Southwest Archaeology Today

Southwest Archaeology Today (SAT) is a free, weekly e-mail news digest. In addition to sharing regional archaeology news, events, opportunities, and publications, SAT connects readers with news and commentary on U.S. public lands policy, global heritage protection and preservation, and the peopling of the North and South American continents. Review our submission guidelines here.

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Chaco Protection Zone Comes Closer to Becoming a Reality

Dear Friends, As this arrives in your inboxes this morning, I should be airborne and well on my way to Baltimore. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is holding a blended meeting with in-person and online options. I’m going to be there in person. And I get to talk about Preser...

In Celebration of National Native American Heritage Month

Dear Friends, If you live in the greater Tucson area and are comfortable going out in public, next week is full of opportunities. To celebrate the reopening of a special place—the newly renovated Pima County Historic Courthouse in downtown Tucson—there are 48 in-person talks being offered ...

Lifeways of the Little Colorado River

Dear Friends, “It’s impolite to talk behind someone’s back” is a phrase I’ve heard since I was a youngster. (Let’s not talk about how long ago that’s been…) So I guess I’m going to be impolite today. Skylar Begay, who began his work with Archaeology Southwest in Janu...

Ethics and DNA Studies of Human Remains

Dear Friends, The beautiful white egrets wading in irrigated fields just outside of the historical community of Buckeye were welcome omens as Skylar Begay and I headed out to the Great Bend of the Gila on Tuesday morning. We had spent the night at the Gila River Indian Community’s impres...

Time for Healing and Justice at Bears Ears

Dear Friends, For almost 40 years, I have lived in a house that overlooks a desert wash in Tucson. Tonight, as I was driving north from downtown Tucson toward home, the full moon was just topping the ridge of the mountains. I was struck anew by the incredible beauty of this desert that kee...

RESTORED!

Dear Friends, Last Friday, President Biden restored Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, reversing the likely illegal 2017 Trump downsizing. I urge you to watch the event, and certainly Secretary Haaland’s remarks. The nearly 10 months since January 20, when Biden o...

Indigenous Perspectives Inform Grand Canyon Interpretive Program

Dear Friends, Thanks, bats and hummers friends who responded to my note from last week! Who's working on bat boxes now? Those sugar-water-consuming flying entertainers set the stage for yesterday evening’s big bird opener—the debut of Avian Archaeology, our latest Archaeology Café seaso...

Human Footprints at White Sands Support Much Earlier Peopling of the Americas

Dear Friends, Happy (belated) autumnal equinox! Bats are one of my favorite seasonal markers. They double the pleasure sugar water provides. My bat friends are nectar feeders from Mexico—Mexican Long-Nosed and Mexican Long-Tongued bats. In the morning, freshly stocked with sugar ...

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Celebrates 25 Years of Learning from the Land

Dear Friends, From time to time I receive comments from readers who feel there is too much political content in my notes or in the articles we share. I read every comment I receive. And I respectfully consider the message that is being delivered. My goal, when I get “political,” is to a...

Overcrowding at National Parks

Dear Friends, Last week’s note highlighted Utah Diné Bikéyah (UDB), the Indigenous nonprofit that played a critical role in building Tribal support for Bears Ears National Monument. Hold that thought. Over this past week, I have found the news frustrating. I think President Biden is ef...

The Future of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante

Dear Friends, I spent a good bit of this Labor Day weekend doing background reading for a talk I am scheduled to give in mid-November. It’s a talk about Preservation Archaeology, and one topic will be Bears Ears National Monument. It turns out I have more than 500 files of Bears Ears-rela...

Legal and Cultural Barriers to Protecting Sacred Indigenous Places

Dear Friends, Just a short note on dental care and privilege. And responsibility. Two weeks ago on a Sunday, I made a quick stop at the nearby Sprouts grocery store. Given the COVID resurgence, I was masked and so was the cashier at checkout. The cashier apologized for not speaking clearly�...

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