The Uncertain Fate of Bears Ears

PBS News Hour Considers the Uncertain Fate of Bears Ears
In the rugged and remote canyons of Southern Utah, scientists say they’ve barely scratched the surface of discoveries that can reach back millions of years, or shed light on the last 10,000 years of human history. But their work in Bears Ears National Monument is now caught up in the shifting politics of our time, and a dispute over land use and federal oversight. Jeffrey Brown reports. (Link opens at YouTube.) http://bit.ly/2wLQzxQ — PBS News Hour

Senator Heinrich Presses on Permanent Protection for Greater Chaco
During the Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on May 15, 2018, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) spoke with Aimee Kathryn Jorjani, nominee to be Chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, about Chaco Canyon, Greater Chaco, and tribal consultation. He stated that he intends to offer legislation to permanently protect portions of Greater Chaco. (Link opens at YouTube.) http://bit.ly/2IjKFJR — Senator Martin Heinrich

Conservation Lands Foundation and Archaeology Southwest released a joint statement today thanking Senator Heinrich. http://bit.ly/2Kux0Mj — Conservation Lands Foundation

Zuni Kiva Project Goes Forward with Funding from the National Trust
The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center has been awarded a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help start work on the next phase of the groundbreaking Zuni Kiva Project. The Zuni Kiva Project is a collaboration between Crow Canyon’s American Indian Initiatives department and the Pueblo of Zuni which aims to restore and revitalize six Zuni kivas. https://www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/zuni-kiva-project-awarded-nthp-grant — Crow Canyon Archaeological Center

Further Reporting on BLM’s Decision to Block Staff from Attending National Archaeology Meeting
The Washington Post reported that BLM staffers were scheduled to attend an April 14 gathering of the Society for American Archaeology, among the world’s largest organizations of professional archaeologists, in Washington, D.C., where they were to lead a symposium titled “Tough Issues in Land Management Archaeology.” But a few days before the conference, BLM supervisors decided against sending the staffers, many of whom are based in Western states where the agency manages millions of acres that contain countless sites and artifacts left by ancient American Indian civilizations. http://bit.ly/2rDD2DH — Salt Lake Tribune

Fossils in Creation Narratives
“Right now, it’s our turn to live. We were not meant to live during a T-Rex era,” explained Madalena, who is Jemez Pueblo and a trained paleontologist. “We have proof at the Bears Ears National Monument that ruins have Fremont Age 1 and Basketmaker II construction, with some of the kivas intentionally included Theropod fossils hauled from great distances and inserted as hearths or decorations in prominent locations in the home. Fossils are important to who we are.” http://bit.ly/2wHVlMJ — The Independent

Adaptive Reuse: Historic Bar Becomes Bears Ears Education Center
Two and a half hours west of Durango, the small desert town of Bluff, Utah, is experiencing a canyon country renaissance. A dozen new tourist cabins are going up. A 54-unit resort is being built. A former trading post is a thriving restaurant, and the old Silver Dollar Bar built in 1955 has found new life as the forthcoming Bears Ears Education Center. http://bit.ly/2wGb5Qg — Durango Herald

Report: National Park Visitation Added $35.8 Billion to U.S. Economy in 2017
According the annual National Park Service report, 2017 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, more than 330 million visitors in 2017 spent $18.2 billion in the communities near national parks. Of the 306,000 jobs supported by that spending, more than 255,000 were in those same communities that lie within 60 miles of a park. Visitor spending varied across the National Park System, from big parks like Yellowstone National Park which attracted 4.1 million people and supported more than 7,350 jobs, to smaller parks like Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site that attracted more than 45,000 visitors and supported 43 jobs. http://bit.ly/2KtWSb9 — National Park Service

Colorado Hiker Visits with Respect
When a hiker came across a small but intact piece of pottery in January along a dusty trail in the Arizona Strip desert south of St. George, he carefully concealed the pot in place and contacted the Bureau of Land Management. The hiker, Colorado resident Randy Langstraat, described the pot and its location, pointing BLM archaeologist Sarah Page to the area, where she found it undisturbed and in near-perfect condition. http://bit.ly/2wH9zgV — St. George Spectrum

