Another Auction, Another Threat to the Ancient Places of the Four Corners

Another Auction, Another Threat to the Ancient Places of the Four Corners
Now, the 13,000-year-old historical record of Native Americans who inhabited the outskirts of two national monuments near the Colorado-Utah border is facing an unprecedented threat. On March 20, the federal government is scheduled to auction off almost 41,000 acres in southeast Utah to oil and gas companies under expedited lease sales ordered last year by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. http://bit.ly/2FAc1Wz – Reveal

Archaeological Conservancy Acquires Dein Ruin
A national organization that works to preserve archaeological sites has acquired a Chacoan-era site located about a mile from Aztec Ruins National Monument. The site, located on a rocky terrace above Aztec Ruins National Monument, was donated to the Archeological Conservancy by Charley and Kim Dein and has been named the Dein Ruin. The property transfer was completed Tuesday. http://bit.ly/2Djksnk – Farmington Daily Times

Celebrating Cedar Mesa
Celebrate Cedar Mesa, an annual gathering focused on the archaeology of San Juan County, took place last weekend in Bluff, drawing a sold-out crowd from around the Four Corners and beyond. The three-day event is hosted in March by Friends of Cedar Mesa (FCM) and features service projects, an awards ceremony, speakers, music, and volunteer-led hikes. On Friday, 50 volunteers working with BLM, SITLA, and FCM employees gave over 300 hours to projects in Bears Ears, Cedar Mesa, Valley of the Gods, and Bears Ears Education Center in Bluff. http://bit.ly/2Dl3VPy – San Juan Record

Part of a 500-Year-Old Spanish Pistol Found in Colorado
A pistol part found in a Mesa County excavation area could be as many as 500 years old and may bring to light some new information on Spanish colonial history in Colorado. The part was found in the Kannah Creek area about 25 miles south of Grand Junction as part of an archaeological excavation conducted by the Museums of Western Colorado’s Western Investigations Team. http://bit.ly/2DkYiko – Grand Junction Sentinel

Were Rockshelter Locations Selected for Acoustic Properties?
The acoustic qualities of a rock shelter may have been a key factor in its selection as a site for rock art and indicate a spiritual significance to the practice, according to a recent study, while scientists are also looking into whether some caves were chosen as artistic sites because of the view. Professor Margarita Díaz-Andreu and Dr. Tommaso Mattioli, both from the University of Barcelona, Spain, spent two years visiting rock art sites in France, Italy and Spain to compare acoustics and assess their relevance to the choice of location. ‘In a cliff such as Baume Brune (in Vaucluse, France), with 43 shelters, why were only eight selected to be painted?’ said Prof. Díaz-Andreu. ‘There are other apparently similar ones nearby that were left empty. Why? http://bit.ly/2Fy0t5X – Phys.Org

Facing a 16-Billion-Dollar Deferred Maintenance Tab, Colorado Congressional Representatives Seek Public Donations for NPS
Donors who help fund maintenance and restoration of federal park land would get more public recognition under a proposal Tuesday from a Colorado congressman. Colorado U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn discussed ideas for eliminating a $16 billion backlog of maintenance at national parks and other federal lands during a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee. Lamborn, R-Colorado Springs, said he supported “a tasteful and reasonable recognition that I think is a legitimate and proper thing, especially if it keeps those contributions coming further.” http://bit.ly/2FyKk0i – Durango Herald

Public Lands, Public Playgrounds
While political and legal battles rage over the future of our national monuments, one of the most important things you can do is go see them—and then share your experiences widely. Here are some of our favorite adventures.  http://bit.ly/2DkUkIw – Outside Magazine

Audio Blog: West Obsessed Looks at the New Chaco Resistance to Oil and Gas Development
In this episode of West Obsessed, contributing editor Jonathan Thompson joins High Country News editor Kate Schimel to explore the struggle of Navajo Nation residents, and others, to prevent more oil and gas exploration in historically important lands. Chaco Canyon holds cultural significance to several tribal nations and is also at the center of one of the richest oil and gas fields in the country. http://bit.ly/2FznUfe – High Country News

Audio Blog 2: History of Oil and Gas on the Chaco Landscape
A big news update, then Paul Reed from Archaeology Southwest and Ernie Atencio from the National Parks Conservation Association give us the history of oil and gas drilling in New Mexico’s Greater Chaco region. http://bit.ly/2Fxbepq – Center for Western Priorities

Arizona State Fairgrounds to Be Reviewed for Preservation and Relocation Potentials
The future use of Arizona’s aging fairgrounds and the structures on the property are being studied by state officials, volunteer design specialists and members of the public in a series of planning sessions at the site. “We want to make sure that we are looking at all possible options for that site and its buildings,” Arizona’s State Historic Preservation Officer Kathryn Leonard said Wednesday. http://bit.ly/2Di9hv2 – US News and World Report

