Dear Friends,
If you spend plenty of time trekking throughout the panorama of the decrease Gila River, chances are high you’ll meet some fascinating individuals.
Archaeology Southwest Preservation Anthropologist Aaron Wright has trekked the decrease Gila rather a lot in recent times. That’s why many people now know Dax Hansen—a really fascinating individual, certainly.
Dax’s Oatman Flats Ranch is ready in an space wealthy with millennia of human historical past. The Gila River supported many generations of farmers who left behind trails, rock photographs in abundance, and delicate traces of thriving villages.
That historical past and the exceptional panorama are why Archaeology Southwest and our rising coalition of companions are intensely advocating for the everlasting safety of the Great Bend of the Gila.
The tales of at the moment’s residents additionally add worth to this panorama—a panorama diminished by its lack of a flowing river and all that its waters supported.
Dax is actually rebuilding the soil, conserving the water, and rediscovering the desert-adapted crops and crops that may thrive in such aridity and warmth.
He’s filled with optimism. He works exhausting. And he’s taking up massive challenges. We be taught rather a lot throughout every go to with Dax.
For a style of our current good instances, I hope you get pleasure from Arizona Republic reporter Jake Frederico’s story about his personal go to to Oatman Flats Ranch on the dry Gila River west of Gila Bend. We’ve linked to that article under. It’s an excellent learn.
Until subsequent week,
President & CEO, Archaeology Southwest
Banner picture: Skylar Begay. Bill Doelle offers head skritches to one of many fearsome Guard Burros at Oatman Flats Ranch.
Threats to Utah’s Nine Mile Canyon
… Crude oil manufacturing within the Uinta Basin is hitting all-time information and is projected to continue to grow for the foreseeable future. And meaning heavy tanker site visitors by means of Indian Canyon, the place U.S. Highway 191 is in want of main upgrades, lawmakers say. … A winding unpaved highway already passes by means of Gate Canyon, however Duchesne County leaders need to spend $20 million in state cash to widen, pave and straighten it. Such a venture would successfully put an incessant stream of oil-tanker site visitors by means of Nine Mile Canyon, Utah’s famed rock artwork haven, critics say. Brian Maffly within the Salt Lake Tribune | Read extra »
Developers are searching for billions of {dollars} in tax breaks for a brand new oil railroad in Utah that can threaten the Colorado River and be a danger to the well being and security of hundreds of thousands of Americans whereas damaging Joe Biden’s local weather credentials, campaigners say. The 88-mile proposed Uinta railway is forecast to quadruple crude oil manufacturing within the Uinta Basin by connecting it to the nationwide rail community and coastal refineries. … One possibility includes flattening a piece of the nine-mile canyon, referred to as the most important prehistoric artwork gallery, to construct a highway match for a gradual circulation of heavy oil tankers; the opposite is the 88-mile railway. Nina Lakhani within the Guardian | Read extra »
Thanks to PAT reader Christopher Purcell for flagging this growing story.
Continuing Coverage: The Fate of Spruce Tree House
The public is invited to touch upon a proposal to stabilize and reopen Spruce Tree House, a premiere archaeological web site at Mesa Verde National Park prone to collapse. The spectacular village nestled inside a large west-facing alcove was constructed by Ancestral Puebloans between 1200 and 1278, and options 120 rooms, eight kivas and two towers. But the millennia of geologic forces, wind, rain and freeze-thaw that shaped the sandstone cave has reversed course towards its impending demise. … The park’s proposed most popular various is to stabilize the arch and reopen the cliff dwelling for public visitation comparable to the entry accessible earlier than the 2015 closure, which allowed self-guided excursions into the positioning, in accordance to the environmental evaluation. Proposed stabilization work could be restricted to the sandstone geologic formation wherein the cliff dwelling was constructed. Jim Mimiaga within the Durango Herald | Read extra »
