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Many thanks to the 124 generous Southwest Archaeology Today subscribers who made gifts totaling $5,225 to help the Center for Desert Archaeology meet the ongoing costs of producing and delivering this important resource each week. We’d like to extend a special recognition to the 63 first-time donors who helped us meet our October goal, and a warm welcome to 110 new readers who subscribed during the campaign. Even though our campaign has ended, you can still make a gift online to show your appreciation and support for this outstanding news digest at https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/how-to-
National Parks Conservation Association Issues Warning on the State of Cultural Resources in National Parks
Along with managing some of America’s greatest natural wonders, the National Park Service is also charged with protecting the nation’s most important historic sites, including archaeological treasure troves like Mesa Verde, Colorado’s only World Heritage site. But protection of those historic and cultural resources has often taken a back seat to natural resource management, according to the most recent state of the parks report report from the National Parks Conservation Association. Overall, the condition of cultural resources was rated as generally “fair to poor,” with no sites rated as excellent. http://summitcountyvoice.com/2011/11/04/nov-5-senate-field-hearing-set-for-mesa-verde/
University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research Presents Evidence for Multi-Decade Drought in the Second Century A.D.
Almost nine hundred years ago, in the mid-12th century, the southwestern U.S. was in the middle of a multi-decade megadrought. It was the most recent extended period of severe drought known for this region. But it was not the first. The second century A.D. saw an extended dry period of more than 100 years characterized by a multi-decade drought lasting nearly 50 years, says a new study from scientists at the University of Arizona. UA geoscientists Cody Routson, Connie Woodhouse and Jonathan Overpeck conducted a study of the southern San Juan Mountains in south-central Colorado. The region serves as a primary drainage site for the Rio Grande and San Juan rivers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-11/uoa-usf110411.php
Texas Archaeology Society Honors Michael B. Collins
Michael B. Collins, research professor in anthropology at Texas State Universit, has received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Archeological Society (TAS). The TAS, which promotes the study, preservation, and awareness of Texas archaeology, presented the award to Collins Oct. 29. http://smmercury.com/50047/archaeological-society-honors-texas-state-professor/
Reseaarch Consortium Finds Climatic Change Responsible for Ice Age Megafauna Extinctions
A research team involving over 40 academic institutions around the world is trying to tackle the question of what caused extinctions in the Ice Age. The study found that the extinction of mammals like the woolly rhinoceros and woolly mammoth was not due to humans or climate change. The team found using ancient megafauna DNA, climate data and the archaeological record that humans played no part in the extinction of the wooly rhino or the musk ox in Eurasia. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112414031/study-finds-culprits-to-ice-age-mammal-extinctions/index.html
Rare Opportunity to Tour the East Roomblock at Aztec Ruins National Monument
Aztec Ruins National Monument will offer a rare public tour of the East Ruin on Nov. 13. East Ruin is a large house not normally open to the public. All national parks will offer free admission Nov. 11 through 13 in recognition of Veterans Day. The East Ruin and West Ruin trail tours will be free but reservations are required for the unusual East Ruin tour because only 15 spaces are available. “It’s been closed in the past because it’s unexcavated, and a stable trail to visit the site has never been developed,” Park Ranger Lauren Blacik said. “We’re trying to do these tours so the public can see it.” http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2011/11/01/abqnewsseeker/aztec-ruins-national-monument-to-offer-rare-tour-of-east-ruin.html
Upgrades and Expansion Planned at Salmon Ruins
The project, which will be funded with New Mexico Capital Outlay Money, is part of a $1.2 million master plan the museum hopes to complete someday, said Mike Stark, the county operations manager. The phase of the project approved on Tuesday will take about four months to complete. Uselman Construction will upgrade the building’s electrical system and roof and add an additional 588 square feet of space to the gift shop and exhibit area in the museum, Stark said. http://www.daily-times.com/farmington-news/ci_19245800?source=rss
The Next Chapter of “The Southwest in the World” Takes on the Idea of Collapse
“Collpase” looks at our problematic interests in rapid declines in Southwestern societies, in the context of the popular literature. http://www.stevelekson.com
The Story of the Historic Apache Scouts
An extraordinary chapter in Southwest history highlights the service of U.S. Army Apache Scouts. Authorized by Congress in 1866, the Native units, organized in companies, were used for tracking down their own brethren, who were still hostile. The Chiricahua branch of the tribe provided the largest number of scouts. Its range originally stretched from the Rio Grande across Southern New Mexico and deep into Arizona. http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/Enlisted-to-gain-victory
Fellowship Announcement – Fred Plog Memorial Felowship
An award of $1,000 is presented in memory of the late Fred Plog to support the research of a graduate student with ABD who is writing a dissertation on the North American Southwest or northern Mexico or on a topic, such as culture change or regional interactions, on which Fred Plog did research. All student members of SAA in good standing who are ABD by the time the award is made at the Annual Meeting of the SAA are eligible to apply for the award. The application consists of 1) a research proposal no more than three pages long that describes the research and its potential contributions to American archaeology, 2) a curriculum vita, and 3) two letters of support, including one from the dissertation chair that indicates the expected date of completion of the dissertation. Nomination/Submission Deadline: December 9, 2011. All nominees must be ABD by the time the award is made at the Annual Meeting of the SAA. Contact Committee Chair Wesley Bernardini, Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Wesley_Bernardini@redlands.edu or see http://www.saa.org/AbouttheSociety/Awards/FredPlogMemorialFellowship/tabid/171/Default.aspx
The Pacific Coast Archaeological Society’s November 10th meeting will feature Dr. Donn Grenda speaking on “Twenty Years of Research along the West Los Angeles Coast.” Meeting information: Thursday, November 10, 7:30 pm at the Irvine Ranch Water District, 15600 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine, CA. Lecture is free and open to the public. For information: http://www.pcas.org
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