The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) Welcomes New Director

The Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR) Welcomes New Director
Greetings! My name is Chris Nicholson and this month (October 1st) I was hired to be the new Executive Director at the Center for Digital Antiquity and tDAR. I come to Digital Antiquity from the University of Wyoming, where I served as the Director of the Water Resources Data System and Wyoming State Climate Office for the past 8 years. My most recent research has focused on human paleoecology and paleoclimates, with my geographic interest spanning both North America and Eurasia. http://bit.ly/2qkaX6u – tDAR

Continuing Coverage: BLM Move Will Split up NEPA Team
The team that assesses the environmental impacts of major projects on the nation’s public lands will be split up and spread across seven states, according to new internal documents breaking down the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plans to relocate most of its Washington-based employees out west. The documents reviewed by The Hill provide insight into how BLM plans to split up teams, spreading people who currently work together to offices across different states. The team that produces the environmental analysis of major projects required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is one of the groups that would be hit hard by the move. http://bit.ly/2MiSsrA – The Hill

Commentary: A Tale of Two Ruins
I recently flew over two mysterious master-planned communities carved into the barren desert of northwestern New Mexico. They are only about 100 miles apart as the crow flies, but they could not be more different. One is ancient, the other modern. One is inspiring, the other melancholy. One is a monument to cooperation and dedication, the other to greed and deception. http://bit.ly/2MnzBMa – Stephen E. Nash at Sapiens

Call for Participants: The Julian D. Hayden Paper Competition
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society and Arizona Archaeological Council sponsor the annual Julian D. Hayden Paper Competition, named in honor of long-time southwestern scholar Julian Dodge Hayden. The winning entry will receive a cash prize of $750 and publication of the paper in Kiva, The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History. The competition is open to any bona fide undergraduate and graduate students at any recognized college or university. Co-authored papers will be accepted if all authors are students. Subject matter may include the anthropology, archaeology, history, linguistics, and/or ethnology of the U.S. Southwest and northern Mexico, or any other topic appropriate for publication in Kiva. Deadline for receipt of submissions is January 10, 2020. http://bit.ly/2oNynAK – Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society

Video: Why You Should Experience the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site
On October 1, Aaron Wright kicked off the 2019–2020 season of Archaeology Café. “Few places echo with as much historical resonance as the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site. For me, that beckoning amplifies with each visit. Although this low outcrop is a bit off the beaten path, it hosts one of North America’s densest concentrations of petroglyphs. Most of these were authored by ancestors of today’s Piipaash, O’odham, and Yavapai communities.” https://youtu.be/C8Myf6y6p4o – Archaeology Southwest (opens at You Tube)

Publication News: Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan
Aztec, Salmon, and the Puebloan Heartland of the Middle San Juan has been named a finalist for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards. Congratulations to editors Paul Reed and Gary Brown, their contributors, and SAR Press. https://sarweb.org/middle-san-juan/

Paul Reed will give a presentation on the research on November 12 at 7:00 p.m. at the meeting of the Taos Archaeological Society, Kit Carson Board Room 118 Cruz Alta Road. https://taosarch.wildapricot.org/

Take the Arizona State Parks & Trails 2020 Planning Survey
Arizona State Parks & Trails provides grants that support new and existing trails across the state. This Trails Plan will provide priorities for trail management and funding. To better manage trail support in Arizona, we need your help! By taking our survey before November 8, you’ll provide valuable feedback on your trail use habits. http://trails.guide/survey1

Job Announcement, Archaeology Southwest, Tucson AZ
Reporting to the President/CEO, the successful Director of Operations will be a hands-on and participative manager supporting the following areas: finance, business planning and budgeting, human resources, administration, and IT. The Director of Operations is a critical member of the senior leadership team in strategic decision-making and operations as Archaeology Southwest continues to enhance its quality programming and build capacity. http://bit.ly/2oQN4mq

Event Opportunity, Portales NM
The annual Blackwater Draw Atlatl Competition will be held this year in conjunction with the New Mexico Archaeology Fair on Saturday, October 26, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Events will be at the Blackwater Draw National Historic Landmark site, 508 NM Hwy 467 north of Portales. The event is free and open to the public, but bring cash for snacks sold by the ENMU Mu Alpha Nu Anthropology Club. Activities will include atlatl throwing, flintknapping, pinch pots, traditional games, yucca crafts, artifact displays, and more. For more information, visit www.bwdarchaeology.com or call (575) 562-2202.

Workshop Opportunity: Gourd-Rattle Making with Arturo Ramirez
Rattles or shakers may have been among humanity’s earliest possessions. People have long used gourds and other seed pods for many purposes. Join us on November 2 to craft your own gourd rattle. As we work, we will also discuss the history of rattles. Instructor Arturo Ramirez is of Apache and Southern Ute ancestry. He says, “I have used gourds as an art medium over 32 years. I will discuss general rattle lore, construction and general ceremonial usage. You will complete your rattle using indigenous Arizona deadfall wood, Arizona-grown wood and pebbles and anthill rocks from culturally significant locations.” http://bit.ly/2Be1dwR – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity, Phoenix AZ
The Phoenix Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society invites you to join us at 7:00 p.m. on November 12 in the PGM Community Room to hear John Langan, Project Archaeologist for AZTEC Engineering, Phoenix, talk about “Recent Excavations in the Eastern Papaguería.” Excavations of 25 sites since 2010 provide evidence for more settled populations continuously occupying the Baboquivari Valley and the Quinlan Mountains foothills from the Late Archaic through the proto-historic period. Formalized pithouses, maize agriculture, and a complex and distinctive mortuary pattern indicate a greater degree of permanence than previously recognized. Pueblo Grande Museum, 4619 E. Washington Street. https://azarchsoc.org/Phoenix

Book Release and Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
On November 19, at 6:00 p.m., at the Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., join author and photographer Jonathan Bailey for an exploration and discussion of Utah’s Molen Reef, following the release of his latest book, Rock Art: A Vision of a Vanishing Cultural Landscape. Through stunning photography and thoughtful research, Jonathan helps highlight ancient and delicate traces from lives lived long ago, as expressed through rock art carvings in some of the Southwest’s most culturally rich—and continually threatened—landscapes. http://bit.ly/2MQkWIp

Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
Archaeologist David Greenwald presents “The Archaeological Significance of Creekside Village” for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s November 21, 6-8:30 p.m. Third Thursday Food for Thought dinner at U-Like Oriental Buffet, 5101 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson. Archaeological investigations in south-central New Mexico show that the Jornada Mogollon people undertook intensive agriculture and possessed a much more complex social and ritual structure than previously recognized. No entry fee. Guests may purchase their own dinners. Reservations required before 5 p.m. November 13: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org.

REMINDER: Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
On Monday, October 21, Patrick Lyons will present “The Davis Ranch Site: A Kayenta Immigrant Enclave in Southeastern Arizona” at the monthly meeting of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. The presentation is open to the public and will take place from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Duval Auditorium, University Medical Center. https://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/events/

REMINDER: Archaeology and Anthropology Book Sale, Tucson AZ
Huge used book sale sponsored by the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society to benefit the Arizona State Museum Library. Reasonable prices. Hard-to-find archaeology and anthropology books as well as many other topics including art, biography, history, Native American, fiction and non-fiction. This year we have a large donation of books on textiles both historic and prehistoric. Sale hours from 11 to 5, October 18, and 10 to 4, October 19. http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org

We’re happy to help get the word out, but we’re not mind readers! Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/

Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org