Southwest Archaeology Today for Nov. 24, 2006

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

-Casa Grande National Monument and the Town of Coolidge Explore Ideas for Better Partnerships: Centuries ago, the native Hohokam culture selected this area as a home base for its irrigation farming techniques, erecting the Casa Grande and establishing residential settlements. In a way, little has changed. Although agriculture is not the draw it once was, new individuals, families and cultures continue to settle in the Coolidge area.
http://tinyurl.com/y9wwdh – Tri Valley Central

– Archaeological Preservation Efforts Continue in Payson, Az: The untrained eye might see a lot full of rocks strewn randomly on the ground. But to Penny Minturn, the resident archaeologist with a recently earned doctorate, the site is one of hundreds in the Rim Country that sheltered prehistoric culture known as the Central Arizona Tradition.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/frontpage_lead/story/26226

– Arizona Apaches Win NAGPRA Ruling: On November 4, at the Fall meeting of the federal NAGPRA Review Committee in Denver, Colorado, the White Mountain Apache Tribe won a ruling concerning a 4-year long dispute with the Field Museum of Chicago, Illinois. In 2002 the Tribe claimed 33 items in the Museum’s collection for repatriation under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA).
http://www.cdarc.org/sat/apache_agpra.doc (MS Word Document)

-Reviews of Writings on the Southwest: This year has seen a bumper crop of books covering the Southwest, from the quirky diversity of Austin, Texas, to the wildlands of Nevada to the iconic Grand Canyon. Here’s a sampling.
http://tinyurl.com/ymc4ej – San Francisco Gate

– Tucson’s Rio Nuevo Project Prepares to Interpret the Region’s Past: Three stray dogs slept among the weeds of Tucson’s historic birthplace one afternoon last week. They had the place practically to themselves, and no wonder. Right now, the floodplain where Tucson’s earliest residents first eked out a living is a wasteland.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=89530

– New Director for Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic Site:Brian Carey, a 26-year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS) has been named Superintendent of Chiricahua National Monument and Fort Bowie National Historic Site in Southeastern Arizona, according to Intermountain Regional Director Mike Snyder.
http://tinyurl.com/y9rgsn – Wilcox Range News

-Streaming Audio Series Provides Native Perspectives: Produced by a nonprofit organization of the same name based in Portland, Oregon, Wisdom of the Elders is a series of one-hour Native American cultural magazine radio programs offering a rich tapestry of oral history and storytelling from indigenous elders along with special features on health and healing, grandmother’s culture, and music-both traditional and contemporary. We will add one program each week, beginning with the first program of the first of the three existing series. The first program went up on November 20, 2006. ALI created The Archaeology Channel our nonprofit streaming-media Web site, in part to give voice to indigenous peoples. Their knowledge and traditions are a precious element of the human cultural heritage. That is why we are especially pleased to announce the launch of Wisdom of the Elders, our latest audio series.
http://www.archaeologychannel.org