Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed Questions Lack of Respect for Native Heritage in Southern Utah

Salt Lake Tribune Op-Ed Questions Lack of Respect for Native Heritage in Southern Utah
Utah is known for its exquisite rock art, cliff dwellings and dry desert caves. The state has some of the most spectacular, well-preserved and information-rich archaeological sites in North America, and perhaps the world. People in many places revere and protect their archaeological resources, see them as treasures, and build economies around them. Machu Picchu, Stonehenge, Mesa Verde, the Great Wall, and many more come to mind. Utah, renowned as an archaeological wonder, chooses to ignore and neglect its heritage. And it breaks my heart. http://bit.ly/1OY0v5W – Salt Lake Tribune

ASU Archaeologist Looks at the Transition to Sedentary Agriculture
One of the enduring mysteries of the human experience is how and why humans moved from hunting and gathering to farming.
From their beginnings, humans – like other mammals – depended on wild resources for sustenance. Then, between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago, in a transitional event known as the Neolithic Revolution, they began to create and tend to domestic ecosystems in various locations around the world, and agriculture was born. http://bit.ly/1UgKaMv – Arizona State University

The Timing of New World Populations Evaluated by Genetic Evidence
Comparing current and ancient genomes shows Siberian migration no earlier than 23,000 years ago. An international team of researchers compared the genomes of 31 living Native Americans, Siberians and people from Oceania with 23 ancient Native American genomes to establish a timeline for the arrival and spread of Amerindian populations. They concluded that the first Americans arrived after about 23,000 years ago and diverged around 13,000 years ago into two populations. They found no admixture of Polynesian or European genes, but did find some East Asian gene flow. http://bit.ly/1HjojLj – Science Daily

Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark, and a Love of the Ancient Places of the Southwest
The story of the Sinagua people who lived there circa 1200 CE was familiar to Cather—and indeed to much of the country, which heard about the cliff-dwellers from magazine articles and railroad tours. “She was part of the culture, there,” says Ann Moseley, editor of the critical edition of The Song of the Lark. “I do think her interest was probably greater than most, but it was pretty common.” The Native Americans had occupied the area for about a hundred years, surviving as hunters and farmers in a parched region. By 1250 they had departed for unknown reasons, most likely an extended drought. http://1.usa.gov/1VVCxgp – National Endowment for the Humanities

A Call for Responsible Climbing near Ancient Places
Fifteen years ago, I was drawn to southeastern Utah by the vast tracts of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Forest lands where I could find the freedom to explore and climb and have an adventure—rarely seeing another human other than my climbing partners or an intrepid hiker. I loved the feeling that my every move wasn’t being scripted by a ranger or a regulation, a sense I sometimes get when visiting National Parks. Now, years later, these remarkable lands are no longer a place I visit on a quick weekend trip. Literally in my backyard, I work every day to protect this landscape for future generations. Our big project right now is working with a coalition of groups to protect the Bears Ears cultural landscape as a permanent National Conservation Area or Monument. http://bit.ly/1hdVyuq – The Cleanest Line

Researchers Claim Fossil Fuel Emissions Will Complicate C-14 Dating
Fossil fuel emissions could soon make it impossible for radiocarbon dating to distinguish new materials from artefacts that are hundreds of years old. Carbon released by burning fossil fuels is diluting radioactive carbon-14 and artificially raising the radiocarbon ‘age’ of the atmosphere, according to a paper published today (Monday 20 July 2015) in the journal PNAS – http://bit.ly/1IdEptK

High Status Burials Excavated at Jamestown
Archaeologists from Jamestown Rediscovery and Smithsonian forensic anthropologist Douglas Owsley and his team have identified the remains of four men buried in the chancel of the 1608 church at Jamestown as the Rev. Robert Hunt, Capt. Gabriel Archer, Sir Ferdinando Wainman, and Capt. William West with archaeological evidence, skeletal analyses, chemical testing, 3-D technology, and genealogical research. “Two of the men, Archer and Hunt, were with the first expedition, which established Jamestown in May 1607. And the other two, Wainman and West, arrived with Lord De La Warr and helped save the colony three years later,” James Horn, president of Jamestown Rediscovery, said in a press release. http://bit.ly/1M5wbbh – Archaeology

