Park Service Considering New Rules for Deaccessioning Archaeological Materials

Park Service Considering New Rules for Deaccessioning Archaeological Materials
The National Park Service (NPS) has proposed a rule to allow deaccessioning of federally owned archaeological items determined to be of insufficient national archaeological interest. The amendment to the Code of Federal Regulations Chapter 36 part 79 is open for public comment for 90 days ending Feb. 17, 2015. Federal agencies, including the NPS, are responsible for millions of archaeological objects around the nation. The proposed rule is intended to assist federal agencies in their stewardship of archaeological collections which they curate on behalf of the American public. http://bit.ly/11P2KWE – Rexburg Standard Journal

New Monument is a Memorial to the Sand Creek Massacre
Jeff Campbell worked for 20 years as a criminal investigator for the state of New Mexico. He specialized in cold cases. These days, he applies his sleuthing skills to a case so cold it’s buried beneath a century and a half of windblown prairie. “Here’s the crime scene,” Campbell says, surveying a creek bed and miles of empty grassland. A lanky, deliberate detective, he cups a corncob pipe to light it in the flurrying snow before continuing. “The attack began in predawn light, but sound carries in this environment. So the victims would have heard the hooves pounding towards them before they could see what was coming.”  Campbell is reconstructing a mass murder that occurred in 1864, along Sand Creek, an intermittent stream in eastern Colorado. http://bit.ly/1tdLfFS – Smithsonian.Com

Cave Containing Hundreds of Children’s Moccasins Highlights Ancient Promontory Culture
Archaeologists on the trail of a little-known ancient culture have found a cache of clues that may help unlock its secrets: a cave containing hundreds of children’s moccasins. The cave, on the shore of Utah’s Great Salt Lake, was first excavated in the 1930s, but the artifacts found there — and the questions that they raised — were largely forgotten until recently. Dr. Jack Ives of the University of Alberta and his colleagues resumed excavations in the cave in 2011 to better understand its occupants, some of whom Ives believes may have been part of one of the greatest human migrations in the continent’s history. http://bit.ly/1Fh8rJa – Western Digs

Native Perspectives on Route 66
Greasy diners, big-finned Cadillacs, mom-and-pop souvenir shops, dusty trading posts and the promise of the West were undoubtedly part of the recipe that made historic Route 66 — America’s Mother Road — famous. The lesser known story is that of the more than two dozen American Indian tribes scattered along the 2,400-mile byway, which stretched from Chicago to California. Tribes are now teaming up with a tourism group and the National Park Service to tell a new story for Route 66 travelers, one that aims to detail the histories of Native American communities that saw their part of the West changed because of the road and to dispel long-held stereotypes. http://bit.ly/1rfgQX2 – Santa Fe New Mexican

Fall/Winter Issue of Pottery Southwest Is Now Available
The Fall/Winter 2014 issue of Pottery Southwest is now available online at http://www.unm.edu/~psw/PDFs/current30.pdf. The issue features an article by Rod Swenson entitled, “Anasazi Organic Black on White Pottery: A New Paradigm.” In this article, Swenson challenges the widely accepted paradigm which relies on smothering the kiln with dirt after it has reached peak temperature in order to achieve black color with organic (e.g., bee weed) paint. The new paradigm states that smothering as the main method for making black on white would have been extremely unlikely. This new paradigm shows experimentally that the main problems associated with organic paint (e.g., oxidation and smoking) are eliminated and black on white can be produced efficiently and reliably, without smothering. Pottery Southwest provides a venue for students, professional, and avocational archaeologists to publish articles as well as providing an opportunity to share questions and answers. Published by the Albuquerque Archaeological Society since 1974, Pottery Southwest is now available free of charge on its website, which is hosted by the Maxwell Museum of the University of New Mexico (http://www.unm.edu/~psw). Submissions of articles, book reviews, upcoming events, and other items of interest can be sent to psw@unm.edu. The deadline for Spring/Summer 2015 is March 15, 2015, and the deadline for Fall/Winter 2015 is September 15, 2015. All submissions are welcome.

Reminder – Mimbres, Mesoamerica, and Macaws at Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café (Tucson)
On December 2, 2014, Dr. Patricia A. Gilman (University of Oklahoma, retired) will examine the ties among the three. We meet on the patio of Casa Vicente, 375 S. Stone Ave., Tucson. Enter through the restaurant. Presentations begin after 6:00 p.m. It is best to arrive before 5:30 p.m., as seating is open and unreserved, but limited. Archaeology Café is free, but guests are encouraged to order their own refreshments from the menu. http://bit.ly/1BGmg7w – Archaeology Southwest

The Strange Case of the Hoshi Art Collection
They are symbols of wealth and power; priceless treasures steeped in mystery created half a world away by faceless artisans. The rare stone monoliths once adorned the palatial tombs of Asian imperial rulers. Today, they are hidden away in Albuquerque. Inside a nondescript building at the Albuquerque BioPark is a massive treasure trove of forbidding artifacts. Valued at tens of millions of dollars, the ancient relics are stored behind locked doors, off limits to the public. Even though they have been at the botanical garden for eight years, nobody knows where they came from or why they are there. http://bit.ly/1uZ9QRY – KRQE News

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents photographer and author Charles Mann, who will give a lecture Santa Fe and Beyond: Gardens, Art and Photography on December 1 at Hotel Santa Fe at 6pm as part of the annual Mother Earth Father Sky Lecture Series held annually to honor The New Mexico Environmental Law Center. No reservations are necessary and seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at 505 466-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Hands-On Archaeology – Learn More about Flintknapping with Archaeology Southwest
Join Allen Denoyer for his new Hands-On Archaeology class, “How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools?” In this beginner class, you will use ancient techniques and replica tools to create a stone projectile point. You will also learn more about how people made and used such points, and that points were just one component of a complete hunting technology. $40.00 per session; Archaeology Southwest members receive $10 off. Please note that these classes are for individuals 18 years of age and older. Class meets in the courtyard of Archaeology Southwest’s offices at 300 N. Ash Alley, Tucson, AZ. Three dates are now available: Saturday, 1/17/15, from 9–11:00 a.m.; Friday, 1/23/15, from 9-11:00 a.m.; and Thursday, 1/29/15, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.  http://bit.ly/1zdfmSd – Archaeology Southwest

Thanks to Cherie Freeman for contributions to this week’s newsletter.