Cortez Historic Preservation Board Secures Podcast Funding
The Cortez Historic Preservation Board has received a grant that will fund a series of history-themed podcasts that it has been planning for months… During a meeting on Wednesday, board vice president Linda Towle announced the state-funded Certified Local Governments program has agreed to award a roughly $7,000 grant for the podcast series. Since the “Ancient Voices” podcast that Mesa Verde Country released last year, Towle and other members of the board have discussed creating their own audio guide to Cortez’s historic buildings since the fall. Towle said the city likely won’t receive the money for a few more months, but she hopes to be ready to release the podcast series sometime this summer. http://bit.ly/2Fx5ZGg – Cortez Journal

Texas Archaeological Society Academy on ArcheoBotany in Alpine, Tx April 28-29
Learn how archeologists recover and interpret what plants were used by early people. The Texas Archeological Society will hold an archeobotany academy April 28-29 at Sul Ross University. This two day workshop will feature speakers and activities to show how evidence of plant use is found in archeological and ethnographic records.  Lead archeologists will be Dr. Leslie Bush and Dr. Kevin Hanselka. They will be joined by Jenny McWilliams, Casey Riggs, Tim Gibbs, Martin Terry and Jack Jackson along with representatives from Ysleta Pueblo and the Mescalero Apache who are sponsored as consultants by TxDOT.  The fee for the Academy is $100 and membership in TAS is required.www.txarch.org/ member/join Scholarships are available through TAS.  www.txarch.org/get-involved/ scholarhips.  Registration deadline is April 14. More information and registration is available online at http://www.txarch.org/events. For further information, contact Pam Stranahan, coordinator for Archeobotany 361 460-4608.

Arizona Archaeology Month at Flagstaff’s Riordan Mansion
Riordan Mansion State Historic Park has a busy March planned with lectures, special tours, fundraising events and more. The mansion, an Arts & Crafts duplex built in 1904, contains 17 Gustav Stickley pieces and four L. & J.G. pieces. Of special attention are very rare pieces with metal inlay embellishment designed by Gustav Stickley’s designer, Harvey Ellis. http://bit.ly/2FxGzrV – Arizona Daily Sun

Arizona Archaeology Month Lecture Opportunity – Springerville
March is Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month. This month the Springerville Heritage Center, 418 E. Main Street, welcomes guest speaker John McClelland, Ph.D., Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act Coordinator, Arizona State Museum. The presentation will be held (today) at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 12, in the Udall Johnson meeting room. Dr. McClelland will talk about Dealing with the Dead: Mortuary Archaeology and Repatriation at the Arizona State Museum. http://bit.ly/2FxKzZq – White Mountain Independent

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Bruce Bernstein, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Pojoaque Pueblo; Executive Director, Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts; Former director, Southwestern Association of Indian Arts (SWAIA) and New Mexico Museum of Indian Arts and Culture; Author Voices in Clay: PuebloPottery from the Edna M. Kelly Collection who will give a lecture Tewa Male Potters: 1880-1920 on March 12 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture I Lecture Series held to honor Native American Rights Fund and the indigenous tribes it supports who hold the greater Bears Ears cultural landscape to be sacred and worthy of national protection and preservation. No reservations are necessary. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt, tel: 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com website: http://southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Steve Post, Archaeologist and Principal Investigator, Zia Consulting; Former Deputy Director, Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, Department of Cultural Affairs; Author, “Ten Thousand Years of Living in Santa Fe” in History of an Ancient City (D.G. Noble, ed.) who will give a lecture Pueblo Revolt and Revival: A Historical & Archaeological View From Santa Fe on March 19 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series held to honor The Archaeological Conservancy and its mission to identify, acquire and preserve significant archaeological sites in the United States. No reservations are necessary. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt, tel: 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com website: http://southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Grand Junction
Jerry Spangler will talk to Colorado Archaeological Society- Grand Junction Chapter about 9 Mile Canyon Monday, March 12. Spangler is a founder of the Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance and author of numerous books on 9 Mile Canyon. Doors open at 6:30PM and the lecture will begin at 7 PM. Meet at 527 Village Way. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information call 970-250-7402 or visit http://www.cas-gjEvents.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Flagstaff
On Thursday, March 15, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Ralph “R.E.” Burrillo will be presenting “The Bears Ears Water Project: What Environmental Chemistry Reveals about Agriculture and Landscape Archaeology in the Greater Cedar Mesa Area.” In places like Cedar Mesa, heart of the highly controversial Bears Ears National Monument, there are few running streams and no standing bodies of water – yet communities of Ancestral Pueblo farmers flourished there for millennia. The talk is hosted by Science on Tap at the Green Room, 15 N. Agassiz St. The latest issue of Archaeology Southwest Magazine, “Sacred and Threatened: The Cultural Landscapes of Greater Bears Ears,” co-edited by Burrillo, will be on sale for $10.  http://bit.ly/2GhSk77