Museum of Northern Arizona Selects New Director

Santa Fe New Mexican Calls for the Protection of the Chacoan Landscape
Data and facts are essential when constructing an argument. On the issue of whether (or how) oil and gas drilling should be allowed to intrude on the quiet and stillness of Chaco Canyon, facts are present in abundance. This is one case, though, where facts matter less than something harder to measure but just as essential to the final decision on how best to manage oil and gas drilling in the region around this ancient site, home to the ancestors of both Pueblo and Navajo people and a place as important to the world as Stonehenge or the Great Wall of China. http://bit.ly/1wXWA0D – Santa Fe New Mexican

Creepytings – The Paintings and the Damage Done
A series of graffiti-like paintings on rocks in national parks across the West set off a furor on social media this month, angering people who say they desecrated some of the nation’s most famously picturesque landscapes. They’ve also created a headache for park managers who have the delicate task of cleaning up the sites without causing further damage. http://yhoo.it/1vAHr23 Associated Press via Yahoo News

Creepytings 2 – Archaeology Southwest’s Preservation Fellow Lewis Bork on Why Vandalism Is Not Art
There once was a young woman—decked out in the latest, expensive fitness gear—who traveled around the American West and painted signed images within various park boundaries under the name Creepytings (as of today, the suspect has been officially named as Casey Nocket of New York state). You may have read about it on Southwest Archaeology Today, at various news agencies, or on modernhiker.com, the website that first broke the news. There are a number of things going on here that make this situation confusing. Besides the mind-bender called human nature,another is the equally confusing nature of art (and in this case, it is also art in nature, as it where). If you go to any of the above links, or just Google “national park vandal,” you’ll find a number of articles about this vandalism, and a bit about the nature of art.  http://bit.ly/ASW_Presfellow1 – Archaeology Southwest

New Open Source Journal Focused on the Archaeology of Texas
Journal of Texas Archaeology and History is a peer-reviewed publication that promotes scholastic level research in the fields of archaeology and history regarding a geographic region centered around the State of Texas that includes Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and the northern portions of Mexico. We call this region the “Texas Borderlands.”  The Journal is an open-access online publication whose text will be discoverable via Google Scholar and other prominent search engines and is freely available to authors and readers worldwide. http://bit.ly/10dktFo – Journal of Texas Archaeology and History

Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café to Host Paul Minnis in Phoenix
On November 18, 2014, Dr. Paul E. Minnis (University of Oklahoma, retired) shares information about the use of chiles in the distant past. This informal event takes place in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave. Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive at about 5:30 p.m. in order to get settled, as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Archaeology Café is free, but guests are encouraged to order their own refreshments from the menu. http://bit.ly/ASW_Minnis – Archaeology Southwest

Reminder: Paul Reed Speaks about His Work in the Chuska Valley at Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café (Tucson)
On November 4, 2014, Paul F. Reed will present “The Chuska Valley Revisited.” Paul will discuss recent work in this valley of northwestern New Mexico in light of research he undertook more than a decade ago. We meet at Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave., Tucson. Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive before 5:30 p.m., as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. http://bit.ly/ASW_Reed – Archaeology Southwest

Outreach Opportunity—Hands-On Archaeology at Oro Valley’s Fall Festival
Visit with Archaeology Southwest’s ancient technology expert, Allen Denoyer, on Saturday, November 8, 2014, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at Oro Valley’s Fall Festival at Steam Pump Ranch. Allen will demonstrate how ancient people made stone tools and discuss work on our experimental Hohokam pithouse, which is located at Steam Pump Ranch, 10901 N. Oracle Rd., Oro Valley, AZ. http://bit.ly/ASW_Denoyer1 – Archaeology Southwest

Tour Opportunity—Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruins with Western National Parks Association and Gwinn Vivian
From May 17–22, 2015, Discover Chaco Canyon with renowned archaeologist Gwinn Vivian. Camp in the canyon, hike and study the monumental ruins of ancient Chaco. Gwinn will explore the many theories that surround this mysterious culture and the connection between Chaco culture and astronomy. http://bit.ly/1yOQKyR – Western Parks and Monuments Association

