The Santa Fe New Mexican Honors the Life’s Work of Polly Schaafsma

The Santa Fe New Mexican  Honors the Life’s Work of Polly Schaafsma
Polly Dix Schaafsma, an archaeologist who has long specialized in Indian rock art, is featured in the current issue of the New Mexico Historical Review, and this month she is receiving two honorary doctorate degrees in recognition of her work — yet this is a domain that has not been a priority for a good number of her peers. In a recent interview at her Santa Fe home, Schaafsma said many archaeologists “sort of shrugged their shoulders about rock art. They didn’t like it because it wasn’t dated, because there’s no stratigraphy in an excavation.” Even today, most of them “often seem to harbor the notion that image-making is a whimsical thing and brush it off,” she says in Review. “Archaeologists won’t extend their interest to all these little wiggly figures of flute players and animals.” http://bit.ly/1TUIkkI – Santa Fe New Mexican

Chip Colwell Provides a Concise Analysis of the Kennewick Man Case, and Suggests How to Prevent Future Conflicts over Native Remains
The epic saga of the skeleton known as the Ancient One (by Native Americans) and Kennewick Man (by scientists) has taken a wild turn. The story’s beginning is now near myth: In 1996, human remains were accidentally discovered along the Columbia River, near Kennewick, Wash. Scientists determined the remains to be a 9,300-year-old man, calling the find “the most important human skeleton ever found in North America.” http://dpo.st/1XdaERN – Denver Post

Chaco Archaeology in New Mexico’s El Malpais Lava Fields
In the black-rock badlands of northwestern New Mexico, archaeologists have documented a 900-year-old village with unique ties to the Ancestral Puebloan citadel of Chaco Canyon. Consisting of more than a hundred separate sites, including a two-story great house with as many as 85 rooms, the newly recorded community shows a strong influence of Chacoan culture, but at the same time, it appears to have other qualities not found anywhere else. http://bit.ly/1TQu3me – Western Digs

KNAU’s Earth Notes  Examines the Controversy over Fracking near Chaco
Many visitors know Chaco Canyon National Historical Park as a nexus of spiritual or at least archaeological energy. But these days many park advocates are worried about a different sort of energy: oil and gas production. In recent years new roads and other infrastructure have been built leading to oil and gas wells operating as close as five miles from the park. A drop in oil prices has paused new drilling for now, but a coalition of archaeologists, environmentalists, and Native Americans are redoubling their efforts to protect the greater Chaco landscape. A large area beyond the park contains fragile archaeological sites related to the long-departed Ancestral Puebloans. Much of the land is used by the present-day Diné people for grazing, native plant gathering, and other traditional purposes. http://bit.ly/1V4JIUb – KNAU Radio

Congratulations to This Year’s Recipients of the Cheryl L. Wase Memorial Scholarship
The Society for American Archaeology has awarded three undergraduates in New Mexico State University’s College of Arts and Sciences with competitive scholarships. Kayla Brown, Keighley Hastings and Kailey Martinez each received the Cheryl L. Wase Memorial Scholarship for the Study of Archaeology last month in acknowledgement of their exceptional promise for academic and professional development in archaeology, explained Rani Alexander, head of NMSU’s Department of Anthropology. The scholarships will cover the cost of tuition and fees, as well as books for classroom and field-based courses. http://bit.ly/1ZUIOJl – El Paso Herald Post

“Petroglyph Patrol” Deploys Volunteers to Monitor Ancient Places in Southern Utah
Vandalism over ancient drawings and the looting of archeological sites is a growing problem in southern Utah – specifically at the Land Hill Heritage site west of St. George. “It breaks my heart. These are sites that have religious importance to Native Americans. They are artistically important to all of us as humans and they present a great economic value in terms of tourism,” Hunsaker said. As part of the Respect and Protect campaign, the BLM is partnering with Conserve Southwest Utah to prevent further damage. http://bit.ly/1TDTRCp – Good4Utah.com

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Joan E. Price, M.F.A. Research Associate, Jornada Research Institute; Founder and Co-Director, Rainhouse Foundation; Author, Material Traces of the Rainhouse: Anthropology and Archaeology Investigations of a Native American Landscape in the Tularosa Basin who will give a lecture Jaguar Petroglyphs in the Jornada Mogollon on May 23 at 6pm 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. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt, tel:505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; http://bit.ly/YhJddr