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- Spotlight on the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
Spotlight on the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research
The Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research here at the University of Arizona was founded in the 1930s by A.E. Douglass, an astronomer who turned to trees to better understand the connection between sunspots and climate. The lab has helped establish other labs around the world, which in turn has rapidly increased the number of studied trees. There are now roughly a dozen large labs globally and data from 4,000 sites on all continents except Antarctica. The information is stored in the International Tree Ring Data Bank, a library open to all researchers. As more tree data becomes available, a much richer picture forms of the nexus of past climate, ecosystems and human civilization. https://nyti.ms/2GVSh2T – New York Times
Drilling on New Mexico State Trust Lands to Cease within Chaco Buffer Zone
State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has put a halt to new oil and gas leasing on some 73,000 acres of state trust land near the Chaco Culture National Historic Park in Northwest New Mexico, saying the move will help protect archaeological and cultural resources of the state’s pueblos and tribes. http://bit.ly/2GUluuM – Santa Fe New Mexican
Commentary: Pueblos Compelled to Speak
Through all this, the pueblos have remained, if not silent, then at least quiescent in voicing their concerns. It is not in Pueblo nature or culture to speak loudly or act aggressively when cultural heritage is at issue. That heritage is sacred, and we are reluctant to speak of it at all. Oil companies and government officials often have taken that reticence as a passivity that they can easily ignore. They are wrong. The pueblos and tribes of New Mexico are reassessing their public role and asserting their rights when sacred places like Greater Chaco are threatened. http://bit.ly/2GW19p0 – Santa Fe New Mexican
Commentary: Bears Ears Advisory Committee Appointments Show Bad Faith
The Coalition’s five member Tribes have previously expressed their opposition to the MAC [Monument Advisory Committee]. Specifically, in November, during the BLM’s public comment period, the Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe and Zuni Pueblo submitted a joint statement opposing creation of the proposed MAC and explaining the bases of the Tribes’ opposition. They each also requested government-to-government consultation on the matter, as required by applicable law and long-established policies. As Coalition Co-Chairman and Zuni Pueblo Lt. Governor Carleton Bowekaty stated: the MAC “does not meet the established requirements of the federal trust relationship and the attendant government-to-government relationship,” noting that BLM only reserved two slots on the committee for “representatives of tribal interests.” http://bit.ly/2GW1BU6 – Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
The Bears Ears sham battle continues. The Trump Interior Department announced last week the members of a 15-person advisory committee to manage what’s left of Bears Ears National Monument, and—no surprise—the committee has no one who actually encouraged a Bears Ears National Monument. Interior, with its newly installed former oil and gas lobbyist as secretary, stacked the 15-member Bears Ears Advisory Committee with those who fought President Obama’s original designation of the monument, and it virtually ignored the fact that Bears Ears was an American Indian idea. http://bit.ly/2GWmNt9 – Salt Lake Tribune
Archaeology Southwest Submits Formal Comments on Proposed Rule Change
On April 29, 2019, Archaeology Southwest submitted the following formal comments on a Proposed Rule regarding the listing of properties in the National Register of Historic Places. Our position is that the Proposed Rule should be withdrawn. http://bit.ly/2Y1F9P5 – Archaeology Southwest
El Paso Museum of Archaeology Features Two New Exhibits
The El Paso Museum of Archaeology is opening two new exhibitions starting Saturday, April 27, that focus on the Jornada Mogollon Culture. “Both exhibits feature the Jornada Mogollon culture which lived in the El Paso and surrounding regions from about AD 01–1450. Our area has been a cultural crossroads for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, much like it is today,” said El Paso Museum of Archaeology Director Jeff Romney. http://bit.ly/2GWrMtW – El Paso Herald-Post
Online Exhibition: Wetherill Family Photographs
A collection of photos taken in the Four Corners region by a prominent Arizona ranching family during the late 19th and early 20th centuries is being called a snapshot of history. The State of Arizona Research Library says the selection of images from the Wetherill family’s collection can be viewed online at http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/weth as part of the Arizona Memory Project. Curatorial Specialist Jannelle Weakly says the Wetherills were ranchers, traders, explorers, and amateur archaeologists who participated in the discovery, excavation, research and preservation of significant sites in the Four Corners area. http://bit.ly/2GYkZjE – Albuquerque Journal
Publication Announcement: Public Engagement and Education
Public Engagement and Education: Developing and Fostering Stewardship for an Archaeological Future, edited by Katherine M. Erdman. Berghahn Books. http://bit.ly/2GXg6at
Video: Mimbres Lives and Landscapes of Southwestern New Mexico
On April 2, 2019, Dr. Margaret Nelson presented at Archaeology Café (Tucson). https://youtu.be/nSbReVp8s4E – Archaeology Southwest
Field School Opportunity, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center’s College Field School is an RPA-certified, five-week immersion into the study of Southwest archaeology. Throughout the program, students will learn excavation techniques, remote sensing, collections management, artifact analysis, mapping, 3-D modeling, photogrammetry, and other important techniques and skills that you will use in the field. An important aspect of Crow Canyon’s field school is the Native Scholars Program. Native scholars provide traditional knowledge, perspectives, and insights to create a holistic understanding of Native cultures. http://www.crowcanyon.org/index.php/programs-for-college-students
Lecture Opportunity. Santa Fe NM
Southwest Seminars Presents Dr. Kathryn Brown, Archaeologist and Lutcher Brown Endowed Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas-San Antonio; Co-Editor, Pathways to Complexity: A View from the Maya Lowlands and Ancient Mesoamerican Warfare; Director, Mopan Valley Pre-classic Project, who will give a lecture “The Chamber of Secrets at Xunantunich, Belize: Investigating Ancient Maya Graffiti” on May 6 at 6:00 p.m. at Hotel Santa Fe as part of the Ancient Sites Ancient Stories II Lecture Series held to acknowledge The Archaeological Conservancy. No reservations are necessary. Refreshments are served. Seating is limited. Contact Connie Eichstaedt at tel: 505 366-2775; email: southwestseminar@aol.com; web: southwestseminars.org.
