- Home
- >
- Preservation Archaeology Today
- >
- September Oil and Gas Lease Sale of Traditional La...
September Oil and Gas Lease Sale of Traditional Landscapes Criticized by Tribes
For the third time since last year, the Bureau of Land Management is auctioning oil and gas leases on archaeologically rich canyons and mesas in San Juan County, but this time in the face of opposition from local elected and business leaders, tribal officials, the National Park Service and the federal government’s own Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — all saying the BLM has not adequately reviewed the potential for future energy development to tear the region’s historic fabric. Starting Monday, 19 parcels covering 32,000 acres are to be sold at the BLM’s quarterly online auction, coming on top of 36 other disputed parcels leased last year in this same area east of Blanding. http://bit.ly/32E93LY – Salt Lake Tribune
The U.S. government will allow oil and gas companies to make lease bids Monday on lands considered archaeologically sensitive near a national monument stretching across the Utah-Colorado border that houses sacred tribal sites. Included in the Bureau of Land Management’s September oil and gas lease sale is about 47 square miles (122 square kilometers) of land north of Hovenweep National Monument, a group of prehistoric villages overlooking a canyon with connections to several indigenous tribes throughout the U.S. Southwest. The parcels for lease are about five to 20 miles (eight to 32 kilometers) north of the monument. http://bit.ly/32z2zOb – KSL.com
Continuing Coverage: Retired and Former BLM Officials Say Agency Is Being ‘Set up for Failure’
As Grand Junction gets ready to welcome the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management, dozens of former BLM top officials are speaking out against the move, saying it will deeply wound the agency’s effectiveness. “We would like people to take a harder look at this, including Congress,” said Elaine Zielinski, former BLM director in Arizona and Oregon. http://bit.ly/32EUkjx – High Country News
A group of former high-level officials within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pushing the Department of the Interior to scrap its plans to move the agency out West. “We are opposed to this proposal and feel it is a very ill-advised move, not only for BLM, but for the sound management of America’s public lands entrusted to the agency’s care,” the group wrote in a letter. http://bit.ly/2N8avlW – The Hill
Commentary: “We Can Still Save Chaco”
As lawmakers return to Washington, they have an opportunity to make a long-lasting commitment to America’s history and culture by permanently protecting Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the surrounding landscape from oil and gas development. Sens. (Tom) Udall and (Martin) Heinrich have led this effort, co-sponsoring the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act that calls for ending all future oil and gas leasing on 316,000 acres of federal land within a 10-mile cultural protection zone around the park. The bipartisan House version is led by Reps. (Ben Ray) Luján, (Debra) Haaland and (Xochitl) Torres Small. The bill does not apply to tribal lands, tribal allotted lands, or other private parcels in this checkerboard of jurisdictions, preserving the opportunity for some local economic development opportunities in these communities. http://bit.ly/2N9w1a6 – Ernie Atencio and Paul Reed in the Albuquerque Journal
When Your Home Is Above a Historic Cemetery
Not long after Moses and Kelly Thompson moved into the historic Dunbar Neighborhood, a sinkhole opened up in front of their house on Perry Avenue, north of downtown. Thompson thought it was a broken sewer line, so he got a shovel and started to dig. He soon struck wood and something underneath. That’s how the Thompsons found out they were living on top of one of Tucson’s earliest graveyards. As many as 9,000 people were buried at the Court Street Cemetery, which opened in 1875 and closed in 1909. “Since 1949, about 50 burials have been found,” said Homer Thiel, a research archaeologist from the consulting firm Desert Archaeology. http://bit.ly/2NgtVVZ – tucson.com (Arizona Daily Star)
Mesa Verde National Park Shows Effects of Climate Change
When wildfires burn, so too do archaeological sites – the very thing that draws nearly a half million people to Mesa Verde every year. The 1996 Chapin 5 Fire, for instance, destroyed the Battleship Rock Panel, one of the best rock art sites in the park, managers say. “What we’ve seen in the park is a lot of damage to archaeological sites because of wildfire and the ensuing erosion hazards,” said Kyle Bocinsky, director of the Research Institute for Crow Canyon Archaeological Center in Cortez. http://bit.ly/2N9jGT0 – Durango Herald
Remembering William Y. Adams (1927–2019)
With his family and community, SAR mourns the passing of William Y. Adams, who died on August 22, 2019, in Lexington, Kentucky, at the age of ninety-two. With his wife, Dr. Adams established the William Y. and Nettie K. Adams Fund at SAR to support short seminars or summer research projects focused on the history of anthropology and the theoretical implications of the culture concept. “A world without Bill Adams feels like a world without the pyramids, or without Stonehenge,” colleagues have said. “A terrible quiet has opened.” http://bit.ly/2N9xoVX – sarweb.org (School for Advanced Research)
