House Committee Will Hold First Oversight Hearing on Monuments Review Next Week

House Committee Will Hold First Oversight Hearing on Monuments Review Next Week
A meeting between an Interior Department official and a company tied to mineral interests in the Bears Ears National Monument area — almost a month before President Donald Trump requested a review that substantially reduced its boundaries — may end up in the crosshairs of House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva. Documents show that Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc., a subsidiary of a Canadian energy firm, met with a top Interior official who would be involved with the review before Trump requested it. http://bit.ly/2EBFeRz – Roll Call

The Archaeology Story Everyone Is Talking about: An Ancient Tattooing Tool from Bears Ears Country
Washington State University archaeologists have discovered the oldest tattooing artifact in western North America. With a handle of skunkbush and a cactus-spine business end, the tool was made around 2,000 years ago by the Ancestral Pueblo people of the Basketmaker II period in what is now southeastern Utah. Andrew Gillreath-Brown, an anthropology PhD candidate, chanced upon the pen-sized instrument while taking an inventory of archaeological materials that had been sitting in storage for more than 40 years. http://bit.ly/2EzYIWH – Washington State University

While the distribution and complexity of tattoo traditions indicate these practices predate the fifteenth century CE and arrival of Europeans, the antiquity of North American tattooing is poorly understood. During a recent inventory of legacy archaeological materials from the Turkey Pen site in southeastern Utah, we discovered a tattooing implement constructed from a sumac stem, prickly pear cactus spines, and yucca leaf strips. This artifact was recovered in 1972 from an in situ midden but, until now, remained unidentified. http://bit.ly/2ECQ1Lk – Journal of Archaeological Science

Excellent Long Read: Colorado Museums’ Leadership in Tribal Consultation and Repatriation
“But for the Zuni, war gods need to live out in the open,” Colwell says. “Part of living is naturally degrading. The museum saw them as art objects that should be put behind glass. But to Zuni, they’d suffocate. It became a cultural clash over how to take care of war gods.” In the end, there was compromise. The Denver Art Museum helped the tribe build a shrine that serves both purposes. http://bit.ly/2EAf1D4 – Colorado Sun

UCLA Welcomes Special Advisor to the Chancellor on Native American and Indigenous Affairs
High on Goeman’s to-do list is something UCLA and other campuses have been working on for decades: The return to tribes of Native American human remains that are under the university’s control due to past archeological practices and donations of artifact collections. UCLA started handing over its 2,300 remains, including bones and bone fragments, in 1996 to comply with a federal law. It now has only four left, and Goeman wants to finish the task quickly. “It’s hard to say, ‘Oh, I want to have a better relationship with you, I want to work with you to solve these environment issues, I want to work with you to solve water issues in L.A.’ … if you’re holding people’s ancestors and relatives in very disrespectful ways,” she said. http://bit.ly/2EEGPpK – LAist

New Copyright Law and Recordings of Indigenous Histories and Songs
Among these works are a substantial number of recordings of Indigenous ceremonies and religious events, taken from Indigenous communities during the first half of the 20th century by anthropologists and sociologists and often held in museum and university collections. Many of them were taken without permission, any form of transaction or explanation of their intended use. This means that numerous tribes and tribal members have no idea what recordings exist, including ones that may have deeply personal and cultural value. Under the new law, the museums holding ethnographic recordings could begin releasing large portions of their Native American catalogues online. Advocates for the repatriation of recordings like these say they constitute a kind of intellectual property the federal government does not fully recognize. http://bit.ly/2EFNVup – High Country News

Traditional Knowledge and Public Lands Management
Federal land management isn’t a topic as hot in the public consciousness as others, but for former Arizona state Rep. Eric Descheenie, the way we think about our relationship to others is vital in the management of public lands. “How can the breakthrough from federal land management planning, heeding the knowledge and wisdom in the know-how of traditional knowledge, change the course of how these federal personnel do their work?” Descheenie asks in reference to Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, which has thousands of sacred cultural sites as well as other cultural, historical and natural resources. http://bit.ly/2EvNVg8 – Eugene Weekly

Drilling Will Destroy “a Piece of Who We Are”
The Pueblo of Acoma, a tribe in New Mexico, argued in a formal protest letter to the BLM that the lease sales were taking place within their ancestral homeland, a cultural landscape “that extends far beyond any monument boundary.” The tribe says it conducted a tour of areas slated for oil and gas extraction and discovered the presence of kivas, rock art, medicinal plants, and “extensive artifact scatters.” Todd Scissons, Acoma’s tribal historic preservation officer, said that visiting places described in his nation’s oral history is a powerful experience. “It takes us back in time to think about our ancestors and how they lived in these areas, how their daily lives were,” he said. If cultural sites in southeast Utah are altered by drilling, “it will destroy a piece of who we are.” http://bit.ly/2EA548K – Sierra

