Dear Friends,
Last week, we welcomed friends and colleagues to the Corona Room at our Bates Mansion headquarters in downtown Tucson not once, but twice!
The first was Tuesday, October 7, when preservation archaeologist Paul Reed presented “A Very Special Landscape: Trails and the Lava Fields of El Malpais National Monument,” the first in our 2025–2026 Archaeology Café series entitled Tread: The Where, How, and Why of Trails & Foot Travel. Paul’s enthralling presentation style kept a packed house focused on an amazing and understudied archaeological phenomenon—trails into, but not necessarily across, dangerous lava fields in north-central New Mexico. Here’s the video of Paul’s presentation, just posted to our YouTube channel a few moments ago.
Please join us, either on Zoom at 6:00 p.m. or in person (doors open at 5:30 p.m.), for next month’s installment by Preservation Anthropologist Aaron Wright, who will present “Following Their Footsteps: Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition of 1775–1776” on Tuesday, November 4. Thanks to Director of Outreach Sara Anderson and the rest of the team for all their work making these fantastic events happen.
On Friday, October 10, we hosted the annual meeting of the Arizona Archaeological Council (AAC) in the Corona Room. About 50 professional archaeologists from around the state gathered to present updates on their research, share food and drink, and ponder present and future challenges in their work. Archaeology Southwest volunteer Jaye Smith presented a fantastic overview of her team’s work on the Ray Robinson collections from the Safford Valley, all of which are now properly catalogued and curated at the Arizona State Museum. Thank you, Jaye and your team, for all that work over the years!
The aforementioned Aaron Wright then gave a presentation on Indigenous trail systems in the southwestern part of the state. Vice President of Preservation and Collaboration John Welch then gave an overview of his work on cultural landscape studies and how they might be used to mitigate ongoing industrial development in the San Pedro Valley and elsewhere.
Both of these events—an hour-long evening lecture and a day-long conference—warmed my heart and stimulated my brain. It was great to commune with other lifelong learners. It was great to hear what is new and unexpected in southwestern archaeology. And it was great to welcome people into our professional home.
The Bates Mansion is a curious and wonderful place. It’s funky. It’s weird. It’s complicated. It’s quintessential Tucson! Portions of the complex date back to the 1880s, if not earlier. It has, at various times in the past, contained at least three swimming pools, including one on the second floor. It was once home to the Mountain Oyster Club, among other businesses. It is decorated, in places both inside and out, by mid-20th-century Tucson folk artist Salvador Corona.
On the Archaeology Southwest side of the Bates Mansion complex, we have peaceful courtyards, a library, conference and reception rooms of various kinds, and a kitchen or two. Please reach out to Sara Anderson (sanderson@archaeologysouthwest.org) if you need to host a meeting of up to 70 people. If you need a larger, more formal event space and party space, please contact Jerry and Vanessa at Historic Bates Mansion. They can help you explore the many options on their side of the Bates Mansion complex.
Until next time,
Steve Nash
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner image: A Corona mural at the Bates Mansion complex, Paul Hintze
Archaeologist Receives MacArthur Genius Grant
Thinking that Indigenous people inevitably ruin the natural world has led to policies that “protect plants, animals, environments from local people,” [Kristina Douglass] says. And because “Indigenous communities, local communities are some of the most important guardians and stewards of biodiversity worldwide, you’re essentially evicting people who have been key stewards of those landscapes and seascapes over many generations.”
Douglass believes that the kind of archaeology she’s doing can provide a clearer picture of how human communities have co-evolved alongside the natural world around them—and that such an understanding will help inform how we think about preserving our planet today. Ari Daniel for NPR | Read more or listen now »
Commentary: National Monuments Are a Declaration of Reverence
National monuments go beyond protecting land; they are acts of memory, our acknowledgment that certain histories, species and landscapes hold stories too vital to be entered into a balance sheet.
