Artifacts from Little Bighorn Highlight Curation Dilemma

Artifacts from Little Bighorn Highlight Curation Dilemma
National Park Service officials believe it’ll take constructing a new visitor center at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument before nearly 185,000 artifacts now being stored in Arizona can be returned and displayed. Those artifacts were transferred in 2011 to be stored in a climate-controlled NPS facility in Tucson to keep them from further deterioration. They’re being identified and photographed, with the goal of one day being available for Internet access — until they’re possibly returned to the site of the 1876 battle. “It was to be a temporary move,” said Denice Swanke, superintendent of the monument. “We don’t have any way to return them until we figure this out.” http://bit.ly/1w4JLyq – Billings Gazette

Glen Rice Wins 2014 Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize
Arizona State University archaeologist Glen Rice has won the 2014 Don D. and Catherine S. Fowler Prize for his forthcoming book, “Sending the Spirits Home: The Archaeology of Hohokam Mortuary Practices.” The prize recognizes “substantive research and quality writing” that “focus on the human experience in the American West.” The award was bestowed by the University of Utah Press in an October ceremony. http://bit.ly/1ucN75M – Arizona State University

Chiles at Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café (Phoenix)
On November 18, 2014, Dr. Paul E. Minnis (University of Oklahoma, retired) shares information about the use of chiles in the past. We meet in the Aztec Room of Macayo’s Central, 4001 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, near the Indian School light rail stop. 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

Late Pleistocene Archaeology of the Channel Islands
While one of the first archaeologists to work on Santa Rosa Island has proposed that mammoth-hunting humans first came to the islands over 40,000 years ago, very few archaeologists today accept this early date. The earliest verified evidence for human occupation in the Channel Islands comes from more than 13,000 years ago when a woman died at Arlington Springs on Santa Rosa Island. At the time she died, the sea level was 150 feet lower than it is today and the Northern Channel Islands were still connected as a single island. http://bit.ly/1xjjrDY – NativeAmericanNetRoots.net

Cuno Restates His Case Against Cultural Repatriation
James Cuno, president of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is back in the fray over whether antiquities and other prized artifacts from Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cradles of Western civilization should remain in museum collections in America, Great Britain and other major collector nations or be sent back to the countries where they were created hundreds or thousands of years ago. The latest salvo from the L.A. museum leader is an article he wrote for the November-December issue of Foreign Affairs magazine titled “Culture War: The Case Against Repatriating Museum Artifacts.” http://lat.ms/10Ht8A5 – LA Times

Archaeologist Would Like to Examine Plot of Land in Albuquerque
The fenced-off area in Albuquerque’s Four Hills area, near the Tijeras Arroyo, is a mystery to many. “We don’t know exactly what is there – whether it’s an Indian ruin,” said Bonnie Wilson. “Someone had told us it had been an old fort, but we don’t know.” Archaeologist Matt Schmader, the Superintendent of Albuquerque’s Open Spaces Division, believes it’s an old Hispanic ranching settlement that dates back to the late 1700s. The last time an archaeologist looked into what’s there was back in the late ’70s and early ’80s. http://bit.ly/1APsocV – KOB.com

Mexico Demands Halt to Auction of Antiquities
The Mexican government said Friday that a quarter of the pre-Hispanic artifacts listed for sale in a Bonhams auction catalog are fakes and that it will take legal steps to win the return of the other, genuine artifacts. Bonhams’ New York auction scheduled for Wednesday includes about 155 sculptures, ceramic vessels and other artifacts from the Aztec, Mayan and other cultures. http://bit.ly/1zEm5Yk – Associated Press via Navajo Times

Ten-Year-Old Donates Clovis Point to the Smithsonian
Noah Cordle was boogie boarding when a sharp object hit his foot. Thinking it was a crab he jumped back. But upon noticing its dark color, the 10-year-old plucked it from the surf only to discover it was an arrowhead.  Turns out, the object he found in the waters off Beach Haven, New Jersey, on summer vacation wasn’t just any arrowhead. It was a rare and “classic” Clovis point dating from 13,500 to 14,000 years ago, according to Smithsonian.com. http://bit.ly/1uccRzh – Grind TV

