Dear Friends,
Archaeology Southwest has for many years run a field school to train the next generation of archaeologists. This year’s session, directed by Preservation Archaeologist Dr. Karen Schollmeyer and WNMU Museum Director Dr. Danielle Romero, will focus on teaching students how to catalog and analyze previously excavated museum collections and will be based at the Western New Mexico University Museum in Silver City. It will also include one week of archaeological field survey, in which students will learn how to discover and record archaeological sites. We look forward to meeting and training this new group of scholars, many of whom will go on to professional careers in archaeology. The field school has a lot to be proud of, as former students are doing great things. Here are just a few of the highlights:
Kelsey Hanson will defend her dissertation at the University of Arizona in June, using paint technology to understand the circulation of specialized knowledge in the Chaco World of northern New Mexico. She will begin a new faculty position as an assistant professor at University of Texas at Arlington in the fall, Congrats, Kelsey!
University of Arizona graduate student Rebecca Harkness won a prestigious P.E.O. Scholar Award in support of her dissertation research AND just received the Society for American Archaeology’s (SAA) Fred Plog Memorial Fellowship AND Matthew Tobin Cappetta Archaeological Scholarships. Her work uses the ways corrugated ceramic vessels were made and decorated to understand ancient community identities in the Mogollon region of New Mexico and Arizona. Many of us were in the audience at the SAA’s business meeting in New Orleans last week to see Harkness get the latter two awards; it was a great moment!
Jonah Bullen won a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and will begin his Master’s research at the University of Tennessee this coming fall. His research uses ancient plant remains to examine past diets, food security, and food sovereignty.
Stephen Uzzle defended his anthropology Master’s thesis using tree rings to understand historic logging in New Mexico at the University of Arizona on April 8, and Chris LaRoche will defend his anthropology Master’s thesis at the UA tomorrow, April 26. Chris’s thesis uses data from our 2016–2022 Preservation Archaeology Field School to examine group identity and mobility at the Gila River Farm site. Good luck, Chris!
And finally, Deianira Morris was accepted to the PhD anthropology program at University of Arizona and will start in the fall!
A large number of ASW field school alumni—too many to list—are working in cultural resource management or are entering graduate programs, and we continue to support these folks in whatever way we can. Their success is testament to the great work Archaeology Southwest has done and the broadening impact of Preservation Archaeology thought and practice over many decades!
And finally, on a personal note, I am humbly thrilled to report that I received the Society for American Archaeology’s Curation and Collections Management Award to recognize nearly three decades’ worth of work ensuring that previously excavated archaeological collections are ethically curated. It is quite an honor!
Until next week,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Archaeologist Flint Dibble Debates Graham Hancock on Major Podcast
I agreed to discuss archaeology with pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock on the mega-popular but controversial podcast the Joe Rogan Experience. Celebrity author Hancock has made a fortune writing sensationalized books that claim a “lost” ice age civilization once existed—without any direct evidence for this society. … Still, I’m appearing because Rogan’s podcast draws an audience in the tens of millions. If scholars want to curb the spread of misinformation, we need to stop just talking among ourselves or to audiences of like-minded people. But reaching those outside my echo chamber demands more than my archaeological expertise. To approach engagements like the Joe Rogan Experience, I and other scholars must arm ourselves with science communication strategies, which research has shown can debunk misinformation in the current fake news environment. How I present evidence matters as much as what I present. Flint Dibble for SAPIENS | Read more »
Watch/listen to the episode (opens at YouTube) »
Tribes File to Intervene in AZ Lawsuits Challenging Designation of Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni
On April 24, 2024, the Havasupai and Hopi Tribes, represented by the Native American Rights Fund, along with the Navajo Nation filed to intervene in two cases in the U.S. District Court, District of Arizona. The cases challenge last year’s designation of the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The Ancestral Footprints region is the Tribal Nations’ homelands, and it includes places held sacred by the Tribal Nations and their members. The Tribal Nations have the right to intervene in these cases because they have significant legal interests that could be affected by the proceedings and that will not be adequately addressed by the existing parties in the case. Native American Rights Fund | Read more »
