The President Could Save Bears Ears

Editorial: The President Could Save Bears Ears
The president told Sen. Orrin Hatch Friday that he’s going to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, “For you, Orrin.” He’s not doing so for the American people. America needs what the Bears Ears can offer: “powerful medicine for healing—of the land, of plants and animals, and for all people.” Barack Obama acknowledged this vision from the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, this historic and restorative breathing space, when he created Bears Ears National Monument in December 2016. http://bit.ly/2yuLlap – Stephen Trimble via the Salt Lake Tribune

The Archaeological Institute of America’s Statement on the Antiquities Act
Today the achievements of the Antiquities Act are at risk. The National Monument Creation and Protection Act, H.R. 3990, erects hurdles that would make it virtually impossible for future presidents to designate national monuments. This bill requires approval of large-scale monument designations by all county commissions, state legislatures, and governors in the area, undermining the original intent of the Antiquities Act—to have the President protect at risk cultural resources in a timely manner. It bars presidents from designating marine national monuments completely and gives them the authority to reduce the size of declared national monuments drastically. H.R. 3990 effectively eliminates the presidential authority established by the Antiquities Act to safeguard heritage for all Americans and citizens of the world. http://bit.ly/2yuJFNV – AIA

Did the First Americans Sail, Rather than Hike?
A team of anthropologists from several institutions in the U.S. has offered a Perspective piece in the journal Science outlining current theories regarding the first humans to populate the Americas. In their paper, they scrap the conventional view that Clovis people making their way across a Bering land bridge were the first to arrive in the Americas—more recent evidence suggests others arrived far earlier, likely using boats to travel just offshore. http://bit.ly/2yykx9b – Phys.org

The Four Corners Potato – North America’s First Spud
Between 7,000 and 9,000 years ago—during the middle Holocene—the Four Corners area went through a slow but dramatic climatic shift. As the region became hotter and drier, stream and lake levels dropped, and larger game animals and firewood became harder to find. Indigenous communities had to rely on foods that were less nutritious and took more time to prepare, such as grass seeds and chenopodium seeds, a tiny grain similar to quinoa. But recently, archaeologists working with local tribes have recognized a surprising addition to these early food sources: Eleven millennia ago, communities at the North Creek Shelter — a rock overhang in southern Utah’s Escalante Valley—began harvesting a unique species of potato. That’s the earliest known use of a potato in North America, and the evidence suggests that the nutritious tuber helped communities adapt to climate change during the middle Holocene, even as other food sources disappeared. http://bit.ly/2yvwwEb – High Country News

Publication Announcement: Life beyond the Boundaries
Life beyond the Boundaries explores identity formation on the edges of the ancient Southwest. Focusing on some of the more poorly understood regions, including the Jornada Mogollon, the Gallina, and the Pimería Alta, the authors use methods drawn from material culture science, anthropology, and history to investigate themes related to the construction of social identity along the perimeters of the American Southwest. http://bit.ly/2ywss6A – University Press of Colorado

A Hike to Chaco Canyon’s Peñasco Blanco
The Peñasco Blanco Trail begins at the far north end of the main driving loop. Although the hike is more than 7 miles round trip, it is mostly level until the final climb to Peñasco Blanco. Even in the late fall, it can be hot here during midday under the vast open sky. The trail first passes by Kin Kletso (meaning “Yellow House” in Diné), a rectangular great house thought to have been constructed about A.D. 1125. After about a mile of walking, Casa Chiquita comes into view on the right. Built in a later style of stone patterning, this great house was constructed in a square and has an elevated kiva. http://bit.ly/2yvtEan – Taos News

Protecting Chaco: An Update from Paul Reed
Much has transpired in the last few weeks in our efforts to protect the Greater Chaco Landscape. Here is a summary of recent happenings. In early September, Archaeology Southwest compiled a short report on recent and ongoing research across the Greater Chaco Landscape (GCL). The goal was to highlight for the media and the New Mexico Congressional Delegation the importance of Greater Chaco to archaeological research and why it is so critical to protect what remains of the ancient landscape. My colleagues GB Cornucopia, Sean Field, Richard Friedman, Carrie Heitman, Anna Sofaer, Ruth Van Dyke, Rob Weiner, and I summarized current archaeological work across the GCL. This work, and other ongoing projects, clearly demonstrate the incredible research value of the landscape and the critical need to protect the remaining pieces. http://bit.ly/2yvs7kG – Archaeology Southwest

Lyle Balenqua on Hopi History and Connections to Bears Ears
I often pose the question of how is Hopi connected to these prehistoric groups from distant lands? What is the continuity between modern Hopi people (and other Pueblo groups) and the ancestral cultures of the Bears Ears? Seems like a valid question, given that the modern day Hopi reservation lies over 200 miles south of this part of Utah. What are the woven strands of culture that ties us back over time and space? http://bit.ly/2yvjsic – Angles and Momentum

Reminder: The Phoenix Archaeology Café Moves to the Changing Hands Bookstore on November 7
Join us for Phoenix Underground. Knowledge seekers of every kind are welcome at Archaeology Café, where experts share their latest research on Phoenix’s deep and diverse history in a jargon-free zone. Former City Archaeologist Todd Bostwick kicks off the series with an exploration of Archaeology under the Freeways. Learn more about what was found under the freeways we all travel daily. Presented by Archaeology Southwest, a nonprofit organization working across the Southwest to explore and protect the places of our past, Archaeology Café is an informal forum where adults can learn more about the Southwest’s deep history and speak directly to experts. At Archaeology Café, we break down the static, jargon-laden dynamic of traditional lectures, and have an expert share some ideas with the group in ways that get discussion going. (Food and drink make things a little livelier, too.) Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Cafe program is supported by the Smith Living Trust and the Arizona Humanities Council. http://bit.ly/2xYEPmY – Archaeology Southwest

