Southwest Archaeology Today for March 17, 2007

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

– Public Meetings on the Future of the National Park System to be Held in Durango: The National Park Service will host a listening session at Fort Lewis College in the Lyceum at the Center of Southwest Studies from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, to seek suggestions and ideas about President Bush’s National Park Centennial Initiative to reinvigorate and strengthen national parks over the next decade.
http://www.cdarc.org/page/h5ui“ – the Cortez Journal

– Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Centennial Events: On November 16, 1907, Teddy Roosevelt signed the proclamation that forever recognized the “group of cliff-dwellings known as the Gila Hot Springs Cliff-Houses” as a national monument being “of exceptional scientific and educational interestas the best representative of the Cliff-Dwellers’ remains of that region.” Throughout 2007, Gila Cliff Dwellings’ theme Celebrating a Century of Storytelling will guide the special events and programs at the monument, leading up to the actual 100th anniversary on November 16, 2007.
Press Release http://www.cdarc.org/sat/gcd_pr.doc“ – MS Word Document
Tours of TJ Ruin http://www.cdarc.org/sat/tj_tour.doc“ – MS Word Document
http://www.nps.gov/gicl“

– National Trust for Historic Preservation Names Durango Colorado as one of 12 Distinctive Destinations for 2007:For these reasons, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the country’s largest private, nonprofit preservation organization, today named Durango, Colo., to its 2007 list of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations, an annual list of unique and lovingly preserved communities in the United States. Durango was selected from 63 destinations in 27 states that were nominated by individuals, preservation organizations and local communities.
http://www.hispanianews.com/archive/2007/03/09/durango_colorado.htm

– Plume of Radioactive Waste May Contaminate Water at Upper and Lower Moenkopi: Two Hopi villages and their wells lie in the path of a radioactive plume of water. A plume of radioactive water is moving toward two Hopi villages, threatening to contaminate wells and spring-fed drinking water for about 1,000 residents. Nothing has been done to contain or remove the waste. Hydrologists, geochemists and consultants have said the radioactive waste appears to have been taken from a Cold War-era uranium milling site near Tuba City and buried at a public dump 1 mile east of the communities.
http://www.azdailysun.com/articles/2007/03/18/news/20070318_news_37.txt

– Fake Stone Tools Flooding Antiquities Markets:It if looks like a rose, and smells like a rose, and feels like rose, it’s probably a rose. The same can’t be said for an arrowhead. If it looks like an arrowhead, and smells like an arrowhead, and feels like an arrowhead, it might not be a bona fide, 5,000-year-old killing tool crafted by the hand of ancient man at all. It might be nothing more than a hunk of rock.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/03/18/news/wyoming/55-arrows.txt

– Lecture on Intaglios and Geoglyphs this Saturday in Payson: “Intaglios, Geoglyphs and Rock Alignments of the Lower Colorado River” will be presented at 1 p.m. Saturday by Harry Swanson, professor of anthropology and Gila Community College dean. Geoglyphs are giant ground “paintings” that can only be seen from above. Over 600 of these geometric, human and animal shapes have been found along the Colorado River, from Nevada to the Gulf of California.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/frontpage_lead/story/27831

– Planning for the 2007 Pecos Conference Begins (thanks to Brian Kenny for the excellent website!):
http://www.swanet.org/2007_pecos_conference/about/index.html

– Old Pueblo Archaeology Center fundraising tour from Tucson: Springerville Area Archaeological Sites. Saturday, June 9 – Sunday, June 10, 2007. On this summer adventure, we’ll stay overnight in COOLER Springerville, Arizona (7200 feet elevation) at 60-year-old Reed’s Lodge mountain motel. We’ll travel to the impressive Casa Malpais Archaeological Park Museum for a visit and a docent-guided tour of the nearby Casa Malpais Mogollon pueblo ruins. On Sunday, we’ll travel to Lyman Lake for the pontoon boat trip to the ranger-guided Ultimate Petroglyph Trail walk and a visit to Rattlesnake Point pueblo ruins. We will also make a stop at Sherwood Ranch ruins (formerly known as Raven Site). On the return trip, we’ll visit Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park in Gl obe. $229 per person double occupancy, $269 per person single occupancy, $25 discount for members. Phoenix-area departure and return can be arranged. Call 520-798-1201, e-mail to info@oldpueblo.org, or see
http://www.oldpueblo.org