Sentencing in California Heritage Crime Case
Timothy Brian Harrison, 50, of South Lake Tahoe, was sentenced today by United States District Judge John A. Mendez to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $113,000 in restitution for two counts of excavation and removal of archaeological resources from public lands and one misdemeanor count of unlawful possession of methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. According to court documents, Harrison conducted illegal digging at prehistoric Native American archaeological sites on federal lands in Alpine and El Dorado Counties, near Lake Tahoe. He collected tens of thousands of ancient artifacts from multiple archaeological sites, and virtually destroyed two very significant archaeological sites. Representatives of the Washoe Tribe of California and Nevada spoke about the impact on the tribe from this destruction of sites. They explained that Harrison’s digging erased their past and interfered with the tribe’s ability to teach younger generations about their history and culture. http://bit.ly/2EAXt9T – U.S. Department of Justice

Tucson-Area Avocational Archaeologists Peter Boyle and Janine Hernbrode to Receive SAA Crabtree Award
The Board of Directors of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to announce that two of our members, Peter Boyle and Janine Hernbrode, will be awarded the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Crabtree Award at its annual meeting in April. This award is given to outstanding avocational archaeologists. They have made significant contributions to our understanding and preservation of rock art of the American Southwest through their research, scholarly publications, and conference presentations. Congratulations to Peter and Janine! http://bit.ly/2EBG0xX – Society for American Archaeology via AAHS [Editor’s note: Peter and Janine serve on Archaeology Southwest’s Board of Directors, and we extend our fond congratulations, as well!]

Reminder: Event Opportunity, Tonto National Monument AZ
Celebrate Heritage Days with Tonto National Monument in recognition of Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month on March 9 and 10 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The weekend’s activities will include ancient technology demonstrations, Apache dancers, kids’ activities, and representatives from Archaeology Southwest, the International Dark-Sky Association, and more! This event is free and open to the public. The Lower Cliff Dwelling will be open for self-guided hikes from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. with rangers available to answer questions. The Upper Cliff Dwelling, which normally requires a reservation, is open for self-guided hikes from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Please plan to bring sturdy shoes, sunscreen, water, and snacks. Parking will be limited, especially for RVs and over-sized vehicles; carpooling is encouraged. http://bit.ly/2DTi9JQ – Tonto National Monument

Reminder: Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
Karen Schollmeyer will present “The Importance of Dead Bunnies in Mimbres and Salado Archaeology in Southwest New Mexico” on March 14 at 2:00 p.m. How might farmers maintain local access to wild animals for food and other uses for over a thousand years? How might people from different cultural traditions come together to form lasting multiethnic communities? How can the archaeology of southwestern New Mexico from AD 500 to 1450 help us understand these processes? Karen’s talk will summarize recent research from several collaborative projects: one focused on reviving lost datasets and information from disco-era museum collections, and one on training the next generation of archaeologists through an ongoing field school partnership between Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona. On the UA campus; details at the link. http://bit.ly/2DTroK2 – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity, Santa Fe NM
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Stephen H. Lekson, Curator of Archaeology, Museum of Natural History and Professor of Anthropology, Jubilado, University of Colorado; Editor, The Architecture of Chaco Canyon; The Archaeology of Chaco Canyon; Author, A History of the Ancient Southwest; Chaco Meridian: Centers of Political Power in the Ancient Southwest; Archaeology of the Mimbres Region, Southwestern New Mexico, USA; and The Study of Southwestern Archaeology. Lekson will present “Studying Southwestern Archaeology (and Getting it Wrong)” on March 11 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories Lecture Series. Admission is by subscription or $15 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at tel: 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com; website: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity, Taos NM
On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at 7:00 p.m., Kit Carson Electric Board Room, 118 Cruz Alta Drive, Taos, NM, Dr. Michael Bletzer, Archaeologist, Isleta Pueblo, will speak on “Colonial Northern New Spain (16th and 17th Centuries).” The talk concerns the Ancestral/Colonial Piro and Southern Tiwa pueblos and their role in the Spanish push into what is now the U.S. Southwest. http://www.taosarch.org

Lecture Opportunity, Durango CO
The next meeting of the San Juan Basin Archaeological Society will be at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. Andrew Carroll will present a program entitled “Throwing the baby out with the bathwater: Infant mortality at Poggio Civitate, Murlo.” Poggio Civitate [in Siena, Italy] is known for its early monumental buildings and their tiled and decorated roofs. However, the smallest artifacts are revealing a more complete image about life at all levels at Poggio Civitate. http://www.sjbas.org

Lecture Opportunity, Winslow AZ
The Homolovi Chapter of AAS (Arizona Archaeological Society) is pleased to present Melyssa Huston of Petrified Forest National Park on Wednesday March 13, at 7:00 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St, Winslow, AZ, presenting on the recent land acquisitions of the Park and the results of archaeological surveys there. For question or further information, call Sky Roshay at 928-536-3307. You can also join us for dinner at 5:00 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).

Lecture Opportunity, Santa Fe NM
The Santa Fe Archaeological Society (SFAS), Archaeological Institute of America, is pleased to present Bettina Arnold, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, to discuss recent discoveries which suggest that the consumption of mood-altering substances was fairly widespread in pre-Roman European societies. Her presentation, titled “Keltenbrau: Power Drinking in the Iron Age,” will start at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, at the Pecos Trail Cafe, 2239 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe, NM.

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

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org