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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Vatican Rescinds “Doctrine of Discovery”

Dear Friends, Late last week, the Vatican repudiated the “Doctrine of Discovery,” which derives from 15th-century papal proclamations and served as a legal underpinning for laying claim to “discovered lands” that were not inhabited by Christians. It was a critical engine driving European ...

Pueblo Grande Becomes S'eḏav Va'aki Museum

Dear Friends, Last Thursday I put a lot of miles on my Prius as a “water tourist” along an extended area of the proposed Great Bend of the Gila National Conservation Area. What I saw really worried me, and it might worry you, too, however nonsensical that seems for a desert in a drought. I’...

Designated! Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range National Monuments

Dear Friends, When Archaeology Southwest takes on a conservation easement, we commit to caring for it “in perpetuity.” That’s clearly a very long time. Regularly thinking about the distant future is part of why I keep coming back to my deep concern over the climate crisis. I just finishe...

Threats to Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon

Dear Friends, If you spend a lot of time trekking across the landscape of the lower Gila River, chances are you’ll meet some interesting people. Archaeology Southwest Preservation Anthropologist Aaron Wright has trekked the lower Gila a lot in recent years. That’s why many of us now know D...

Rep. Grijalva Introduces Bill to Protect Oak Flat

Dear Friends, I have been “enjoying” learning from someone a mere 27 percent of my age—Greta Thunberg—the 20-year-old Swedish climate activist. It’s necessary to use those quotes, because one does not really enjoy most of what is delivered in The Climate Book. The book is a compen...

Respect Great Bend Coalition Premieres Story Map

Dear Friends, On the last weekend of Black History Month, l drove a road I know well but hadn’t traveled since COVID—the road to Camp Naco. There was an Open House to celebrate Black History Month and to mark grant awards to the City of Bisbee and Naco Heritage Alliance totaling $8.1 milli...

Voices of the Grand Canyon, New Film from Grand Canyon Trust

Dear Friends, Collaborative communities. Think for a bit. Have you ever been part of one? Recently, I’ve had multiple experiences that have brought home to me the power of collaborative communities. Collaboratives aren’t based on the gathering of like-thinking followers. They consist of...

Earliest Known Direct Evidence of Mastodon Hunting in the Americas

Dear Friends, I’m writing this on Valentine’s Day, a good day to celebrate relationships. At Archaeology Southwest, we’re now officially highlighting a prolific friendship and helping to extend its legacy into the future. Over a decade apart, two important archaeological “Davids” ...

US Court Suspends Chaco-Area Drilling Permits

Dear Friends, It’s actually enjoyable to work for an entire weekend when you are in the company of 10 bright and engaging colleagues and you can take breaks to commune with the Canyon Phoebes, Spotted Towhees, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and a leisurely grazing herd of deer. It all happened last ...

Commentary: Museums Should Stop Exhibiting Human Bodies

Dear Friends, I spend a good bit of time in the early morning taking in different media. There’s my current audiobook during my workout on the elliptical and before my coffee. I usually finish a chapter while nursing that cup of coffee. Then it’s time to consume some newspaper content—digit...

Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians to Co-Steward Joshua Tree National Park

Dear Friends, The energy transition is going to have a major effect on elements of our everyday material culture. Trying to get rid of the gas meter in front of my house has brought this home to me. I haven’t been connected to the gas pipe that’s buried under my street for three full years...

Report: Major Museums Not in Compliance with NAGPRA

Dear Friends, This week, I’m back in Pennsylvania—mostly on vacation. It has given me time to catch up on reading. (And a chance to rake up some lingering fall leaves and make a compost pile at my daughter’s place.) My reading choices were all suggestions by others and were influenced...

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