Southwest Archaeology Today for June 30, 2005

Archaeology making the news — a service of the Center for Desert Archaeology.

– Early Agricultural Period Pithouse Found Beneath Tucson Presidio Site: The shallow trenches and holes in the dirt, roped off in the back yard of an old adobe row house Downtown, seem at first like nothing more than the work of a diligent child playing in the mud. Then archaeologist Homer Thiel mentions that this is the remains of a pit house built 2,000 years ago, well before the time of the Hohokam, and forms begin to jell – an arced pattern where posts once held up a roof, linear depressions where walls stood.
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/allheadlines/81900.php

– Bureau of Land Management and Archaeological Preservation (Montana): The designation of the South Fork of the American River as a Wild-and-Scenic River represents a controversial method of archaeological preservation.
http://www.mtdemocrat.com/articles/2005/06/29/news_stories/i2706_n3.txt

– Renowned Adobe Historian Passes Away (California): Edna Kimbro, one of the nation’s leading experts on the construction and restoration of historic adobe buildings, has died. She was 57.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/12013967.htm

– Future Heritage Park Nears Completion (Marana, Az): The Heritage House is the first piece of a much larger project aimed at preserving Marana’s heritage along the Santa Cruz River. A 75-acre Heritage Park, still in the planning stages, is expected to showcase the rich agricultural history and contributions of people who have lived in the area.

http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2005/06/28/marana/marana01.txt

-Urban Sprawl (Tucson): Metro Tucson continues to leapfrog open land as it expands into the desert.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=70305

– The Acorn as Ancient food source:
http://tinyurl.com/bbnu9

– Conference Announcement (Mesaamerican Archaeology):The Art of Urbanism: How Mesoamerican Cities Represented Themselves in Architecture and Imagery. 2005 Pre-Columbian Symposium, Dumbarton Oaks, Museo del Templo Mayor, MZxico, D.F.
7-8 October 2005.
The thorough investigation of the ecological contexts and environmenta
l opportunities of urban centers throughout Mesoamerica now permits us to address the question of how ancient Mesoamerican cities defined themselves and reflected upon their place, through their built environment. This year’s Dumbarton Oaks symposium will explore how each city represented itself in architectural, iconographic, and cosmological terms. The participants will be asked to examine how a particular kingdom’s public monuments were fashioned to reflect its geographic space, its patron gods and mythology, and how it sought to center the Mesoamerican world through its architectural monuments and fine arts. How did each community leverage its environment and build upon its cultural and historical roots? How did its monuments signal its participation in larger Mesoamerican-wide exchanges of people, goods and religious ideas? The answers are reflected in the built environment, the pictorial imagery, and the sumptuary goods that each city’s inhabitants used to define their own identity and distinguish it from that of their contemporary competitors and ancient architypes. We seek to explore this theme across time and space, from the beginnings of complex society to its most complex and powerful expression in the great capital of Mexico-Tenochtitlan.
Registration for the October 2005 Pre-Columbian symposium will not begin until after July 1st. Interested parties may preregister, however, and receive early notice of registration and other information through e-mail, by sending a message requesting preregistration status to <a mailtoPre-Columbian@doaks.org It is important to insert Preregistration for DO 2005 Mexico Symposium in the subject line of your e-mail address to insure proper handling.