Southwest Archaeology Today for March 27, 2006

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

– 2006 Pecos Conference Website is now On-line: Deliberately informal, the Pecos Conference affords Southwestern archaeologists a superlative opportunity to talk with one another, both by presenting field reports and by casual discussions. It is a chance to see old friends, meet new ones, pick up fresh information, organize future conferences, and have a great time.
http://www.swanet.org/2006_pecos_conference/index.html

– Consequences of Urban Sprawl: Things change. Arizona then: Dude ranches. Saguaro cactus. Wide-open spaces. Family farms. Arizona now: Spas. Fast-food franchises. Crowded freeways. Stucco houses with red-tile roofs. What happened? “It’s just that old thing called growth,” says state historian Marshall Trimble, an Arizona native. “And it isn’t necessarily bad; it’s just what happens.
http://tinyurl.com/nwsc5 – Arizona Republic

– Report Detailing Potential Revisions to the National Environmental Protection Act Raise Concerns: Upon receipt of the report, members of the NAEP NEPA Working Group began reviewing the recommendations and providing input towards an official NAEP Comment letter to the Task Force. A subcommittee of the Working Group was convened to pull together a single set of Working Group comments. In general, the report and recommendations were found to be an attempt to unnecessarily constrain and sometimes weaken this important legislation (Thanks to Brian Kenny for this submission.)
http://tinyurl.com/rw9ma – US House Committee Draft on NEPA Revisons
http://tinyurl.com/o36y2 – National Association of Enviromental Professionals

– Water, Coal, Navajo, and Hopi – C and N Aquifer Debates: Groundwater pumping by the operator of the Black Mesa coal mine in northeastern Arizona threatens the water supply for the Navajo and Hopi tribes more than the government admits and a new federal permit should be denied, an environmental group says. The Natural Resources Defense Council says a review of federal monitoring data shows that the aquifer under the Navajo Nation is being damaged by pumping of the Peabody Western Coal Co. Wells levels are dropping, springs are drying up, and there are signs that water is being contaminated, said David Beckman, a senior attorney with the NRDC.
http://tinyurl.com/jnt9k – Casper Tribune

Use of N Aquifer threatens Peabody Coal –
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/mar/032306aqfr.html

Peabody Coal proposes settlement –
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2006/mar/032406offhk.html

-More Details on Illegal Immigration, Enforcement and Impacts on Cultural Sites: Illlegal immigration and efforts to stop it on Cocopah tribal land and on the Barry M. Goldwater Range may threaten the preservation of prehistoric trails and home sites. This area is included in a new presidential advisory panel report, which warns that archaeological and historical sites along the U.S.-Mexico border must be immediately protected or they will be destroyed.
http://sun.yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_23203.php

– Rock Art in the Phoenix Basin: Now on display in the Valley: Artwork that predates da Vinci, Christopher Columbus and the First Crusade. Admission is free (guided tours only $5). Galleries are in gorgeous outdoor settings. And there’s a chance you might find hidden art.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=61749

– Students Learning Traditional Ceramic Technology: When they look back on what they learned in the fourth grade, the students of Harelson Elementary will probably remember the day they used flaming cow patties to make pottery. At the Catalina State Park on March 9, teachers and parents made an outdoor kiln using horse manure propped up by cinder blocks. Inside, an inferno of burning cow patties and wood turned the students’ clay formations into glazed, ceramic pottery.
http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2006/03/22/education/education01.txt

– Crow Canyon’s Legendary Meals: Julienned young spears of asparagus sizzle in a shallow skillet on the big gas stove in the kitchen at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center at nine in the morning. Chef Jim Martin is busy getting lunch ready for the young students who are already out in the field.
http://tinyurl.com/r7htk – Cortez Journal

– Travelogue – Canyon De Chelly: Around AD 700, ancestral Puebloans began building cliff homes on large sandstone ledges above the canyon floodplain where they grew crops. They created distinctive pottery and wove garments from the cotton they grew. They stayed until the 13th century, when a mix of ecological, economical and sociological conditions pushed the residents of Canyon de Chelly and others across the Southwest out of their rock buildings and onto unknown destinations.
http://www.chicoer.com/local_news/ci_3640349