Southwest Archaeology Today for Jan. 13, 2006

Archaeology Making the News – A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

Archaeologists Exploring the Historic Acequias of Santa Fe: Excavations of a long-buried arroyo and four acequias are giving Santa Fe more information about its historic ditch system and what the community was like hundreds of years ago. “In 1610, when they first started colonizing this place, the first things they did were build a church and start digging acequias,” said Chris Wenker, project manager with the state Office of Archaeological Studies. “It created this spider web of canals on both sides of the river – a vast web of canals that is almost completely lost now.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060111/ap_on_sc/historic_acequias_1

Arizona Judge Rules in Favor of Snowmaking on San Francisco Peaks: Arizona – – Snowbowl can use reclaimed wastewater to make snow, District Judge Paul Rosenblatt ruled late Wednesday. Snowbowl would be allowed to begin construction on snowmaking infrastructure immediately barring an injunction and further legal appeals by tribes and environmental groups. The Flagstaff Activist Network and Save the Peaks Coalition vowed to appeal the case to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and ask for such an injunction.
http://tinyurl.com/bok5n – Arizona Daily Sun
http://tinyurl.com/8ye3p – Reuters/Yahoo News

– Study Cast Doubt on Popular Conceptions of the Donner Party & Cannibalism: There’s no physical evidence that the family who gave the Donner Party its name had anything to do with the cannibalism the ill-fated pioneers have been associated with for a century and a half, two scientists said Thursday.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/01/12/donner.party.ap/index.html

– Archaeological Lecture (Tucson): Monday, January 16, 2006. Dr. Anna Neuzil, Preservation Archaeologist at the Center for Desert Archaeology will present “In the Aftermath of Migration: Assessing the Social Consequences of late 13th and 14th Century Population Movements in Southeastern Arizona” at this months meeting of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. 7:30 pm in the Duval Auditorium of the Arizona Health Sciences Center.

– Archaeological Lecture (Tucson): Thursday January 19, 2006, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursdays” program: Dr. Arthur C. MacWilliams, “Hohokam Ruins, Reservoir, & Canals along Silverbell Road in Marana at Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, 5100 W. Ina Road Bldg. 8, in the Marana Town Limits, Arizona. The project director for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 2005-2006 excavations along Silverbell Road between Ina and Cortaro roads discusses recent discoveries, including new evidence for Hohokam irrigation along the Santa Cruz River. (Beginning this year Old Pueblo’s former “First Mondays” program becomes the “Third Thursdays” program to avoid conflicts with Monday holidays.)Free; no reservations required. 7:30 to 9 p.m. Contact Old Pueblo at 520-798-1201 or
info@oldpueblo.org

– Archaeological Lectures (Douglas & Sierra Vista): Cochise College is offering a free lunch lecture series at both their Sierra Vista and Douglas campuses. In Douglas the Brown Bag Tuesday series is held at 12:10 in the Student Union Conference Room and will begin Tuesday, January 31 and end Tuesday, April 25. In Sierra Vista, the programs are held in Room 313 on Wednesdays at 12:10 and begin February 1. All are free and open to the public. Topics include archaeology and history. Many are followed by weekend field trips to the site. For a full listing of the programs, visit the Cochise College website at:
http://www.cochise.edu/information/students/swstudies/bblunch.asp

– Washington Museum Opens Exhibit on Navajo Weaving: Navajo weaving as it has never been seen before will be unveiled at the Desert Caballeros Western Museum Friday evening (Jan. 13) as part of the official opening of “The Next Phase: Navajo Weaving in the 21st Century from the Getzwiller Collection. “For the first time in 150 years, weavers have been able to create a truly successful revival of Classic and Late Classic wearing blankets,” said Steve Getzwiller. “These blankets have been woven with churro wool and hand dyed with natural cochineal and indigo dyes – elements that have not been used in over a century.
http://www.wickenburgsun.com/articles/2006/01/11/news/news06.txt

– Travelouge – Tonto National Monument: The next morning we retraced most of the trip’s last leg to Tonto National Monument. From about 1150 to 1450, the prehistoric Salado people farmed here in the Salt River Valley. By the early 1300s, possibly for protection or because of swelling population (which may have reached 15,000), some had migrated to natural caves in the cliffs hundreds of feet above, where they built apartments of rock cemented with mud. The monument shelters the ruins of two of these complexes, a lower cliff dwelling of 16 rooms – open to all – and the upper dwelling of more than 30 rooms.
http://tinyurl.com/dyxbq – Los Angeles Times

– Employment Opportunities: PaleoWest Solutions in Archaeology is a start-up cultural-resource-only consulting firm operating out of Prescott and Phoenix, Arizona (www.paleowest.com). PaleoWest offers health and retirement benefits, cash bonuses for professional publications, conference travel and research support, and performance bonuses for quality and timeliness of deliverable products. Three immediate position openings are available.
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Principal Investigator (Prescott or Phoenix, Arizona). Ph.D., or Masters degree and extensive experience and outstanding credibility required. Responsibilities include conducting and mentoring creative research; preparing research designs, reports, and plans of work; survey, testing, and data recovery fieldwork; embodying PaleoWest’s evenhanded approach with clients and regulatory agencies; preparation and effective adherence to budgets and schedules; spearheading deft diplomacy in balancing client, agency, and tribal interests. Salary will be based on credentials and record of performance.
Draftsperson/Illustrator (Prescott or Phoenix, Arizona, or flexibility and capability to work responsively from a remote location) . Part-time to full-time, as-needed position for preparing outstanding maps of sites and project areas, illustrating artifacts, and supporting written concepts visually. PaleoWest is also seeking to round out its list of archaeologists available for contract-based fieldwork positions. Such positions will be local if they fall within 50 miles of either Prescott or Phoenix. Per-diem cannot be provided for local positions, but the firm does offer a limited amount of complimentary, temporary lodging in both Prescott and Phoenix to help match outstanding, nonlocal applicants to such positions. PaleoWest is an equal-opportunity employer and will never discriminate on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious or political preferences. Please direct letters of interest, applications, and inquiries to jobs@paleowest.com.