo – Mercury News

– Mesa Verde Wraps Up Centennial Celebrations: The park this year marked a century of protection for the world’s most famous cliff dwellings with a special symphony written just for the park, a new connection between the Mesa Verde staff and the park’s neighboring communities and new access to previously restricted ruins. As the celebration closed this weekend, a gathering of people were awed by a show of candlelight like no other the park will host again for many years.
http://tinyurl.com/yzq6cp – Grand Junction Sentinel

Historic Utah Internment Camp Receives Federal Grant: Efforts to preserve the Topaz site in central Utah, where as many as 8,300 Japanese Americans were interned during World War II, got a potential boost this week when Congress approved a $38 million National Park Service grant program. The Topaz Museum Board is planning to apply for some of those funds to help build a museum and educational center in Delta, about 15 miles from the former internment camp.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650214231,00.html

– Section 106 Essentials Training Offered by NPS: An in-depth look at historic preservation responsibilities under the National Historic Preservation Act by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. We’re offering 8 great nationwide locations this year! In past years, the courses have sold out, and this year’s courses are bound to do the same. All courses are taught by highly knowledgeable ACHP staff who are engaged both on a daily basis and have practical hands-on experience with Section 106 issues. Attendees taking our courses receive an added benefit from the expertise that our instructors bring to the course.
http://www.achp.gov/106essentials.html

– History of Smallpox in the Southwest: There are hundreds of books about the slaughter of people in the Southwest by the Apaches; those that fell from the outlaw’s gun; in battles from the Mexican War to the Civil War; or those killed in the saddle during the cattle wars. All of these added together is still dwarfed by the biggest killer in the southwest: smallpox.
http://www.dchieftain.com/news/67279-12-09-06.html

– More Research Reccomeded for Farmington Historic Building Survey: Deeper digging is needed to determine exactly which buildings in downtown Farmington have historical significance. A reconnaissance-level survey of 40 buildings within the Downtown Development Authority boundaries has been completed and DDA members are a bit surprised by the results.
http://tinyurl.com/yltafc – Hometown Life

Bisbee Readies Historic Preservation District: The city is preparing for challenges to its architectural character. The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance amending the city’s zoning code where it regards the Historic Preservation Overlay District. “Bisbee is changing. Real money is coming in here,” said Boyd Nicholl, chairman of the city’s Design Review Board, which oversees ongoing remodeling and construction projects. Nicholl was just one person who spoke favorably toward the proposed zoning code changes during a public hearing held in the course of the council meeting.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2006/12/06/local_news/news5.txt

– Employment Opportunity, Native American Program Coordinator: US Department of Agriculture Seeks a GS-15 program Coordinator in Washinton DC.
http://tinyurl.com/yk5pt8 – USA Jobs