Fellowship Opportunity, Archaeological Dendrochronology, University of Arizona
Agnese N. Haury Graduate Fellowship in Archaeological Dendrochronology: The Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research and School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, Tucson seek a motivated Ph.D. candidate interested in using dendrochronological samples from archaeological or historical contexts to address important questions concerning archaeological dendrochronology and past human/environment interaction. Geographic area open. The fellow will receive multi-year funding with a stipend of at least 20,000 USD/year, health insurance, and full tuition waiver. The successful candidate will be expected to develop additional funding sources for his or her specific project. Candidates must apply to, and be accepted into, the School of Anthropology and will work towards a Ph.D. in Anthropology. As part of the application package, applicants must include a statement describing their interests in archaeological dendrochronology and, if appropriate, a discussion of a possible project to be conducted during their term as the Agnese N. Haury Fellow. For additional information, contact Ronald H. Towner, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Dendrochronology and Anthropology, Agnese and Emil Haury Endowed Chair in Archaeological Dendrochronology, Laboratory of Tree-ring Research and School of Anthropology, The University of Arizona, BBTRB 1215 E Lowell, Tucson, AZ 85721. (520) 621-6465. rht@email.arizona.edu.
Blog: From the Pacific Coast to the Tucson Desert
Desert Archaeology excavated dozens of features during archaeological investigations at the Avenida del Convento locus of the Clearwater site, including pit structures, roasting pits, thermal pits, and storage pits. Radiocarbon dating showed that burned plant materials found inside some of the pit structures and pits dated to 640-560 BC, which fits nicely within the Early Cienega phase (800-400 BC) of the Early Agricultural Period (2100 BC-50 AD). About 183 shell artifacts were recovered from the site, most of them ornaments made from nacreous (iridescent with rainbow hues) shell and especially from shellfish that live today off the coast of southern California. Roughly 165 of these were recovered from the plow zone, including ornaments, beads and pendants that suggest the presence of at least one necklace. http://bit.ly/2N5MEDz – Christine Virden-Lange at the Field Journal
Registration Now Open for New Mexico Archaeological Council’s Fall Conference
Registration for the NMAC Fall Conference being held on November 9, 2019 at the Hibben Center on the University of New Mexico is now open. You can register online on our website at the following link: http://nmarchcouncil.org/events/annual-meeting/. You will need to be an active member to register. You can renew or sign up for a new membership on our webpage at the following link: http://nmarchcouncil.org/membership/. The theme for the Fall Conference is Collaborative Archaeology, Indigenous Archaeology, and Tribal Historic Preservation in the Southwestern United States. The conference will consist of presented papers and a moderated panel discussion. We have a great line up of speakers and panelists and will have a formal program to distribute in early October.
Registration Now Open for the Panhandle Archeological Society Annual Meeting
The Panhandle Archeological Society is honored to invite all of you to the upcoming 90th TAS Annual Meeting at the Embassy Suites in downtown Amarillo on October 11–13, 2019. This year’s meeting is a conference not to be missed, with field trips to archaeological localities situated in picturesque and dramatic settings, numerous special symposia, and engaging speakers for the public forum and banquet, in addition to all of the regularly scheduled meetings, workshops, and events. Early registration by Sept. 20; registration fee $70. http://www.txarch.org
Tour Opportunity, Gila River Festival NM
Gila River Archaeology and Ancient Technologies Field Trip with Karen Schollmeyer, Leslie Aragon, and Allen Denoyer, September 22, 1:00–5:00 p.m. Fee: $20, first come, first served. Meet at the Murray Ryan Visitor Center at 12:45 p.m., and drive to the Gila River Farm and archaeology field camp in Cliff, New Mexico. Travel time: about 45 minutes each way. Join us for a tour of Woodrow Ruin, where they will discuss the unique archaeology of the Upper Gila region. Afterwards, we’ll proceed to our team’s summer field camp outside Cliff, where we’ve been building a replica of a 14th-century adobe structure. Participants will explore the structure and try some ancient technologies for themselves, including atlatls (a projectile weapon) and other tools Upper Gila residents used in ancient times. Allen will demonstrate flintknapping techniques for creating points and other tools out of local obsidian and other stone types. Information: http://bit.ly/32uvMd4. Tickets (Gila River Archaeology and Obsidian, last item on list): http://bit.ly/32z2wBT.