Indigenous Principles Inform Regenerative Agriculture within the Great Bend of the Gila
Regenerative agriculture is a holistic land administration strategy with rules that date again to Indigenous farmers. Instead of letting the land fallow or repeating a cycle of planting water-intensive crops that can’t survive the tough situations alongside the decrease Gila River, [Dax] Hansen has labored to develop methods to make much less water go additional. He has efficiently launched arid-adapted crops, built-in livestock on his land and used non-traditional farming strategies to enhance soil well being and biodiversity. … Agriculture has been an integral a part of this land—and the river—for hundreds of years. Indigenous individuals have lived alongside the river for at the very least 2,000 years, establishing advanced agricultural techniques lengthy earlier than European settlers reached the areas within the sixteenth century. Jake Federico within the Arizona Republic | Read extra »
ICYMI: Check out Respect Great Bend’s new Story Map on this culturally and ecologically wealthy area of the Sonoran Desert »
Continuing Coverage and Commentary: “Hot Mess” at New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs
If I would like to level out one individual as a mannequin of what a state worker must be, I would like look no additional than [Eric] Blinman. Yet now he’s been faraway from his management position on the Office of Archaeological Studies and is out of a job. It’s not that unusual to see excellence punished, nevertheless it’s uncommon to see it punished so severely. If Blinman’s removing was the one decapitation throughout the Department of Cultural Affairs, it will be straightforward to lay his dismissal at his personal ft. However, his removing is a part of a sample. David Phillips within the Albuquerque Journal | Read extra »
Job Opportunities: US Forest Service
The Forest Service is promoting for 9 tribal relations positions in New Mexico, Arizona, and southwestern Colorado (plus one every in Wyoming and Nebraska). Please notice that a few of these positions have a number of attainable obligation stations to select from. These positions are open to all U.S. residents. Individuals with a variety {of professional} and educational backgrounds together with (however not restricted to) anthropology/archaeology are inspired to apply. Closing on March 27.
GS-13: Regional Office—Albuquerque, NM »
GS-12: Regional Office—Albuquerque, NM, Phoenix, AZ OR Tucson, AZ »
GS-12: Multiple Forests—Multiple Locations (contains Region 2) »
GS-11: Multiple Forests—Multiple Locations »
Scholarship Opportunity: ASNM Awards
The Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) is at the moment accepting purposes for the 2023–2024 ASNM Scholarship Awards. These scholarships can be found to college students majoring in Anthropology with a spotlight in Archaeology. The subfields of Cultural Anthropology, Linguistics and Physical Anthropology may additionally be thought-about if the scholar’s work pertains to the American Southwest. Graduate and undergraduate college students enrolled at Eastern New Mexico University, New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico State University and University of New Mexico are eligible. Awards vary from $500 to $1,000. The deadline for purposes is March 31, 2023. Awards might be introduced by April 15, 2023. Archaeological Society of New Mexico | Learn extra »
Video: Creating Color within the Chaco World
With Kelsey E. Hanson (University of Arizona). In her present work, Kelsey is especially excited about how specialised data is cultivated and circulated in communities and the way that is encoded in materials tradition. Drawing from anthropological archaeology, Indigenous philosophy, and conservation science, Kelsey’s dissertation analysis problematizes paint expertise to perceive the circulation of specialised data within the rise and fall of the Chaco World of northern New Mexico (A.D. 850–1300). San Juan Basin Archaeological Society | Watch now »
Video: Was There a Turquoise Trail?