Blogs Worth Reading: Kellam Throgmorton (Binghamton) Reports on Two Chacoan Outliers
Given that recent research keeps pushing back the dates of the really interesting things that happened in Chaco Canyon (macaws at AD 900! venerated leaders by AD 850!), it seems like it might be time to take a good look at the Early Bonito Phase (AD 840–1020) across the San Juan Basin as a whole. Over the past forty years, John Stein, Michael Marshall, Ruth Van Dyke, Thomas Windes, and others have identified numerous outlier great house communities with origins in the 800s (and earlier). For my dissertation research with Dr. Van Dyke at Binghamton University, I am comparing community development at two of these outlier great house communities in New Mexico—Morris 40 and Padilla Well. http://bit.ly/2Kbm726 — Preservation Archaeology News via Archaeology Southwest

Podcast: Heritage Voices Host and Panelists Review 2018 SAA Meeting
Near the end of the 2018 Society for American Archaeology Conference held this year in Washington, D.C., host Jessica Yaquinto sat down with a few people in the APN mobile studio to talk about what they had presented, seen, and heard at the conference. Joining Jessica are Kassie Rippee, Briece Edwards, Desiree Martinez, Wade Campbell, and Dorothy Lippert. http://bit.ly/2KrOWXU — Archaeology Podcast Network

Employment Opportunity — New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office/Historic Preservation Division
The New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office/Historic Preservation Division is seeking an archaeological reviewer. The job advertisement is posted on the State Personnel Job Opportunities web page https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/newmexico. You can find the job advertisement by using the search feature and typing in the position number, 4855. If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Ensey at (505) 827-4064 or by email at michelle.ensey@state.nm.us.

Employment Opportunity — Arizona State Museum
Arizona State Museum seeks a motivated, innovative, collaborative, and service-oriented professional to serve as Manager of AZSITE, Arizona’s official geographic information system of archaeological and historical properties. https://uacareers.com/postings/28889

Volunteer Opportunity — Tucson AZ
In partnership with Northern Arizona University and the Arizona State Museum, Archaeology Southwest is pursuing a long-term project to clean, sort, and study an amazing collection of archaeological materials from a number of Salado-period sites in the Safford region of southeastern Arizona. We need the help of Archaeology Southwest volunteers to make this project a success! This collection consists of over 150 boxes of material collected by geologist Ray Robinson in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the Safford vicinity. Much of the material appears to date to the Salado period, A.D. 1300–1450. http://bit.ly/2Ktkxc7 — Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity — Provo UT
Thursday, May 17, at 7:00 p.m., the Utah County Chapter of the Utah Statewide Archaeological Society, BYU Archaeology, and BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures will welcome Spencer Lambert for Use of Animal Bones by the Fremont. The Fremont hunted and fished for a variety of animals. Undoubtedly, most animal bones found at archaeological sites were used as food resources. But food was not the only reason that the Fremont obtained animals. Recent studies from Wolf Village suggest that large game body parts were important in the construction of bone tools and moccasins, and perhaps even as symbolic objects. The presentation will take place at the Museum of Peoples and Cultures, 2201 N Canyon Rd, Provo, Utah 84604. http://bit.ly/2Kn3wzW

Lecture Opportunity — Santa Fe NM
Southwest Seminars Presents Jason Garcia-Okuu Pin (Santa Clara Pueblo), 2007 Dubin Fellow, School for Advanced Research; Best of Classification and Artist Choice Award, Santa Fe Indian Market, who will give an illustrated lecture Artistic Intersection of Tewa Culture, History, and Landscape on May 21 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the annual Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series held to honor The Archaeological Conservancy. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt 505 466-2775. http://www.southwestseminars.org

Youth Summer Camp: Live Tucson’s History
Become an early inhabitant of Tucson and experience history hands-on at Tucson’s Presidio! Crafts, Calligraphy, Gardening, Games, Create a Personal Family Tree, and much more! Ages 6–12. June 4–8, June 11–15. 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. Member Price: $295, Non-member Price: $320. https://tucsonpresidio.com/

Thanks to Brian Kreimendahl for his contribution to this week’s edition.

Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org