Hands-On Archaeology – Learn More about Flintknapping with Archaeology Southwest
Join Allen Denoyer for his new Hands-On Archaeology class, “How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools?” In this beginner class, you will use ancient techniques and replica tools to create a stone projectile point. You will also learn more about how people made and used such points, and that points were just one component of a complete hunting technology. $40.00 per session; Archaeology Southwest members receive $10 off. Please note that these classes are for individuals 18 years of age and older. Class meets in the courtyard of Archaeology Southwest’s offices at 300 N. Ash Alley, Tucson, AZ. Three dates are now available: Saturday, 1/17/15, from 9–11:00 a.m.; Friday, 1/23/15, from 9-11:00 a.m.; and Thursday, 1/29/15, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.  http://bit.ly/1zdfmSd – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity –  Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Kirt Kempter, Volcanologist and Field Geologist; Study Leader, Smithsonian Journeys, to Antarctica and Iceland; Former Fulbright Scholar; Field Research in Costa Rica, Mexico and New Mexico; Field Geologic Training for NASA Astronaut Candidate Program in New Mexico who will give a lecture Amazing Geologic Story of OZ (Australia): How is it Different and Similar to Our Southwest? on November 17 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe 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; southwestseminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Dr. Barnet Pavao-Zuckerman and Homer Thiel on Monday, November 17, at 7:30 pm in the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1500 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will present Recent Work at the Guevavi Mission. Dr. Pavao-Zuckerman and Mr. Thiel discuss their findings at the Guevavi Mission site as well as their plans to aid in the management and interpretation of the archaeological resources at the Guevavi Mission and to provide information in support of the protection of the entire site. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information please visit the AAHS website: http://bit.ly/1uhONZh, or contact John D. Hall at jhall@sricrm.com with questions about this or any other AAHS program.

Lecture Opportunity – Winslow
The Homolovi Chapter of AAS (Arizona Archaeological Society) is pleased to present Bill Reitze, head archaeologist for the Petrified Forest National Park, on Wednesday, 12 November, at 7 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St, Winslow, AZ. Reitze will be speaking on the recent land acquisitions and subsequent discoveries in the Park. For question or further information, call Sky Roshay at 928-536-3307. You can also join us for dinner at 5 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).

Tour Opportunity – Ventana Cave
On November 29, archaeologist Allen Dart leads Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 6:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. “Rock Art and Archaeology of Ventana Cave” carpooling educational tour departing from Pima Community College, 401 N. Bonita Ave., Tucson. Arizona State Museum excavations directed by archaeologists Emil Haury and Julian Hayden in Ventana Cave, a Tohono O’odham Nation National Historic Landmark site, recovered evidence for human occupation from around 10,000 years ago into historic times, including pictographs, and there are petroglyphs outside the cave. Fee $35 ($28 for Old Pueblo and Pueblo Grande Museum Auxiliary members). Reservations are required by November 26: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

Site Tour – Superior AZ
EcoPlan Associates, Inc., and the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) invite you to join project director Dr. Anna A. Neuzil on a tour of several active archaeological excavations along US Highway 60 in Superior, Arizona. The excavations, which started in early 2014, are sponsored by ADOT, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Tonto National Forest. Work will be completed in advance of the planned US Highway 60 Silverking Section and Superior Streets improvement project. Archaeological work has revealed Native American village and agricultural sites dating to A.D. 900 to A.D. 1375. A tour for members of the professional archaeological community is scheduled for Wednesday, 19 November 2014. A second tour geared towards avocational archaeologists and the interested public is scheduled for Friday, 21 November 2014. Both tours will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints parking lot at 979 Main St, Superior, AZ 85173 (at the intersection of US 60 and Main Street just across from the Buckboard City Cafe. Turn off of US 60 heading northeast on Main Street, then turn right into the church parking lot). Tours are expected to last for two to two and a half hours. Attendees must provide their own transportation. Due to accessibility of some sites, high clearance vehicles are required and carpooling is encouraged because space to park at some sites is limited. Short hikes are necessary to reach some of the sites.  Sturdy shoes, a hat, snacks, and water also are recommended.