This isn’t abstract — it’s written in my own footsteps across these lands. I’ve felt it under my boots and witnessed the transformations in monuments all across the West — education centers where schoolchildren step into the stories of the land, endangered species receive room to recover, and Indigenous ecological knowledge is restored to its rightful place. Josh Jackson for High Country News | Read more »
Explainer: Why Using the CRA to Repeal an RMP Is Very, Very Bad
Along party lines, the Senate this morning voted to use the Congressional Review Act to repeal a Resource Management Plan governing permitted operations across 2.75 million acres of federal land in eastern Montana. …[T]he unprecedented use of the CRA to revoke an RMP in fact calls into question the legality of the entire system governing federal management of public lands. …
“This decision doesn’t just undo one plan—it calls into question the legality of thousands of leases, permits, and rights-of-way issued under decades of public land planning across the country,” warns Tracy Stone-Manning, former BLM director, current president of The Wilderness Society. “The chaos from this uncertainty will last for years to come.” Wes Siler’s Newsletter (opens at Substack) | Read more »
Chaco Culture Conservancy Welcomes New Executive Director
[Chaco Culture National Historical Park] is a gold-tier International Dark Sky Park, said Phoebe Redfield, the new executive director of the nonprofit Chaco Culture Conservancy, which supports the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and nearby Aztec Ruins National Monument. …
Having the UNESCO World Heritage label brings additional prestige and visibility to sites like Chaco, Redfield said. But the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO will likely have little impact on the conservancy’s operations, she said.
The conservancy, which has raised more than $120,000 for the National Park Service since 2020 and funded 23 projects at the site, isn’t funded by UNESCO and instead relies on grant money and donations. Alaina Mencinger for the Santa Fe New Mexican | Read more »
Publication Announcement: Gendered Cordage Production in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Jolie, R. B. Gendered cordage production in cross-cultural perspective. Int. j. anthropol. ethnol. 9, 15 (2025). Read now (open access) »
Scholarship Opportunities for Native American Archaeologists
The Society for American Archaeology’s Native American Scholarships support archaeological training and education for Native American students and archaeologists from anywhere in the Americas. The Native American Scholarships program opens for applications on October 1 of each year. The deadline for applications is January 31. Funding for these scholarships is provided through individual donations, a silent auction held at the SAA annual meeting, and external grants. Scholarships are open to all Native peoples from anywhere in the Americas, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Indigenous Pacific Islanders. Society for American Archaeology | Learn more »
October Live Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
TODAY, Oct. 13, Ron Barber, Chasing the Plumed Serpent of the Southwest; Oct. 20, Brian Milsap, Life History of Cooper’s Hawk, New Mexico’s Most Widespread Raptor; Oct. 27, Chuck Adams, Coming & Going: 13,000 Years of Migration on the Southern Colorado Plateau. $20 at the door or $75 for the series of four lectures. 6:00 p.m., Hotel Santa Fe. Southwest Seminars | Learn more »
Oct.–Nov. In-Person Lecture Series (multiple locations): Anza250
With Aaron Wright. On Friday, October 24, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., the Anza Trail Foundation will host Arizona trails expert Dr. Aaron Wright, of Archaeology Southwest, for a presentation on the historic 1775–76 Anza Expedition, to be held at the Santa Cruz County Complex, 2150 N. Congress Dr., Nogales AZ.
Dr. Wright’s presentation, Following Their Footsteps: Indigenous Geography and the Anza Expedition of 1775–1776, will explore how this Spanish colonial expedition utilized pre-existing indigenous trail infrastructure and knowledge to ensure a successful journey.
