Ancient Solar Storms Offer a New Method for Calibrating Dendrochronology

Ancient Solar Storms Offer a New Method for Calibrating Dendrochronology
Archaeologists believe they have identified a new way of putting accurate dates to great events of prehistory. Rare and spectacular storms on the sun appear to have left their mark in forests and fields around the planet over the past 5,000 years. Michael Dee, of Oxford University’s research laboratory for archaeology and the history of art, thinks evidence of such solar storms could help put precise years to some of the great uncertainties of history: the construction of Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza, the collapse of the ancient Mayan civilisation in Central America, and perhaps even the arrival of the Vikings in the Americas. http://bit.ly/2be9iEe – The Guardian

Opinion: President Will Enhance Legacy by Preserving Bear’s Ears
“Fill up the eye and overflow the soul.” Thus did renowned Western writer and former Badger Wallace Stegner describe the effect of the hauntingly beautiful landscape of southern Utah. A very special part of that ecological and archaeological treasure is at the center of one of the most heated land disputes in the country. http://bit.ly/2byxkfb – The Madison Capital Times

Opinion: Robert Redford Advocates for Bears Ears Monument
Bear Ears, a hallowed region for Native Americans, should be a national monument. Red-rock canyons, wide-open plateaus and steep, rugged mountains: Utah has been my home for over half a century. I feel a strong sense of connection to this state, its people and its landscapes, as many of us feel toward the places we call home. http://ti.me/2bHZCme – Time Magazine

Climate Change Already Affecting Mesa Verde
Think of Mesa Verde National Park and you probably imagine iconic cliff dwellings sketched in sandstone. Those homes were built by the Ancestral Pueblo before they left the area in the late 13th Century. Climate change may be putting some of those dwellings in jeopardy. The structural integrity of Spruce Tree House, one of the Southwest’s most popular archeological attractions, is a particular worry. http://bit.ly/2b9lEA9 – Colorado Public Radio

Tougher Laws on Antiquities Sales Irritate Collectors
Legislation that would prohibit Native American items protected by U.S. laws from being exported to international markets has come under criticism from dealers and collectors as tribal leaders defend the proposals. At a news conference in Santa Fe on Friday, Gov. Kurt Riley of Acoma Pueblo said misconceptions about the proposals in Congress have led to fears that dealers who collect and sell tribal antiquities will have to relinquish their entire inventories. There are also misconceptions that the proposals will prohibit the export of all U.S. tribal art and antiques, and embolden tribes to randomly suggest items are sacred in order to take them out of the hands of dealers, he said. “Let me be clear. This is absolutely not true,” Riley said. “Instead, the STOP Act and other legislation only strengthen existing federal statutes.” http://read.bi/2b9oViX – Business Insider

Colorado BLM Master Leasing Plan Efforts Stalled, Issue Bumped up to BLM Director
At a meeting in Gunnison on Friday, Aug. 19, the Southwest Resource Advisory Committee hit an impasse on a controversial master leasing plan that would regulate oil and gas development in Montezuma and La Plata counties. “The group could not pass a recommending resolution, so at this point it moves out of the advisory committee and over to the BLM to decide if the MLP goes forward or not,” said James Dietrich, a member of the SWRAC. http://bit.ly/2bW7WSp – Cortez Journal

Excavations at the Alamo Are Finished
A team started the unprecedented dig on July 20, working on unearthing artifacts and finding the location of the mission’s original walls. It’s part of a larger effort to create a new Alamo master plan called “Reimagine the Alamo.” Reimagine the Alamo community meeting (was) held Tuesday night. The lead archaeologist said she’s happy with the team’s findings and is excited about the work they’ve done. http://bit.ly/2ba5j9z – ABC News via KSAT

An Update on Cacao in the Southwest
The first hint of chocolate being used in the Southwestern U.S. came from New Mexico. In 2011, a researcher from the University of New Mexico named Patricia Crown published her findings of cacao residue on pottery from Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. These pottery vessels dated to around 1000 A.D. – a time when the Ancestral Puebloan people (also known as the Anasazi) were living there. http://bit.ly/2bnQLHg– Natural History Museum of Utah

Another Thoughtless Looter Pleads Guilty in California
A doctor has pleaded guilty to two felonies involving removal of ancient Native American artifacts from public lands in California and Nevada. Anesthesiologist Jonathan Bourne of Mammoth Lakes entered his plea Monday in Fresno federal court. http://bit.ly/2buoFJQ – Nevada Public Radio

Hands-On Workshop Opportunities – Tucson
Archaeology Southwest’s ancient technologies expert, Allen Denoyer, will be offering Hands-On Archaeology workshops on flintknapping and atlatl-making this fall. The workshops will take place in Tucson and Oro Valley, AZ. For more on the flintknapping classes: http://bit.ly/1VKAFHv and for more on the atlatl class see: http://bit.ly/2bo6lTh – Archaeology Southwest

Tour Opportunity – US Southwest
Archaeology Southwest is partnering with Southwest Seminars to present Mounds and Migrants: A Clash of Religions in the Late Hohokam World, a special six-day tour from March 4–10, 2017. The last 15 years have seen a dramatic increase in archaeological understanding of precontact migration and the Salado “phenomenon” in the American Southwest. Join Drs. William Doelle and Jeffery Clark of Archaeology Southwest and other esteemed researchers at the forefront of these recent investigations for a tour of southern and central Arizona, where you will explore the effects of this “clash” of Hohokam and Ancestral Pueblo ideologies. Learn more at http://www.www.archaeologysouthwest.org/what-we-do/tours/ or contact Linda Pierce at 520-882-6946, ext. 23, lpierce@archaeologysouthwest.org.

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Suzan Shown Harjo, who will moderate a Native Arts panel discussion on August 22 at 6pm at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Native Culture Matters Lecture Series held to honor and acknowledge the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) at School of Advanced Research. The panel features artists Tony Abeyta (Dineh), Painter; Marcus Amerman (Choctaw), Bead Artist; America Meredith (Swedish-Cherokee), Painter; Mateo Romero, (Cochiti Pueblo), Painter; Dallin Maybee (Seneca/Northern Arapaho), Della Warrior (Otoe-Missouria), Director, Museum of Indian Arts and Culture; and John Haworth (Cherokee), Senior Executive, National Museum of the American Indian-New York. The panelists will discuss contemporary native arts policy issues in an Art Talk/Smart Talk. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt, tel: 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; website: southwestseminars.org

Lecture Opportunity – Santa Fe
Southwest Seminars Presents Jason Garcia-Okuu Pin (Santa Clara/KhaPo Owinge Pueblo), Native Comics Artist; former Ronald and Susan Dubin Fellow, School for Advanced Research (SAR) who will give a lecture Inspiration of a Tewa Artist: Life After SAR at 6pm on August 29 at Hotel Santa Fe held to honor and acknowledge the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) at School of Advanced Research. Admission is by subscription or $12 at the door. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt, tel: 505 466-2775; email: southwest seminar@aol.com; website: southwestseminars.org