Southwest Archaeology Today for February 2, 2009

Southwest Archaeology Today – A Service of the Center for Desert Archaeology

– Arizona State Parks Closures Anticipated: The state will have to close at least five parks–and possibly as many as eight–if lawmakers do not restore the funds being stripped from the agency that operates them, state Parks Director Ken Travous said Friday.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/278278.php

– New Findings Cast Doubt on Comet Impact Theory: New data, published today, disproves the recent theory that a large comet exploded over North America 12,900 years ago, causing a shock wave that travelled at hundreds of kilometres per hour and triggering continent-wide wildfires. Dr Sandy Harrison from the University of Bristol and colleagues tested the theory by examining charcoal and pollen records to assess how fire regimes in North America changed between 15 and 10,000 years ago, a time of large and rapid climate changes.
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2009/6123.html

– In Memoriam, Dr. Trudy Griffin-Pierce: Anthropologist Trudy Griffin-Pierce didn’t want to observe the rituals and elaborate spiritual ceremonies of the Navajo: She wanted to live the life of the Din