The Nogales presentation is part of the Anza250 Lecture Series, 7 presentations across southern Arizona, commemorating the 250th anniversary of the epic 1775-76 Anza Expedition, when over 240 Spanish colonists trekked overland from Sinaloa, Mexico, across Alta California (including present-day southern Arizona and California) to establish a Spanish presence in San Francisco. Anza Trail Foundation | Learn more and register (scroll down) »
The Nov. 4 meeting of Archaeology Café is part of this series. Learn more »
REMINDER: Oct. 16 Online Event: Malinche, Hernán Cortés, and the Origins of Indigenous-Spanish Relations
With Michael Brescia. In this presentation, “Reconstructing the Biographies of Culture and Power in Conquest Mexico,” Brescia will examine the lives of Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his Indigenous interpreter and mistress Malintzin (“La Malinche”). Third Thursday Food for Thought Series (Old Pueblo Archaeological Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
REMINDER: Oct. 16 Online Event: Zooarchaeology as a Tool for Conservation and Management: A Case Study on Sea Otters
With Emma Smith. By pairing zooarchaeological data with isotopic analyses, we can reconstruct historical diets, trophic positions, and habitat use. In this talk, Emma illustrates this approach with the sea otter (Enhydra lutris), a keystone marine predator nearly driven extinct by the Euro-American maritime fur trade. She presents isotopic data from sea otter bones recovered at archaeological sites in southeast Alaska, northern Oregon, and California; this archaeological record reflects the deep and enduring ecological stewardship by Indigenous communities of the Pacific coast. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn more and register (free) »
Oct. 17 In-Person Event (Tucson AZ): New Brew Launch: Friends of Saguaro National Park Mesquite Amber
Friends of Saguaro National Park has partnered with Crooked Tooth Brewing for a new limited release beer! The Friends of Saguaro National Park Mesquite Amber was chosen to honor and celebrate the uniqueness of the treasured National Park. The “First Cheers” event will launch the new brew! Come, raise a glass, have a delicious beer, and learn more about FOSNP! 6:00 p.m., 228 E. 6th St. Learn more »
Oct. 20 In-Person Workshop (Scottsdale AZ): Disaster Planning
Join the Museum Association of Arizona and the Arizona Alliance for Response for a half-day workshop that will provide hands-on guidance for creating a personalized disaster plan for your cultural organization. This workshop will include: why creating a disaster plan should be a priority for your institution; essential parts of a disaster plan and why each is important; examples of cultural heritage disaster plans; time to work on your own organization’s Pocket Response Plan (PReP). Museum Association of Arizona | Learn more »
REMINDER: Oct. 20 Online Event: The Role of Collective Action in Community Resilience in Northwest Mexico
With Andrea Torvinen. Dating to the Epiclassic period (600-900 CE), La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico, was founded during the cultural florescence of the northern frontier of Mesoamerica, but the site was abandoned ca. 800-900 CE while neighboring hilltop centers persisted. Having previously ruled out climate change as a contributing factor to the site’s decline, this research investigates whether internal social unrest or shifting political or economic networks may have played a role. Specifically, did a change in how the occupants of La Quemada identified with one another decrease the potential for collective action over time? Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn more and register (free) »
Oct. 23 In-Person Event (Albuquerque NM): War and Iconology in Colonial New Mexico
With Severin Fowles. In this lecture, archaeologist Dr. Severin Fowles looks beyond the horses, guns, germs, and steel that have dominated materialist analyses of the colonial encounter to consider the circulation of images – or more precisely, the circulation of new understandings of what images are and how they function. His focus is on the “Biographic Tradition,” an Indigenous mode of iconographic production that rapidly spread across the Great Plains and parts of New Mexico during the early colonial period. The Biographic Tradition had a strongly archival sensibility, dominated by graphic illustrations of the exploits of specific Plains warriors. 5:30 p.m., Hibben Center Room 105, University of New Mexico campus. Free. For more information contact Suzanne Oakdale at soakdale@unm.edu.
Nov. 20 Online Event: An Expedition Torn Asunder: O’odham Responses to the Coronado Expedition
With Deni Seymour. Dr. Seymour’s research on the 1539–1542 Coronado expedition in southeastern Arizona has revealed how O’odham resistance helped bring an end to this episode of Spanish colonial exploration. Third Thursday Food for Thought series (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn more and register (free) »
Remember to send us notice of upcoming events and webinars, tours and workshops, and anything else you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!