Southwest Archaeology Today for April 12, 2006

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

– Work by Northland Research at the Grew Site is the Topic of a New Feature on the Archaeology Channel: Ancient irrigation canals, villages and monuments built by the Hohokam are prominent elements of the archaeological record near Phoenix, Arizona. You can see the excavation of one of the biggest Hohokam sites yet recorded in Under These Fields 1000 Years Ago, the latest video feature on our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, The Archaeology Channel. Before it was abandoned 900 years ago, the Grewe Site was one of the largest settlements in the American Southwest. This large Hohokam village south of Phoenix and the surrounding agricultural communities covered a combined area of about two square miles, encompassing the architectural monument known today as Casa Grande. This video describes the excavation of the Grewe Site by Northland Research in a highway-related project sponsored by the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
http://www.archaeologychannel.org

– Lecture on Prehistoric Human Impacts upon the Environment (Irvine Ca.): Pacific Coast Archaeological Society’s April 13, 2006 meeting will feature Dr. Steven R. James speaking on “Prehistoric Human Impacts on the Environment: Lessons from the Past for the Future.” Meeting information: Thursday, April 13, 2006, 7:30 PM at the Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Ave., Irvine, CA. Meeting is free and open to the public. Dr. James will discuss the impacts that prehistoric humans had on their environment with regard to overexploitation of game and fish resources. Due to its time depth, archaeology can contribute significant insights into long-term trends in human populations and their impacts on the environment. Recent research from various regions of the world, including the Near East, Europe, Polynesia, Mexico, and the American Southwest, indicate that humans have impacted their environments in the past. Examples will be presented from two regions – the American Southwest and San Nicolas Island. Implications for the evolution of human societies and conservation of animal species are discussed.
Http://www.pcas.org

– Mission San Miguel Designated National Historic Landmark: Acting U.S. Secretary of the Interior P. Lynn Scarlett has designated Mission San Miguel Archangel, just south of Monterey County, as a national historic landmark. Mission San Miguel, one of California’s 21 missions, was completed in 1821. It represents a fine example of Franciscan mission architecture, which later inspired the Mission Revival and Spanish Colonial Rival architecture that continues to characterize the southwestern United States to this day, according to a press release from Scarlett’s office.
http://tinyurl.com/lzn4q – California Online

– Lecture (Tucson) Dr. Emory Sekaquaptewa, “Meaning of Cultural Change for Hopi” Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursdays” Program for April 20 2006, 7:30 p.m in the Old Pueblo auditorium, 5100 W. Ina Road Bldg. 8. The program is free, with no advance reservations required. Emory’s presentation will give his perspective on changes in Hopi culture through time as may be explained through Hopi oral traditions, by contact with other peoples – both Indian and non-Indian – through the long Hopi history, and by the incorporation of new tools and foods into the Hopi lifestyle as the result of contact. Contact Old Pueblo at 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org for more information.