Hands-On Archaeology in September and October
September 14 at Oro Valley’s (AZ) Steam Pump Ranch: Atlatls. More information: http://bit.ly/32E6U2P
September 28 at Mission Garden (Tucson AZ): Atlatls. More information: http://bit.ly/32AkOmi
October 5 Workshop: How Did People Make and Use Stone Tools? More information: http://bit.ly/32E7AVV
October 12 at Oro Valley’s (AZ) Steam Pump Ranch: Flintknapping demo. More information: http://bit.ly/32zF5bO
October 19 Workshop: How Did People Haft a Knife? More information: http://bit.ly/32uwuae
October 26 at Mission Garden (Tucson AZ): Flintknapping demo. More information: http://bit.ly/32B5VAo
Lecture Opportunity, Camp Verde AZ
On September 24, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., at the Camp Verde Community Library, the Verde Valley Archaeological Center will welcome Lyle Balenquah for “Seeking My Center Place: Migrations Through Tradition & Science.” This talk will focus on the path that Lyle has taken working within the career fields of archaeology and cultural resources management. He will discuss some of his own experiences as well on-going fieldwork he is directly involved with in the Bears Ears region and other locations. Lyle is from the Village of Bacavi on Third Mesa. He works as an archaeologist and outdoor guide. He seeks to provide an increased understanding of the longevity and cultural connections that Hopi People have to the landscapes of the American Southwest. Combining his academic training and cultural background, he strives to achieve this understanding through Archaeological Fieldwork, Technical and Creative Writing, Public Presentations and Outdoor Education & Recreation. http://bit.ly/32yX7uF – Verde Valley Archaeological Center
Lecture Opportunity, Clarkdale AZ
At 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 1, archaeologist Allen Dart presents “Ancient Southwestern Native American Pottery” in Yavapai College M building room M-137, 601 Black Hills Dr., Clarkdale, AZ, for the Clarkdale Historical Society, cosponsored by Arizona Humanities. Mr. Dart will show over 140 images of Native American ceramic vessels that characterized specific peoples and eras in the Southwest prior to about 1450 and will discuss how archaeologists use pottery to date archaeological sites and interpret ancient lifeways. Isabel Erickson, 970-203-4340 or completelyclarkdale@commspeed.net. https://clarkdalemuseum.org/events.html
Lecture Opportunity, Globe AZ
The Southwest Kiln Conference has a whole morning of lectures on archaeology subjects planned for Friday, October 4, 2019 in Globe, Arizona at the Gila Community College, Gila Pueblo Campus, 8274 6 Shooter Canyon Rd, Globe, AZ 85501. The itinerary of speakers is as follows: Andy Ward, Salado Roots; Joseph Crary, When Pots Equal People; Steve Germick, Finding the Right Time; Charmion McKusick, Gila Pueblo Salado; Caitlin Wichlacz, Reframing Skill and Mastery in Pottery Making: Considerations from the American Southwest. Lectures start at 8:30 a.m., more info at the website www.swkiln.com.
Lecture and Tour Opportunity, Metro Tucson AZ
Archaeologists Paul and Suzanne Fish will give a free presentation about excavations at Tucson’s University Indian Ruin archaeological site from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. October 17 for Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s Third Thursday Food for Thought dinner program at El Molinito Mexican Restaurant, 10180 N. Oracle Rd., Oro Valley, and will lead at tour to the site from 10:00 a.m. to noon on November 2. Reservations are required for both events and prepayment of $25/person donations for the tour are due by 5:00 p.m. October 31: 520-798-1201 or info@oldpueblo.org. https://www.oldpueblo.org/events/
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
Explore the News
-
Join Today
Keep up with the latest discoveries in southwestern archaeology. Join today, and receive Archaeology Southwest Magazine, among other member benefits.