Contact Project Near Payson Reveals Habitations, but Suffers Vandalism
Tucked in under a granite monolith on a ridge overlooking the Granite Dells, a team of archaeologists from the Valley last week removed buckets of dirt and screened the rubble for clues to a vanished past — in the process clearing away a key roadblock to Payson’s future. Nearby, two Arizona black rattlesnakes lay curled up together under a rock. They have kept a watchful, but-often sleepy eye on the archaeologists for the past three weeks. The team says they only wish the snakes could have taken care of whoever vandalized the site Tuesday night. http://bit.ly/1M5QRjp – Payson Roundup

The Archaeological Conservancy Leads Efforts to Stabilize Garcia Canyon Pueblito
Because the archaeological sites common to this region known as pueblitos were constructed using mud, stone and wood, stabilization efforts are required to keep them from washing away, according to Jim Walker, the southwest regional director of The Archaeological Conservancy. After hundreds of years of sitting unattended, the Garcia Canyon Pueblito, located in western Rio Arriba County near Gobernador, was stabilized this year. http://bit.ly/1IyyKvs – Farmington Daily Times

Arizona Archaeology Council and Verde Valley Archaeological Society Announce Fall Conference and Symposium
The Arizona Archaeological Council and the Verde Valley Archaeology Center are pleased to announce the 2015 AAC Fall Conference and Symposium. This year’s conference will be held at the Sedona Poco Diablo Resort on Friday and Saturday, November 6 and 7, with an opening Reception on November 5. The Friday theme is Getting to the Point: Projectile Point Analysis and Typology in the American Southwest. http://bit.ly/1KKtdpo – Verde Valley Archaeological Society

Lecture Opportunity – Dragoon, AZ
Meet at the Amerind Museum for a brown bag lunch and meet Amerind’s summer resident scholar José Luis Punzo Diaz, who will present Revisiting the Archaeology of Durango, México: Old Problems, New Perspectives on Tuesday, August 4th, from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm. José Luis Punzo Diaz is an archaeologist and researcher at INAH-Michoacán and external counselor for the Consejo de Arqueología in Mexico. His main research interests are on the archaeology of identities, landscape archaeology, postcolonial archaeology, and different technological applications for archaeological investigation and conservation. http://bit.ly/1mpDOdk – Amerind Museum

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars presents Voices from the Past, a lecture series honoring and acknowledging the work of Archaeology Southwest. On August 3, 2015, at 6:00 p.m., Dr. Joseph H. Suina will present Native Perspectives on Migration. Suina’s lecture is the final of five examining migration in the past, as revealed by the work of Archaeology Southwest, its partners, and other scholars. http://bit.ly/1fyd1ga – Archaeology Southwest

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Voices From the Past, a lecture series honoring and acknowledging the work of Archaeology Southwest. On August 10, Dr. Stephen Plog, Professor of Anthropology at University of Virginia and author, Ancient Peoples of the Southwest, will present Chaco Canyon Historical Dynamics: Unraveling the Complex Tapestry at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary and refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt 505 466-2775 email: southwestseminar@aol.com http://bit.ly/YhJddr – Southwest Seminars

Lecture Opportunity – Winslow
The Homolovi Chapter of AAS (Arizona Archaeological Society) is pleased to present Miles Gilbert on Wednesday, 12 August, at 7 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (Historic Lorenzo Hubbell Trading Post), 523 W. Second St, Winslow, AZ, with a talk on Ice Age man and animals in North America. For question or further information, call Sky Roshay at 928-536-3307.  You can also join us for dinner at 5 p.m. at the Historic La Posada Turquoise Room (on your own tab).

Thanks to Cherie Freeman, Terry McClung, and Adrianne Rankin for contributions to this week’s newsletter.