Continuing Coverage: Opposing SunZia’s Route through the San Pedro
Amy Juan is a member of the Tohono O’odham nation at the Arizona-Mexico border and brought the news of the federal court’s ruling to New York last week, telling attendees of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, that she was disappointed but not surprised. “We are not in opposition to what is called ‘green energy,’” she said. “It was the process of how it was done. The project is going through without due process.” Taylar Dawn Stagner for High Country News | Read more »
New Short Film: Mobilizing for Monuments
An epic journey across the American West that will inspire and make a meaningful impact. This breathtaking roadtrip follows photographers, advocates, and leaders from The Conservation Alliance, Flickr, Rivian, and Nuestra Tierra as they travel from Colorado to California on a quest to advocate for the permanent protection of US National Monuments under the threat from destructive resource development. As they forge ahead meeting with local business leaders, elected officials, on-the-ground champions, community members, and recreationalists, they bear witness to the raw beauty of Dolores River’s majestic buttes, the ancestral homelands of the Grand Canyon, iconic Joshua tree forests in Avi Kwa Ame, vibrant desert sunsets painting the Chuckwalla Valley, and the heartwarming scenes of people embracing the outdoors in San Gabriel Mountains. Together they prove that protecting public lands directly benefits our economy, culture, and way of life. The Conservation Alliance | Watch now (opens at YouTube) »
Audio: How Mesa Verde NP Is Embracing Indigenous Perspectives
Mesa Verde National Park, established in 1906, was one of the early national parks in the country to offer interpretation. Interpretation remains a crucial part of park visitors’ experiences. Kristy Sholly, Mesa Verde’s Chief of Interpretation talked with KSJD’s Cara Gildar about the intention that drives interpretation and how interpretation has changed over time to become more inclusive of Indigenous connections and perspectives. Carla Gildar for KSJD (public radio) | Listen now »
The Archaeological Conservancy Welcomes Anne Lowe as New President & CEO
The Archaeological Conservancy has named Anne Lowe as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. A native of northern Michigan, Ms. Lowe brings more than 25 years of experience in land preservation and non-profit management to the Conservancy. She has worked for organizations including the Little Traverse Conservancy (Michigan), Western Reserve Land Conservancy (Ohio), Minnesota Land Trust, Shasta Land Trust (California), and the Town of Breckenridge (Colorado). She has also served on various boards including the Colorado Open Space Alliance, the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, the Sierra Cascade Land Trust Council (California), and the American Friends of Canadian Conservation. Ms. Lowe holds an Executive Master of Public Administration (MPA) from the University of Colorado, Denver and B.A. and B.M. degrees from Alma College, summa cum laude. The Archaeological Conservancy (press release) | Read more »
SAPIENS Kicks Off 7th Podcast Season
This season of the podcast looks at how a wide range of technologies—from smartphones to comic books to cooking to hydroelectric dams—are intertwined with our lives. Anthropologists’ stories from around the globe reveal fascinating insights into human evolution, social organization, communication, historical trajectories, and the interface between the living and the dead. Join Season 7’s host, Dr. Eshe Lewis, on our latest journey to tackle big questions about cultures of technology and the purpose, limits, and possibilities of such material culture. SAPIENS | Learn more »
Where Are They Now? Updates from Preservation Archaeology Field School Alums
Lots of good news from our alumni at the University of Arizona! Stephen Uzzle defended his MA thesis in Applied Archaeology in April, and will be returning to work at Statistical Research, Inc. His thesis uses tree rings to understand historic period logging in New Mexico. Chris LaRoche is set to defend his MA thesis in Applied Archaeology in April, and will be returning to work at Desert Archaeology, Inc. Chris’s thesis uses data from our 2016–2022 Preservation Archaeology Field School to examine group identity and mobility at the Gila River Farm site. Kelsey Hanson will be defending her doctoral dissertation in Anthropology in June, and starting her new position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Arlington in the fall. Karen Gust Schollmeyer at the Preservation Archaeology blog (Archaeology Southwest) | Read more »