Video Link from the Tucson Archaeology Café: James Vint on the Early Agricultural Period in Tucson
On Tuesday, October 3, 2017, archaeologist James Vint opened the 2017-2018 season with an exploration of 4,000 Years Ago: Early Agriculture in the Tucson Basin. As far back as 4,000 years ago, families were living in the Tucson area, irrigating and growing corn along the rivers, hunting game in the foothills, and gathering wild plant resources throughout the desert. Major archaeological excavations along the Santa Cruz River in recent decades have greatly expanded our understanding of life during this time period. Dr. Vint led several of these projects, and will give us an intimate look into the lives of these earliest settlers of the Tucson Basin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIp1b10oo48&feature=youtu.be

New National Park Service Archeology Podcast
The Southern Arizona Office of the National Park Service (NPS) has started a new podcast. Focusing on the U.S. Southwest, the podcast explores archeological projects and historic preservation at NPS sites. The first three episodes are up, including fascinating interviews with Francis P. McManamon and Charlie Steen III, as well as an episode focusing on the Tucson-based Linking Southwestern Heritage Through Archaeology. Check back monthly for new episodes. https://www.nps.gov/soar/nps- southwest-archeology-podcast. htm

Lecture Opportunity – Tucson
On Wednesday, November 8, 2017, the Tucson chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America will welcome Hal Manning and Mike Alperstein, Special Agents, Homeland Security, for From Dinosaurs to Emperors: Cultural Property and the Department of Homeland Security. The presentation will take place at 4:30 p.m. in room 111 of the Chavez Building, 1110 E North Campus Drive, on the University of Arizona campus. http://bit.ly/2yuZaWd – AIA Tucson

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
The Santa Fe Archaeological Society (SFAS), Archaeological Institute of America, is pleased to present Jim Bradford, certified Scuba Diver and Santa Fe Archaeologist recently retired from the National Park Service, on Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 7:30 pm at the Pecos Trail Cafe, 2239 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM. His subject will be Techniques Used in Mapping Shipwrecks as They Evolved over More Than Three Decades.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Chris Fisher, Archaeologist and Professor, Department of Anthropology, Colorado State University; Recipient, 2007 Gordon R. Willey Prize, American Anthropological Association; Co-Editor, The Archaeology of Environmental Change: Socionatural Legacies of Degradation and Resilience; and Seeking a Richer Harvest: The Archaeology of Subsistence Intensification, Innovation and Change; Co-Author, Identifying Settlement Patterns in the Mosquitia Region of Honduras. He will give a lecture, Lost City of the Monkey God, on November 20 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Mother Earth Father Sky Lecture Series held to honor and acknowledge The New Mexico Environmental Law Center. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Seating is limited. Refreshments are served. Contact Connie Eichstaedt (505) 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com; website: http://www.southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Winslow
Migration in Stone: Cup and Channel Petroglyphs and Ancestral Puebloan Migration, a presentation by Michael Terlep to the Homolovi Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society, will be Wednesday, Nov 8, at 7 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St in Winslow. You can also join us and the speaker(s) for dinner at 5 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).

Educational Opportunity for High School Students
LSWHTA is now accepting student applications for the 2018 spring/summer program from all local high school students! We are looking for motivated students who are eager to learn about archaeology and southwestern culture, including their own heritage. Major components of the program are geared at students analyzing archaeological artifacts, and visits to National Park Service parks and monuments, The University of Arizona museums and archaeological labs, and cultural and historical museums around Tucson. Participating students will also receive (for keeps!) an iPad mini to help them document their experiences. All travel costs are paid for. This year we will be visiting Wupatki National Monument, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Tuzigoot National Monument, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Saguaro National Park, participating in the UA School of Anthropology and Archaeology Southwest’s preservation archaeology field school in New Mexico… and much more! Contact us for applications which are due by December 10, 2017 with decisions to be made by January 12, 2018. Email Rebecca Renteria at rebecca@eeexchange.org, or call (520) 449-5634 for more information about the program. Additionally, you can get more information and applications at: https://lswhta.weebly.com. Teachers, please feel free to contact us with any questions or to set up a date and time for us to give a small presentation of the program to your classroom. We would love to present in person and entice as many students as possible to apply for the program!

Raffle to Support Old Pueblo Archaeology
December 1st is the deadline to purchase tickets for the December 14 “Millions for Tucson Raffle” sponsored by Tucson’s Jim Click Automotive Team to benefit Old Pueblo Archaeology Center and other Tucson-area charities. First prize is a 2017 Ford Explorer Platinum SUV, second is two first-class airline tickets to anywhere in the world, and third prize is $5,000 cash. All of Old Pueblo’s ticket sale proceeds will be used to continue providing Old Pueblo’s archaeology and culture education programs for children and adults. Tickets are 5 for $100 or $25 each. Contact Old Pueblo at 520-798-1201 orinfo@oldpueblo.org for details.