Preservation Archaeology Today

Preservation Archaeology Today (PAT) is a free, weekly e-mail news digest. In addition to sharing regional archaeology news, events, opportunities, and publications, PAT connects readers with news and commentary on U.S. public lands policy, global heritage protection and preservation, and the peopling of the North and South American continents. Review our submission guidelines here.

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Banner image: Paul Vanderveen

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Year in Review: 2023 Indigenous Conservation Highlights

Dear Friends, Archaeology Southwest has had three homes since our founding in 1989. Between 1989 and 2001, we were incubated within the North Tucson Boulevard offices of Desert Archaeology, Inc. We rented space in the Historic YWCA on West University Boulevard from late 2000 to 2010. We’ve been...

NM Extends Moratorium on Leasing of State Land in Greater Chaco

Dear Friends, Weather permitting, I’m in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, as you open this note. Of course, you never know what you’ll encounter on cross-country flights this time of year. It’s time to visit my daughter, grandson (11), and granddaughter (9). I’ll miss a few weeks of ...

Changes to NAGPRA to Expedite Returns

Dear Friends, Anticipation. Expectation. Last Tuesday I had a full tank of both as I left the office early and drove to Tucson’s Loft Cinema. We were returning to live, in-person Archaeology Cafés. Our last one was—hmmmm—February 2020! So many people have told me that they were excited ...

Societies May Become Less Resilient as They Age

Dear Friends, As I look at retirement, and think about how I’ll spend my time, I don’t see a lot of “free time”—and certainly no boredom. I do the majority of my “reading” by listening to audiobooks, and I just discovered that I can get a report on my minutes of reading. So far, ...

Rep. Grijalva Hosts Cultural Preservation Roundtable Today

Dear Friends, On Monday afternoon I shared the history of my research interests at our monthly Research Team meeting at Archaeology Southwest. Of course, it was a PowerPoint and it was over Zoom. I began with some background on my pre-professional years. Family, geographic place, some major li...

Continuing Coverage: Indigenous Opposition to SunZia Route through the San Pedro

Dear Friends, Forty-eight hours. That’s the number of hours that have passed since we announced Stephen E. Nash will become Archaeology Southwest’s next President and CEO. Those hours have generated many, many positive comments regarding the selection made by our Board of Directors. It’s...

SunZia Transmission Line Must Avoid the San Pedro

Dear Friends, I mark the arrival of fall as the date that I head back to Catalina State Park to renew my hikes and my immersion in an incredible cultural landscape. Last year fall arrived on October 16. This year it arrived on November 12. That significant offset is yet another measure of climate...

Short Documentary on Chaco 10-Mile Zone Wins Emmy

Dear Friends, When I hired Paul Reed in 2001, little did I know that I was hiring a future Emmy-winning producer! And when we began working with filmmaker and photojournalist David Wallace in 2022, I knew he had a Pulitzer Prize, but now he’s added a tenth—TENTH—Emmy. Here’s the story:...

The Fate of Belongings Taken from Wounded Knee

Dear Friends, Today opens National Native American Heritage Month. In acknowledgment, Archaeology Southwest will be highlighting new and archival material throughout the month, as will the Save History project and the Respect Great Bend campaign. In the “new to you” category is next Tuesda...

Maxwell Exhibition Marks 50th Anniversary of “Seven Families in Pueblo Pottery”

Dear Friends, Remember the slow-moving rattlesnake I helped safely cross my street last week? We met again on Saturday. The two terraces of the green zone in front of our house comprise a desert level and an oasis level. The desert area supports an ancient palo verde tree that gets watered ...

American Museum of Natural History Changes Policy on Human Remains

Dear Friends, The view from my kitchen window impacts my life in an outsized way. It’s not a particularly large window, but it does give me invaluable perspective. In my specific case, the mere 25 feet to the terraced slope in which my wife and I invest lots of energy—horse manure and mulc...

Respect Indigenous Traditions about Eclipses

Dear Friends, It’s a Field Day! When you open this email, I will be out on the land in one of my very favorite places—the San Pedro Valley. I never need an excuse to go to the San Pedro. It’s always the right time. Today, I’m part of the team giving an archaeological overview to Ale...

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