Southwest Archaeology Today for Sept 11, 2006

Archaeology Making the News – A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

– Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society’s 2005 Awards: The 2005 Victor R. Stoner Award for outstanding contributions to public archaeology or historic preservation went to three individuals: Helen and Jay Crotty, and Mike Jacobs. Helen and Jay Crotty are honored for their long and distinguished service in rock art research, especially its recording and conservation. Their interest in rock art began in the mid 1950s and led, in the mid 1970s, to their joining the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA). In 1977, they signed up for the Archaeological Society of New Mexico Rock Art Field School to be held in Chaco Canyon. In 1984 Jay was appointed field director of the field school and, in 1986, the school moved to the Three Rivers Petroglyph site in southern New Mexico where the Crottys spent six seasons as directors. They also directed the field school when it moved to northern New Mexico in 1993. George Michael (Mike) Jacobs is honored for his contributions to the field of archaeology, in particular for his 28 years of work as the Curator of Archaeological Collections at the Arizona State Museum. In this role he has served his colleagues and his community in providing access to the unsurpassed archaeological collections of ASM that have enabled dozens of significant exhibitions, including Clay as Container, In the Shelter of Caves, Ancient Images: Plants and Animals in the Southwest, Walking the Desert, the present Paths of Life and many more, which have been appreciated by tens of thousands of visitors.

– Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society’s 2005 Awards: The 2005 Byron S. Cummings Award for outstanding contributions in archaeology, anthropology, or ethnology went to Thomas C. Windes. Thomas C. Windes is recognized as a leading scholar regarding the Chacoan regional expression, both in the Chaco Canyon core area and beyond. Tom was educated at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (BA 1965) and University of New Mexico (MA 1967). A long-time employee of the National Park Service, he has been an author or co-author of more than 65 journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and contract reports. His publication venues include the NPS Chaco Reports series, American Antiquity, Journal of Anthropological Research, Journal of Archaeological Science, Scientific American, Kiva: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History and many others.

– Efforts Underway to Preserve Historic Cemetery in Sierra Vista: SIERRA VISTA – Volunteers trying to preserve one of the few remaining historic sites in the city have now raised more than $5,000. Thanks to a $500 donation from Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative, coupled with contributions from members of the community, the Fry Pioneer Cemetery Committee received more than $1,100 in August. Its fund now stands at $5,310.22. The money is being raised to help buy the burial site, located north of Fry Boulevard between Sixth Street and Seventh Street, which is owned by a member of the Fry family, now living in California.
http://www.svherald.com/articles/2006/09/09/local_news/news3.txt

– Machu Picchu is Now Off Limits to Helicopter Tours: The Peruvian government has reversed a decision to allow flights over the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu after an outcry from environmental groups. Peru’s Transport and Communications ministry has declared the area around the site a no-fly zone.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5326042.stm

– Travelogue, Kino Bay and Tiburon:Development – especially commercial fishing and the harvesting of ironwood trees for charcoal – has taken a toll on the region’s astonishing biodiversity, which is partly why a Mexican marine base was established on Tiburon, why environmentalists guard it so jealously and why scientists line up to do research on and around the island. The human history of Tiburon is equally compelling. It is the ancestral homeland of the Seri Indians, one of Mexico’s most distinctive indigenous peoples. The semi-nomadic Seris remained hunter-gatherers into the 20th century and fiercely resisted Spanish and Mexican efforts to subdue them.
http://tinyurl.com/fcx75 – The Seattle Times

– Reminder, The Archaeological Sciences of the Americas 2006 Symposium: This biennial symposium will be held this year at the University of Arizona’s USS Arizona Memorial Union on Sept. 13-16. It will focus on studies, techniques, and approaches that emphasize the analysis and interpretation of prehistoric and historic materials, human cultures and ecology. Six major themes to be represented include geoarchaeology, conservation studies and ephemeral remains, spatial analysis and remote sensing, chronometry, human-environmental interaction, and material culture studies. For more info go to asas06.ltc.arizona.edu or contact R. Emerson Howell (rhowell@email.arizona.edu) or AJ Vonarx (ajvonarx@email.arizona.edu).