Southwest Archaeology Today for August 25, 2009

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

– Hopi Tribe Restores and Plans to Reopen Historic Route 66 Icon: It started with the arrows. The iconic namesakes of Twin Arrows, once reduced to battered telephone poles leaning into the wind that sweeps across Interstate 40, now glisten red and gold, new heads and fletchings — tail feathers — in place after a recent volunteer restoration effort. But refurbishing the arrows wasn’t so much about public art or tidiness as preserving a piece of culture and opening up a new economic portal, both for Flagstaff and the area Native Americans who hope to return the old rest stop to its former glory. In its halcyon days, Twin Arrows — a rest stop at exit 219, about 20 miles east of Flagstaff — was a slice of Americana, a gas station, diner and souvenir central for travelers along the famed Route 66; it operated for about 60 years before closing in 1998. Well before that, it was a trading post for the Hopi, who left petroglyphs etched into the walls of nearby Padre Canyon.
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2009/09/23/news/20090923_front_204212.txt

– Passport in Time Volunteers Work to Preserve the Past on the Arizona Strip: History can be found in a variety of places by those interested enough to seek it out. Museum display cases, interpretive signs and thick volumes on library shelves come to mind. But before those facts, dates and stories can be made so accessible, someone has to gather all the little pieces and figure out how they fit together. For history buffs fortunate enough to visit the Arizona Strip, those “pieces” are often still found scattered in the dust where they’ve sat undisturbed for many lifetimes. “To think that you’re probably the first person to touch this in 1,000 years; that gets me every time,” said Brent Layton, as he held up one of many small, textured pottery fragments scattered about an ancient pueblo site on the North Kaibab Ranger District.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/dtok – The Spectrum.Com

– Hike into El Malpais National Conservation Area this Weekend! El Malpais National Conservation Area Offers Hike to a Seldom Seen Mesa Top Site: Enjoy archaeology amid the Fall plants, volcanoes & migrating birds in the Cebolla wilderness. Hike 3 miles round trip to the Citadel, from 10:00 AM to 2:30 PM on Saturday, September 26th (600 ft elevation rise). Discover how the ancestors lived vs. how we live. Explore clues on their views of the heavens, culture and politics, along with their building and food. Bring at least 2 quarts of water and protection from weather. Options: binoculars for the views and the migrating birds; hiking poles for the steeper parts; & camera for the views and the amazing rock art. 505.280.2918

– Historical Photos from Wilcox Arizona Published: The just released “Images of America: Willcox,” combines selected photographs from 1880 to the early 1950s depicting the cattle town’s rich western history, including “true tales of Apache Indians, train robberies and shootings.” The Images of America series, published by Arcadia Publishing, preserves the local heritage of neighborhoods, towns and cities across the country using archival photographs that tell distinctive stories from the past. The photographic books preserve and make history available to everyone.
http://www.willcoxrangenews.com/articles/2009/09/24/news/news09.txt
http://www.arcadiapublishing.com/

– Sales “Uneven” at Indian Market: Each year at the end of the summer, more than a thousand American Indian artists converge in Santa Fe, N.M., to sell their work at Indian Market. It’s the largest showcase of its kind, and a place for artists, museum curators and tourists to mix. At dawn of the first day, the sluggish economy isn’t immediately apparent as artists inch along in bumper-to-bumper traffic on their way to set up their booths along the plaza. But there is some anxiety mixed in with the cool mountain air.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112978213

– (Geology News) The International Commission on Stratigraphy Moves the Quaternary Temporal Boundary Back 800,000 Years: It has long been agreed that the boundary of the Quaternary Period should be placed at the first sign of global climate cooling,” said Professor Philip Gibbard. “What we have achieved is the definition of the boundary of the Quaternary to an internationally recognised and fixed point that represents a natural event, the beginning of the ice ages on a global scale.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090922095703.htm

Thanks to Margaret Hangan for contributing to today’s newsletter.