2017
30
Jul
New York Times Examines Three Threatened Monuments
New York Times Examines Three Threatened Monuments:
Bears Ears, UT
The archaeologist Benjamin Bellorado, a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona, has conducted research in this area for 20 years. He led me down the side of a trailless canyon on one bright morning, as we stayed on the slic...
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2017
30
Jul
Visual Culture
Andrew Tegarden, Preservation Archaeology Intern
(July 30, 2017)—I’ve managed to ride my bike in on the days that I come to the Archaeology Southwest offices for the internship that I’m working. It’s a somewhat long—and yes hot—ride to the office. They’re located downtown at the nor...
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2017
28
Jul
Burning an Early Agricultural Period Pithouse: Documenting the Process
This is the second post in our "Burning Down the (Pit) House" series. For part 1, read Allen Denoyer's post here.
Doug Gann, Preservation Archaeologist and Digital Media Specialist
(July 28, 2017)—In experimental archaeology, a common technique for trying to learn about past human activities...
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2017
26
Jul
More Mud!
Allen Denoyer, Preservation Archaeologist and Ancient Technologies Expert
(July 26, 2017)—By the end of last year’s field school, we had started two walls, and one was up to about six layers high. We mixed the mud with our hands in basin-shaped pits and placed it onto the wall in blobs. Then we...
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2017
23
Jul
The Pace of Vandalism at Our National Parks Continues to Grow - 7/24/17
The Pace of Vandalism at Our National Parks Continues to Grow
What can we do as a culture to cut down on incidences of graffiti at our national parks? That’s the question Mesa Verde National Park officials are asking after the park was the recent target of vandals. In a long message posted on the...
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2017
16
Jul
Diné and Pueblo Youth Join to Fight Fracking of the Chaco Landscape
Diné and Pueblo Youth Join to Fight Fracking of the Chaco Landscape
“Save the sacredness of our land and our water and our air and our soil. With fracking, all of those components in life are at a threat,” Antonio said. The group recently held a “consent dinner” for the communities of Tor...
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2017
14
Jul
Our Valued Guests
Stacy L. Ryan, Field School Staff Member
(July 14, 2017)—For most of the year, we staff members of the Upper Gila Preservation Archaeology Field School work on a variety of projects that focus on our research interests and areas of expertise. But for six weeks in the summer, we converge in Clif...
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2017
12
Jul
How to Strike the Balance
Ashley Huntley, University of Cincinnati
(July 12, 2017)—Before coming to the Preservation Archaeology Field School, I was having a hard time reconciling my love for archaeology and my burgeoning interest in remote sensing and soils. For a long time, I thought I would have to abandon the cause an...
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2017
11
Jul
For Posterity
Johnny Schaefer, University of Missouri
(July 11, 2017)—My Intro to Archaeology instructor once told me that an Archaeologist is only as good as the notes he or she takes. (Well, actually, it wasn’t just once.) I have had that statement repeated like a mantra ever since I began my coursework in...
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2017
10
Jul
Experimental Archaeology and Stone Pipe Construction
Chris La Roche, Pima Community College
(July 10, 2017)—Experimental archaeology is the practice of attempting to recreate items from the archaeological record using materials, techniques, and technologies that might have been used in the period in question. This allows us to better understand the...
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2017
09
Jul
Wild Potatoes Were on the Clovis Menu
Wild Potatoes Were Apparently Consumed by Clovis Era Peoples
A team of archaeologists and anthropologists, led by the University of Utah, has discovered potato starch residues in the crevices of a 10,900-year-old stone tool in Escalante, southern Utah — the earliest evidence of wild potato use i...
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2017
05
Jul
Learning about Preservation in Archaeology
Taylor Picard, Humboldt State University
(July 5, 2017)—Recognizing that archaeological resources are nonrenewable, today’s archaeologists try to preserve as much of the resource as possible, as circumstances allow. Some nondestructive techniques include ground-penetrating radar, remote-sensing...
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