Southwest Archaeology Today for July 25, 2007

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

– Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance Donates Textbook to Utah Classrooms: Think Utah history. Do Mormon pioneers, handcarts and “This is the right place” spring to mind? Archaeologists think more about the ancients, and the remote Utah treasures that offer a window to their lives. But with those thoughts come worry, too, that the window to the past is cracking under the acts of vandals and uneducated visitors. So last week, the nonprofit Colorado Plateau Archaeological Alliance unveiled a book it’s donating to every Utah fourth- through seventh-grade teacher. The group hopes teachers will pass a trove of ancient history to their students – with a lesson in stewardship.
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,695194369,00.html

– Adult Campers Brush Up on Archaeological Osteology at Arizona State Museum: The participants in the first-ever Archaeology Summer Camp, all adults, are looking to know more about osteology, the study of bones. They come from different backgrounds and have different experiences with skeletons. Some, such as McNew and Jean Giliberto, 56, are new to the field. They’re taking the course to satisfy their curiosity and learn a new subject.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/193078.php

– Historic and Prehistoric Archaeology in Nevada: Virginia City was arguably one of America’s most important assets of the 19th century. However, Virginia City’s true importance and numerous contributions usually go unnoticed. It was in Virginia City where Sam Clemens became a budding writer and conjured up his now world famous pen name, Mark Twain. Discovered in 1859, the richest deposit of silver ever to be found in North America, the Comstock Lode, was mined out of Virginia City’s surrounding hills. Equating to more than five billion dollars at today’s prices, the precious metals exploited from the Lode financed the Union Army, helping the North to win the Civil War and ultimately end slavery.
http://www.unlvrebelyell.com/article.php?ID=10861

– A Heretical Hypothesis to be Presented at San Diego County Archaeological Society’s Summer Saturday Lecture Series: July 28, 2007. Eleanora Robbins, PhD (SDSU) will present ” A Heretical Hypothesis: Middle Paleolithic Transport of Medicinal Plants to North America-When, What, Where, How, Why, and Who?.” The public is invited to arrive at Los Pe