Position Announcement: Journal Editor
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society and Routledge copublish Kiva: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History. Kiva is the premier journal of the Southwest and has published peer-reviewed articles about archaeology, anthropology, history, and linguistics since 1935. The journal has a circulation of approximately 550, which includes regional, national, and international distribution, with access through Routledge (a subsidiary of Taylor & Francis Publishing) and JSTOR. The journal is indexed by SCOPUS and the Emerging Sources Citation Index. The Society is now accepting applications for the position of Kiva editor. Editorial teams will also be considered. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more »
April Subscription Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
April 29, Philip J. Deloria, From the Charging Elk Sketchbook, 1940: A Dialogue on Art and Epistemology? Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
REMINDER: April 27 In-Person Event (Dragoon AZ): Tohono O’odham Himdag in Brush and Lens
With Michael Chiago. The public is invited to join the entire Amerind community as it celebrates the exhibit “Tohono O’odham Himdag in Brush and Lens: Painting by Michael Chiago and Photography of Bernard Siquieros” that will be ongoing through October 31, 2024. Artist Michael Chiago will speak about his work at 11:00 a.m., 2100 N. Amerind Rd. Thanks to Amerind’s generous community partner Desert Diamond Casinos this event is free. Amerind Museum | Learn more »
REMINDER: April 27 In-Person (Bluff UT) and Online Event: Envisioning a Cultural Landscape
With Gregory Munson. Munson (Society for Cultural Astronomy in the American Southwest) will discuss new ways to record, document and visualize the vast cultural landscape that describes the mesas, cliffs and canyons from the Canyons of the Ancients to the Bears Ears, focusing on the SCAAS Cultural Landscapes Survey Program. At the center of the program is expanding the concept of the archaeological site boundary to include resources from the local environment, relationships to nearby villages, how the architecture relates to the more distant landscape, alignment to horizon features such as mountain peaks and its connection to astronomical cycles and features in the day and night sky. The program implements new technologies in the use of photogrammetric 3D and terrain modeling to visualize a cultural landscape as a unified object that is inseparable from its parts. Bears Ears Partnership | Learn more »
REMINDER: May 1 Online Event: Telling the Story of Iosepa: Archaeology, Oral History, and Public Education
With Ally Gerlach. Join our webinar to discover how artifacts and records from the Polynesian LDS [Latter-day Saints] settlement of Iosepa can be used to create collaboration with descendant communities that results in new research and exhibits to engage the public. Ally will show us how community involvement enriches our understanding of history. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into diverse narratives and interpretations of the past! Utah State Historic Preservation Office | Learn more and register (free) »
May 2 Online Event: Matanzas, Meals, and Mourning
With Jim Potter. Recent excavations at the rancheria at Mission Santa Clara in California have produced abundant data on the life of Native Americans in the context of missionization from A.D. 1790 to 1840. This unique dataset provides rare insight into the lifeways of Native Californians at the mission not represented in historical documents, particularly the persistence of some traditional practices. In this talk, Dr. Potter will discuss a range of documented activities, including those conducted in private spaces in adobe domestic structures and those performed in more communal spaces, such as feasting and the performance of traditional mourning ceremonies. Food for such events was provided by matanzas, seasonal mass slaughters of cattle. These actions, with the exception of the matanzas, would have occurred in spaces hidden from the eyes of the padres, allowing for the persistence of Native practices and the creation, performance, and maintenance of a communal identity distinct from that realized in the more public spheres of mission life. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
May 17 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): Tucson Archaeology Happy Hour
Pre-Monsoon edition! Drag your colleagues along—guaranteed fun—friends & family welcome. Borderlands Brewing, 119 E Toole, 5:00 p.m.
Remember to send us notice of upcoming webinars and Zoom lectures, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!