Judge Rules Vandalism by ATV Is Not Protected Speech

Judge Rules Vandalism by ATV Is Not Protected Speech 
A federal judge on Wednesday rejected San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman’s claim that the First Amendment shields him from conspiracy charges stemming from his role in organizing a motorized group ride into southeastern Utah’s Recapture Canyon last year. “Speech is not protected if it is the vehicle of the crime itself,” said U.S. District Court Judge Robert Shelby after a two-hour hearing in his Salt Lake City courtroom. Four Utah men are to be tried April 28 in the alleged conspiracy. The charges carry up to a year in jail and $100,000 in fines. http://bit.ly/1bUFn2B – Salt Lake Tribune

Standing Room Only as Craig Childs Reflects upon Cedar Mesa
Childs said respects historic places and tries to capture those stories in his books. “You can feel the memory of places,” he said. He admitted to being a “groupie to archaeologists,” following them around so he can write books. He is currently working on a book about mammoth hunters. A lot of those in attendance Saturday night, March 28, were archeologists. http://bit.ly/1BWpUoI – Cortez Journal

New Issue of Pottery Southwest Available
Vol. 31, No. 2 (Spring/Summer 2015, Part II) of Pottery Southwest is now available online at http://bit.ly/1FqZsaC. The issue features a paper by Paulina Przystupa entitled “Class Size Matters: An Examination of Size Classes in Ceramic Bowls from Classic Era Sites in New Mexico,” as well as a paper entitled “What Means These Mimbres Bird Motifs” by Marc Thompson, Patricia Gilman, and Krystina Wyckoff. Owen Severance and Joe Lally provide Comments on Rod Swenson’s “Anasazi Organic Black-on-white Pottery: A New Paradigm” (Pottery Southwest 30(3–4): 4–33).  The issue finishes off with Rod Swenson’s Response. Pottery Southwest provides a venue for students, professional, and avocational archaeologists to publish articles as well as providing an opportunity to share questions and answers. It is available free of charge at http://bit.ly/1FqZsaC – Maxwell Museum. Submissions can be sent to psw@unm.edu.

Deferred Maintenance at Casa Grande Beginning to Take Its Toll
The road into Casa Grande Ruins National Monument as well as the parking lot need repaving to address potholes, cracks and years of wear, but the project keeps getting pushed back for lack of funds, said Dave Carney, the facility’s chief of education and interpretation. It’s the same story with wood slats providing shade at picnic pavilions and a ramada where tours begin. Those could use a new paint, Carney said, pointing out the weathering and peeling. http://bit.ly/1aynMx7 – KTAR

National Park Service Launches Digital Kiosks to Connect the Public to the Parks
Next year, the National Park Service marks its hundredth year. At it prepares for that moment, the NPS has launched an interactive kiosk that gives people a quick glimpse at the 407 parks and landmarks the NPS manages. The kiosk launched in New York City (April 2-3), and will travel next to Los Angeles (April 9-10) and Washington, D.C. (April 16-17), with other locations and dates to be announced. http://bit.ly/1y5yDce – Digital Trends

Archaeologist Reevaluates Spanish Missions in Light of His Family Heritage
When archaeologist Ruben Mendoza was a boy, his father was prone to fiery outbursts in the family’s mobile home on the tough west side of Fresno. One of the biggest targets of his anger, Mendoza remembers, was the Catholic Church and its California missions. “Over and over, he claimed Catholic missions were cancers that Spain brought to the New World,” Mendoza said. Mendoza, who is of Yaqui Indian and Mexican-American heritage, was shaped by his father’s hatred. “I became obsessed with ‘pure’ ancient Indian cultures,” he recalled. http://bit.ly/1y7kjQp – Grand Haven Tribune

Ajo, Arizona, Finds Rejuvenation in the Arts and Humanities
Ajo’s reinvention is driven by an ambitious, multi-tasking non-profit group, the International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA). ISDA is a small venture with a big vision—to revitalize life in this area of the Sonoran Desert culturally, environmentally, and economically. The “International” in the name refers to the tri-national faces of ISDA, involving Mexico, the United States, and the Tohono O’odham Native American tribe. http://theatln.tc/1afqHuh – The Atlantic

Blogs Worth Reading – To Defeat Reality TV, Archaeology Needs to Be Shared
In years gone by, when I used to teach archaeology methods, I used to give the students an assignment to watch their choice of the Indiana Jones movies and develop a research design for his “investigations” that would pass muster in the modern world. It was a critical thinking exercise intended to be fun, and we did have a lot of laughs. But it seems it is no laughing matter in today’s world of reality television where vast audiences of millions tune in every week for the thrill of watching a protagonist discover exciting artifacts. http://bit.ly/1DGhDde – CPA Archaeological Alliance

Best Practice in Preservation Archaeology – Research without Impacts
It seems counterintuitive, but sometimes archaeologists can learn more by not digging up the past. In fact, noninvasive methods—including lasers, ground-penetrating radar, and drone photography—are changing the way they do their work. One of the latest examples: a project at Ammaia, in southern Portugal, where researchers have been able to create detailed, three-dimensional illustrations of a now-underground Roman village in its heyday. http://bit.ly/1y7i7IO – National Geographic

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Larry L. Baker, Archaeologist and Executive Director, Salmon Ruins and the San Juan County Museum Association, who will give a lecture Navajo Defensive Sites in Dinetah on April 13, 2015, at 6 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series held annually to honor the work of The Archaeological Conservancy. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Contact Connie Eichstaedt tel: 505 466-2775 email: southwestseminar@aol.com

Lecture Opportunity – Taos
The Taos Archaeological Society is pleased to present Phil Alldritt, Instructor of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of New Mexico-Taos, who will lecture on “The Archaeology of Cuba, Part II” on Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at 7 p.m. at the Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Road, Taos. Contact Chris Riveles @ 575-776-1005 for questions or further information.

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On April 16, 2015, Kenneth Zoll presents “The Billingsley Hopi Dancers” 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 Avenue, Tucson. He’ll show a rare film of the Billingsley Dancers and tell how they persuaded Congress to pass a Resolution giving the Hopi permission to carry on their dancing “for all time.” Cosponsored by Arizona Humanities. Guests may select and purchase dinner. No entry fee. Donations will be requested. Seating is limited: Call 520-798-1201 before 5 p.m. April 15 for reservations, which must be confirmed by Old Pueblo.

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