Southwest Archaeology Today for Oct. 20, 2006

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

– Reedeming Archaeology, the Rewards of Repatriation: For the past five years, archaeologist Dorothy Lippert of the Choctaw Nation has been a case officer at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History’s Repatriation Office, which is responsible for returning human remains and artifacts of cultural patrimony in the museum’s collections to Native American tribes. Since 1990, the Smithsonian has returned nearly 88,000 funerary objects and more than 3,300 human remains, almost all of which came from archaeological excavations. Another 500 remains await return. Lippert spoke with ARCHAEOLOGY about returning remains, redeeming archaeology, and seeing herself in the collection.
http://www.archaeology.org/0607/etc/conversations.html

– Public Meetings Planned on Gillespie Dam/Bridge Project (From Brian Kenny): Maricopa County will hold a public meeting to discuss the Old US 80 (Gillespie Dam) Bridge project. The meeting will begin at 5 pm on Monday Oct 23 in the Town of Gila Bend. I will be present at the meeting to have one-on-one discussion & take public comment related to historic preservation and the proposed engineering restoration of the historic 80 year old bridge. If you cannot make the October 23rd public meeting in Gila Bend, visit the bridge when you visit the Gila Bend’s 4th annual Desert Shrimp Festival on Saturday November 4th. The DSF will boast a cooking contest, shrimp eating contest, and games. It goes from 10 am to 10 pm and is on the Town Softball Field on Scott Avenue, just off the main street. The Old US 80 Bridge spans the Gila River north of Gila Bend and north of the Desert Sweet Shrimp farm. Desert Sweet Shrimp conducts farm tours Wednesday through Sunday.

– Rock Art Restoration in Nevada: The Nevada Rock Art Foundation and U-S Bureau of Land Management combined efforts recently to restore ancient Native American petroglyphs damaged by spray paint graffiti northeast of Sparks.
http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=5564025

– Archaeology Festival at Mission San Antonio: The atlatl demonstrations attracted a crowd throughout Archaeology Day, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7.The San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, the University of Texas at San Antonio Center for Archaeology Research and the Southern Texas Archaeological Association sponsored the event to highlight Archaeology Month.
http://tinyurl.com/yyjod6 – San Antonio Express-News

– Duane Anderson to Present Free Lecture on Micaceous Pottery (University of Arizona, Tucson): On Friday, October 27, from 6:30-9:00 p.m. the Friends of Arizona State Museum Collections are hosting a free lecture and book signing by Duane Anderson, author of “All That Glitters: The Emergence of Native American Micaceous Pottery in Northern New Mexico.” Held at the University of Arizona Foundation Building at 1125 N. Vine (at the corner of Helen and Vine), the event includes a wine and cheese reception-starting at 6:30 p.m.-introducing attendees to ASM and Friends membership opportunities. This will be followed by Anderson’s lecture, starting at 7:15 p.m. The program will conclude with a book signing, during which ASM curators will show examples of New Mexican micaceous wares from the museum’s premier pottery collection. Anderson is the former director of the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and specializes in the pre-contact and historic period cultures of the American Southwest and Midwest. “We’re pleased to invite Mr. Anderson to the first event of the Friends of Arizona State Museum season and we’re hoping this event will be an opportunity to welcome new members to the museum and the Friends group,” states Diane Dittemore, Curator of Ethnological Collections. Please RSVP by October 25 by contacting Kylie Miller at 520-621-4609.

– Reminder, Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society Book Sale is Tomorrow Morning:The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society announces its annual used book sale. The book sale is made possible by the many generous donations of books, journals, and other printed materials to the Society by members, the public, and scholars. The large collection available for this sale represents a wide variety of topics and geographical interests with a special emphasis on the anthropology, archaeology, and ethnohistory of the Southwest United States and Mexico. There are many hard-to-find anthropological titles in an individually, yet reasonably, priced section. General book prices start at $2. Proceeds from the event help support and benefit the Arizona State Museum Library. Admission is free. When: Saturday, October 21, 2006, 9 am – 1 pm. AAHS and ASM members admitted at 8. Where: Arizona State Museum South Building (Southeast corner Park/ University).