Lecture Opportunity, Taos NM
This event will be held at Kit Carson Electric Coop, 118 Cruz Alta Drive, Taos, NM at 7:00 p.m., May 7, 2019. David H. Greenwald, will be speaking on “Creekside Archaeological Site, Tularosa, New Mexico.” Sedentism and agriculture in the American SW have been a primary research interest of Dave’s. Dave discovered Creekside Village in Tularosa Canyon in 2004. He proceeded to further investigate the site leading to surprising discoveries which are the focus of his presentation. http://www.taosarch.org
Lecture Opportunity, Cave Creek AZ
On May 8, at 7:30 p.m., Janine Hernbrode will present “Patterns in Petroglyphs: Hints of the Hohokam Cosmology on the Landscape.” Rock Art: one is nice; two is interesting; three is a pattern. Fifteen years of rock art recording on four major petroglyph sites in Southern Arizona has enabled assembly of motif details, drawings and photographs of more than 16,000 glyphs located in landscapes with similar characteristics. We can say we have found no scenes of everyday life, of grinding corn, or plans for constructing pit houses. This talk is about a tiered universe and their connections, bell rocks, and the importance of the boulder upon which the petroglyph was made. Maitland Hall, 6502 East Cave Creek Rd, Cave Creek AZ. https://azarchsoc.wildapricot.org/event-3016241
Lecture Opportunity, Durango CO
The next meeting of the San Juan Basin Archaeological Society will be at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 8, at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. Laurie Webster and Chuck LaRue will present “Ancient Woodworking, Animal Use, and Hunting Practices in southeastern Utah: New Research from the Cedar Mesa Perishables Project.” There will be a social at 6:30 p.m. prior to the meeting. For more information, visit sjbas.org.
Lecture Opportunity, Winslow AZ
On Wednesday, May 15, the Homolovi Chapter of Arizona Archaeological Society presents Dr. Matthew Rowe of the University of Arizona: “Standing on a Corner Looking for PaleoIndians: A Citizen-Scientific Survey,” sharing research in the Winslow-Holbrook area that suggests it holds much untapped potential for answering many questions about the PaleoIndian presence, based on the projectile point record, at 7:00 p.m. at the Winslow Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, 523 W. 2nd St; the talk is free to the public. Dr. Rowe is also interested in viewing private projectile point collections.
Related Event Opportunity, Winslow AZ
Saturday, May 18, at Homolovi State Park. Dr. Matthew Rowe hosts “Flint Knapping and Atlatl Throwing.” You can watch flint knapping demonstrations, try your hand at creating a projectile point, or throw an atlatl at a straw-bale mammoth (use your imagination). Dr. Rowe is interested in viewing any private collections of points and artifacts that might add to the knowledge base about past people on this landscape; bring your collection of points and other artifacts, or contact Dr. Rowe, majrowe@email.arizona.edu or 207-446-7394.
Lecture Opportunity, Tucson AZ
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS) is pleased to present Richard and Shirley Flint on Monday, May 20, at 7:30 p.m. in the Banner-University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium (1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson 85724), who will discuss, “Mendoza’s Aim: To Complete the Columbian Project.” Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit the AAHS website: http://www.az-arch-and-hist.org/, or contact John D. Hall at john.hall@terracon.com or 520-205-2553 with questions about this or any other AAHS program.
Reminder: Archaeology Café (Phoenix): The Greater Gila River
Join us as on Tuesday, May 7, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Changing Hands Bookstore, 300 W. Camelback Rd., Dr. Bill Doelle challenges us to think big with a presentation entitles “The Greater Gila River: Public Lands, Tribal Lands, and Our Connections to These Places.” Now home to nearly six million people, the Greater Gila River basin is tamed by dams and pumped such that stretches of its watercourses are usually dry. But it was not always this way. The river and its tributaries were once lifelines and travel corridors for diverse peoples of the southern Southwest. Tribal and public lands (National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and others) make up much of the river basin today. Dr. Doelle will explore the relationships of modern groups, including today’s tribes, to these lands. The presentation will also be streamed on Facebook Live beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Archaeology Southwest’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ArchaeologySouthwest/. http://bit.ly/2ULOFIh – Archaeology Southwest
We’re happy to help get the word out, but we’re not mind readers! Please submit news, book announcements, and events at this link for consideration: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/submit-to-sat/
Questions? sat-editor@archaeologysouthwest.org
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