Southwest Archaeology Today for March 19, 2009

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

– Early Agricultural Period Archaeology on Tucson’s “Arizona Illustrated” Tonight: Archaeologists from Desert Archaeology Inc. have been working on a large project for Pima County at the Ina Road Sewage Treatment Plant. Tune in to learn about the extensive, remarkably well-preserved agricultural fields they have uncovered and what these findings are contributing to our understanding of early agriculture in the Southwest. Irrigation is now well-documented in Tucson going back some 3,500 years (to roughly 1500 BC). Early corn (maize) goes back to roughly 4,000 years ago (2000 BC). The team has documented primary, secondary, and tertiary canals and even the small field plots where water was actually delivered to crops. Within those field plots are preserved the planting holes where individual corn plants (and probably other crops) were planted and grew. These fields date to roughly 3,000 years ago, or 1000 BC. The program begins at 6:30 PM, Thursday, March 19, on KUAT/channel 6. It will also be posted online after it airs — go to http://tv.azpm.org/kuat/arizonaillustrated/ to view the segment.

– Mesa Grande Designated a Arizona Centennial Legacy Project: The Arizona Historical Advisory Commission has designated Mesa Grande as an Arizona Centennial Legacy Project. Mesa Grande is a major prehistoric Hohokam site that flourished from about 1000-1450 A.D. The main feature of Mesa Grande is a large platform mound, about 27 feet high and covering the size of a football field. The site is administered by the Arizona Museum of Natural History and within the City of Mesa.
http://www.evliving.com/2009/03/16/4360/mesa-grande/

– New Book Explores the Places and Spirit of the Western Apache: Who knew that Apacheria held so much abundance for those who knew where to look? All over Southern and Central Arizona, where the Western Apache once wandered unchallenged according to a seasonal schedule held deep in their cultural memories, there is food: acorns, agave, wild spinach, wild onions, mesquite beans, cactus fruit and more–all integral to the once-diverse Apache larder. There are sections of Ian W. Record’s debut book, Big Sycamore Stands Alone: The Western Apaches, Aravaipa, and the Struggle for Place, out now from the University of Oklahoma Press, that read like the dream menu of an extreme locavore.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Books/Content?oid=123424

– The Story of the Amerind Museum: In the 1930s, Fulton started to build a laboratory and museum, which would become the Amerind Foundation. The Amerind holds an impressive collection of materials. Like many modern museums, it is more than just a place where old things gather dust. The foundation helps researchers understand the Southwest, both past and present.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/03/18/20090318amerind0320.html

– Hushed Excavation Recovered Data Before Border Wall Construction in California: During the past year, archaeologists have been digging like mad to preserve one of the last remaining ancient Indian village sites in coastal Southern California, racing against the claw of the bulldozers and massive grind of the steam rollers to get the work done before the federal government erases in one year what had managed to survive for millennia. And they did it in almost complete secrecy.
http://www.sdcitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/hush_hush_archaeology/7880/

– Nominations Committee Seeks “Utah’s History Heros:” Nominations of persons or organizations who have given extraordinary service or completed outstanding projects are being sought for the Utah State History Conference. The annual awards recognize individuals and groups who have made a significant contribution to history, prehistory, or historic preservation in the state of Utah. Winners will be honored Sept. 17 at the 57th Annual Utah State History Conference in Salt Lake City.
http://www.sltrib.com/slc/ci_11938178

– Tucson’s Mission Garden Reconstruction Nears Completion: Mission Gardens is an agricultural area along the bank of the Santa Cruz River associated with the Mission San Agust