Arizona Republic Urges Progress on Archaeological Monuments Expansion

Arizona Republic Urges Progress on Archaeological Monuments Expansion
If Arizona were an ugly state, it might be different. There might be more urgency to protect precious natural and archaeological wonders. Instead, efforts to expand Saguaro National Park and Casa Grande Ruins National Monument are stalled, and the expansion of Petrified Forest National Park authorized by Congress in 2004 is moving at a glacial pace. What gives? http://bit.ly/1aAXs41 – Arizona Republic

DNA Evidence Points to European Genetics in Paleolithic Siberian Populations that Migrated to the Americas
The results show that people related to western Eurasians had spread further east than anyone had suspected, and lived in Siberia during the coldest parts of the last Ice Age. “At some point in the past, a branch of east Asians and a branch of western Eurasians met each other and had sex a lot,” says paleogeneticist Eske Willerslev at the University of Copenhagen, who led the sequencing of the boy’s genome. This mixing, he says, created Native Americans — in the sense of the populations of both North and South America that predated — as we know them. His team’s results are published today in Nature. http://bit.ly/1jUax92 – Scientific American

Archaeology Cafe (Tucson): Rio Nuevo Archaeology
On Tuesday, February 4, 2014, Bill Doelle and Homer Thiel (Desert Archaeology, Inc.) will explore what we have learned about Tucson’s history from archaeology projects in the Rio Nuevo district. We gather after 5:00 p.m., and presentations begin by 6:15 p.m. Seating is open and unreserved, but limited. The event is free. Please support our hosts at Casa Vicente (375 S. Stone)  by ordering refreshments from the menu.

“From Above: Images of a Storied Land” Opens at Arizona State Museum
Adriel Heisey’s stunning large-format aerial images of the Southwest’s cultural landscapes will be on exhibit at the Arizona State Museum from February 8 through September 20, 2014. Archaeology Southwest has been honored to partner with Mr. Heisey on this outstanding traveling exhibit, which invites viewers to consider anew the wonder and fragility of the region’s storied places. http://bit.ly/1lf7EUj – Arizona State Museum

2014 Preservation Archaeology Field School Offers Research Experiences for Undergraduates
The joint Archaeology Southwest-University of Arizona Preservation Archaeology Field School will convene from May 28 through July 5, 2014, in southwestern New Mexico. This unique program provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to learn excavation, survey, and analysis methods in a beautiful, remote, and archaeologically rich part of the American Southwest. As many as twelve undergraduate students are supported by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Students from traditionally underserved communities and institutions will be prioritized. Application review begins March 7, 2014. http://bit.ly/WpM8LX – Archaeology Southwest

Wyoming Moves to Protect Rock Art and Historic Ute Villages
On the windswept northern plains, a group Ute Indians ventured along with a herd of stolen horses. Their destination in 1880, the Powder Wash area of south central Wyoming, a few miles from the Colorado border, and an isolated encampment that offered shelter, water and a place to sketch fantastic art work. Now, officially known as the Powder Wash Archaeological District, it’s home to a wealth of rock art sites, a drift wood corral encircling the entire valley, a group of wickiups (a type of teepee) and enclosed rock shelters. Because of its importance, the archaeological district was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 6, 2013. http://bit.ly/1fov82o – Washington Times

New Prize Announced: Writing Archaeology for the Public
As archaeologists, we write for each other in journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and other forums, using language that makes sense to fellow members of the profession. Yet the results of archaeological discovery and analysis are important and deserve the widest possible audience: archaeology has momentous findings to report, and for the periods before written history stands as the only source of evidence we have for the human condition. We therefore propose a competition for new archaeological writing, which anyone may enter. We invite the submission of accessible and engaging articles, accompanied by a single illustration and with no scholarly apparatus, that showcase any aspect of archaeology of potential interest to a wide readership. As an incentive, we offer a prize of $5,000 to the winner. The prize-winning article, together with those by eight to ten other meritorious entries, will be published in Spring 2015 in a volume of the Joukowsky Institute Publication series (published and distributed by Oxbow Books). For more information about this competition, and to view the rules, please go to: http://bit.ly/1mLEho2 – Brown University