Lecture Opportunity – Albuquerque
Associate Professor Steve Wolverton will present “Archaeological Approaches Aiding Environmental Science: Litter, mussels, and white-tailed deer” on Friday, November 7th, at 3:00 pm in Hibben 105 on the University of New Mexico campus. Archaeologists routinely approach research questions willing to adopt a broad range of analytical strategies. We unabashedly borrow concepts and techniques like chefs in a spice cabinet. We are inherently interested in and willing to collaborate well beyond the disciplinary boundaries of anthropology and archaeology because the datasets we explore are diverse regarding their origins and are highly variable in terms of data quality. As a result, archaeologists are the ultimate problems solvers. In this talk, Dr. Wolverton will discuss three case studies in which he and his students have turned our curiosity outward in order to directly meddle in other disciplines using archaeological perspectives.

Lecture Opportunity – Cortez
The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeology Society is pleased to present Shawn Collins on Tuesday, November 4th, at 7:00 PM, at the Methodist Church, 515 Park Street, Cortez, CO, to discuss “The Role of Climate and Agriculture in Maya Civilization.” Dr. Collins will discuss the relationship between agriculture, social complexity and climate in prehispanic Mesoamerica. Contact Kari Schleher at 505-269-4475 with questions.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On Wednesday, November 5, 2014, at 6 pm, the director of Hopi Cultural Preservation Office, Leigh J. Kuwanwisiwma, will present “New Legal Front: The Hopi Tribe’s Effort to Halt the Sale of Sacred Objects in France” in the Cesar E. Chavez Building Room 111, University of Arizona, 1110 James E. Rogers Way. Mr. Kuwanwisiwma’s presentation will outline two art auctions in Paris in 2013, and enumerate the obstacles the Hopi Tribe faced when trying to stop the sale of sacred objects at those auctions. The speaker also will discuss collections of Hopi artifacts in private holdings and in museums worldwide, many of which include sacred items. This presentation is co-authored by Stewart Koyiyumptewa, archivist and ethnohistorian, Hopi Cultural Preservation Office. A reception will follow the presentation. This is a presentation of the Arnold and Doris Roland Distinguished Speaker Series, made possible by the generosity of Arnold and Doris Roland. Reception underwritten in part by Eldon and Jean Smith and the University of Arizona Department of American Indian Studies.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On November 20, archaeologist Todd Bostwick presents “Landscape of the Spirits: Hohokam Rock Art of South Mountain Park” for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 6-8:30 p.m.“Third Thursday Food for Thought” dinner at Dragon’s View Asian Cuisine, 400 N. Bonita Ave., Tucson. He will describe petroglyphs in Phoenix’s South Mountains and discuss their possible uses in marking of trails, territories, and astronomical events, and in dream or trance imagery. Guests may select and purchase dinner. There is no entry fee; donations will be requested. Seating is limited: To attend call 520-798-1201 and have your reservation confirmed before 5 p.m., November 19.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Historian and Author Hampton Sides, who will give a lecture “A Forgotten Tragedy of American Arctic Exploration” on November 10 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe about his recent book, In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette. as part of the annual Mother Earth Father Sky Lecture Series held annually to honor The New Mexico Environmental Law Center. No reservations are necessary and admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. Refreshments are served and seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Position Announcement – Portales
Eastern New Mexico University’s Department of Anthropology and Applied Archaeology invites applications for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor position for a North American archaeologist to begin in August 2015. We seek an archaeologist specializing in the agricultural/ceramic period prehistory of the North American Southwest. The ideal candidate will have methodological expertise in ceramic analysis. Skills in quantitative methods, GIS, and other areas that complement the existing strengths of the department are a plus. For additional information, please see our advertisement here http://bit.ly/10LrdeZ – Eastern New Mexico University via NeoGov