Graduate Student Identifies Earliest Known Evidence of the Domestic Dog in North America

Graduate Student Identifies Earliest Known Evidence of the Domestic Dog in North America
Samuel Belknap III, a University of Maine graduate research assistant working under the direction of Kristin Sobolik, found a 9,400-year-old skull fragment of a domestic dog during analysis of an intact human paleofecal sample. The fact that the bone was found in human waste provides the earliest proof that humans in the New World used domesticated dogs as food sources. “This discovery can tell us not only a lot about the genetic history of dogs but of the interactions between humans and dogs in the past,” said Belknap. “Not only were they most likely companions as they are today, they served as protection, hunting assistants, and also as a food source.” http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/004195.html

Controversial Cemetery Excavation Continues in Downtown Los Angeles
The excavation for a garden in LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, a public cultural center celebrating L.A.’s Mexican American heritage, stirred up controversy last week among archaeologists and Native American activist groups. While critics like UCLA’s curator of archaeology at UCLA’s Fowler Museum Wendy Teeter claim that the excavation does not comply with California health code law on cemeteries, according to a LA Plaza press release, “all professional archaeological and oestological procedures and regulations” are being strictly followed. http://blogdowntown.com/2011/01/6002-la-plaza-de-cultura-y-artes-excavation-uncovers

Rock Art Vandal Convicted of Damaging Panel Near Glen Canyon Dam
An NPS concession employee came upon recent damage to a rock art panel below Glen Canyon Dam last June and reported it to a park interpretive ranger. The damage consisted of the name “TRENT” scratched into the panel. http://www.nationalparksgallery.com/park_news/11162

Registration Opens for 2011 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference
HP Conference registration has officially begun! Register early for best savings and to ensure your place at the Historic Preservation Conference in June. Don’t forget to reserve your hotel accommodations at the University Park Marriott Hotel. If you are a member of Arizona Preservation Foundation, Arizona Historical Society, or Arizona Archaeological Council, you may receive additional discounts! http://azpreservation.com/regstart.aspx

This Month’s Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society Meeting Canceled
Dr. Ronald Towner’s lecture on Monday, January 17th, has been canceled due to the current situation at University Medical Center.  “Tree-Rings, Documents, and Oral Histories in Cebolla Creek, New Mexico” will be presented at a later date. http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/2010/09/ronald-h-towner-tree-rings-documents-and-oral-histories-in-cebolla-creek-new-mexico/

Tour Opportunity (Southern Arizona)
The Southwestern Mission Research Center is offering a special tour: “Southern Arizona’s Spanish Colonial Legacy: The Historic San Xavier and Tumacácori Missions and the Tubac Presidio”on Saturday March 5, 2011, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  In a special one-day tour to three of the most outstanding historic Spanish Colonial period sites in the Southwest, ethnohistorian Dr. Bernard L. Fontana and architect Bob Vint will show and interpret the history of the recently restored and renovated San Xavier Mission (the so-called “White Dove of the Desert”). We’ll then travel from San Xavier south up the beautiful upper Santa Cruz River valley to visit the historic San José de Tumacácori Mission ruins with Fontana, Vint, and David Yubeta, and to picnic at Tumacácori. Finally, we’ll visit the Tubac Presidio where Shaw Kinsley will regale us with a tour and stories about local history. http://southwestmissions.org/tours