“Disenrollment” Challenging Definitions of Native American Tribal Membership
Mia Prickett’s ancestor was a leader of the Cascade Indians along the Columbia River and was one of the chiefs who signed an 1855 treaty that helped establish the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde in Oregon. But the Grand Ronde now wants to disenroll Prickett and 79 relatives, and possibly hundreds of other tribal members, because they no longer satisfy new enrollment requirements. Prickett’s family is fighting the effort, part of what some experts have dubbed the “disenrollment epidemic” — a rising number of dramatic clashes over tribal belonging that are sweeping through more than a dozen states, from California to Michigan. http://bit.ly/Mhap8c – Earthlink

Lecture Opportunity – Cave Creek
Join us for an introduction into the fascinating history of the Grand Canyon and river-running, presented by Todd Weber, a Living History presenter and educational guide.  Todd’s passion is American history and frontier life focusing on all relevant details and craftsmanship of this era. The general public may attend an Arizona Archaeology Society – Desert Foothills Chapter meeting at no charge. Refreshments available at 7:00 PM and the meeting begins at 7:30 PM. The meetings are held in the community room at The Good Shepard of the Hills Episcopal Church, 6502 Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek, AZ 85331 (near the Dairy Queen).  http://bit.ly/1aYMEY2 – Arizona Archaeology Society – Cave Creek Chapter

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society is pleased to present Jonathan Till on Tuesday, February 4^th at 7:00 PM at the Methodist Church, 515 Park Street, Cortez, CO to discuss the Results of the Hovenweep Pottery Analysis Project, Year 2. Till’s presentation will focus on Abajo Archaeology’s second year of work with the Hovenweep pottery analysis project, including typological, temper, rim arc, and design style analyses of sherds from particular sites in the Hovenweep landscape. Contact Kari Schleher at 505-269-4475 with questions.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Steve Lekson, curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History, gives a talk titled Mimbres: From Whence It Came and Whither It Went on Monday, Jan. 27, (today) at Hotel Santa Fe, 1501 Paseo de Peralta. The Jan. 27 lecture, presented by Southwest Seminars, begins at 6 p.m. Admission is $12 at the door and seating is limited. Call 505-466-2775. http://bit.ly/1e0ShLg – Santa Fe New Mexican

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Jakob William Sedig, Archaeologist and PhD candidate, University of Colorado who will present a lecture Spectacular Recent Finds at Woodrow Ruin Complex: A Mimbres Site in February 3 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Ancient Sites Ancient Stories I Lecture series held annually to honor and acknowledge the work of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. Refreshments are served and no reservations are necessary. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775, email: southwest seminar@aol.com, or http://bit.ly/YhJddr

Tour Opportunity – Ventana Cave
On Saturday February 1st archaeologist Allen Dart leads a car-caravan tour to the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Ventana Cave, starting at 6:30 a.m. at 401 N. Bonita Ave., Tucson, returning at 3:30. Excavations in the cave found evidence for about 10,000 years of occupation. Pictographs, petroglyphs, and other Native American archaeological features are still in and near the cave. Fee of $35 ($28 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and Pueblo Grande Museum members) benefits Old Pueblo’s education programs and the Tohono O’odham Hickiwan District’s efforts to develop a caretaker-interpretive center for the cave. Reservations required by January 29:  520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Correction: Last week’s issue of the SAT newsletter inadvertently listed an article about Nevada historic preservation grants being retracted due to state budget problems. This article was published in 2011 and does not reflect the current state of historic preservation in Nevada.  Archaeology Southwest regrets this erroneous posting.

Thanks to Cherie Freeman and Brian Kreimendahl for contributing to this week’s SAT newsletter.