With Dr. Alyson Thibodeau (Dickinson College). This presentation considers what the archaeological document can inform us about mining, procurement, and change of turquoise by historic peoples dwelling within the Southwest and the way geochemical measurements present new insights into the sources of turquoise artifacts. Special consideration is given to the turquoise mines of the Cerrillos Hills, New Mexico and to the query of whether or not turquoise from the Southwest was traded to Mesoamerica. Arizona State Museum | Watch now »
Video: One Hundred Years Plus of Prescott Culture Archaeology
With Andy Christenson. Christenson briefly critiques the historical past of analysis on post-1100 archaeological websites within the Prescott space and examines a number of the outcomes of reanalysis of chosen elements of earlier collections from Fitzmaurice [Pueblo]. He has been notably excited about what archaeological supplies on room flooring inform us about actions on the web site within the latter a part of its occupation and what its inhabitants might have achieved to formally shut the village upon leaving it. Third Thursday Food for Thought collection (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Watch now »
Video: Culturally Modified Tree Training
Editors’ notice: Most subject archaeologists learn about CMTs, however we thought lots of our different readers would possibly get pleasure from studying about them. This 17-minute video options Tribal specialists displaying archaeologists and cultural useful resource groups the significance and makes use of of CMTs. Although the setting is the Pacific Northwest, the discussions of place and connection are common and provoking. And CMTs are all over the place! Produced by FEMA, Oregon DOT, Historical Research Associates, Inc., and WSP USA | Watch now »
Blog: Why I No Longer Call It “Art”
I’ve been occupied with the facility of phrases, particularly these pertaining to petroglyphs and pictographs, for fairly a while. With the annual assembly of the American Rock Art Research Association (ARARA) going down in Tucson this [past] weekend, I felt the time was ripe—and possibly proper, we’ll see—to elaborate on why I’ve come to keep away from the time period “rock art.” Buckle up; we now have some rocky terrain to cowl. Aaron Wright on the Preservation Archaeology weblog (Archaeology Southwest) | Read extra »
Now in Paperback: Indigenous-Colonial Interaction within the Americas
Routledge Handbook of the Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interaction within the Americas, edited by Lee M. Panich and Sara L. Gonzalez. Routledge, 2023. Learn extra »
Free to Download: Mesquite, a Training Manual for Growers, Harvesters, & Artisans
The recently-released Mesquite Training Manual is meant to assist desert dwellers acquire satisfying livelihoods and livable wages in a restorative (relatively than an extractive) economic system. It was developed by Dr. Gary Nabhan in collaboration with the Borderlands Restoration Network, Regeneration International, Mission Garden, and grasp artisans. Southwest Center (University of Arizona) | Download in English or Spanish »
March Subscription Lectures (Santa Fe NM)
March 20 Thomas Dalton Dillehay, Peopling of South America: Recent Prospects & New Directions; March 27, Nicolasa Chavez, Semana Santa Ritual Ceremonies. Southwest Seminars | Learn extra »
REMINDER: March 16 Online Event: cyberSW, a Digital Gateway
With Jeffery Clark and Joshua Watts (Archaeology Southwest). cyberSW is a big graph database and open-access net platform to facilitate exploration of the US Southwest/Mexico Northwest archaeological document by quite a lot of audiences. The present model of cyberSW incorporates standardized data, on the archaeological web site stage, of room counts and occupation span from greater than 22,000 settlements, 16 million ceramic information, 17,000 geochemically sourced obsidian artifacts, and 1200 websites with ceremonial or public structure. This presentation will talk about the historical past of cyberSW, reveal a number of the capabilities of the present net platform, and discover short- and long-term future instructions. Audience participation and suggestions might be inspired. Third Thursday Food for Thought collection (Old Pueblo Archaeology Center) | Learn extra and register (free) »
REMINDER: March 20 Online Event: Rain and Fertility Symbolism within the Rock Art and Cultural panorama of the Trincheras Sites of Northwestern Sonora
With Julio Amador Bech. Examined collectively and along with ethnohistoric, ethnographic, and astronomical information, we recommend Trincheras archaeology reveals a fancy cultural system that supplied the neighborhood with collective targets transcending the speedy wants of meals, shelter, and protection. The archaeological stays inside their panorama settings are microcosmic expressions of a bigger cosmological scheme involving elevated rituals associated to rain manufacturing and fertility. They reveal the cultural uniqueness that human motion on the panorama adopted in these websites and replicate the advanced cultural relations that this custom had with its neighbors from northwestern and western Mexico in addition to with the American Southwest. Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society | Learn extra and register (free) »
March 23 Online Event: Colorado Ute History and Colonial Land & Water Appropriation
With Amorina Lee-Martinez. The historical past of how Colorado’s rivers have been allotted, dammed, and diverted is inextricable from the historical past of US conquest in Colorado. Amorina researched the historical past of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Dolores Project, which constructed McPhee Dam and diverts water from the Dolores watershed to the San Juan watershed for agricultural and municipal use. Importantly, the Dolores Project honors Ute Mountain Ute reserved water rights. The historical past of Ute individuals, Colorado conquest, and Dolores River administration in southwest Colorado supply insights into the present dynamics of who does and doesn’t profit from the techniques of watershed administration within the Colorado River basin. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Learn extra and register (free) »
March 25 & 26 In-Person Events (Wupatki National Monument, Flagstaff AZ): Sacred Scarlets
Come out to the Wupatki Visitor Center for a singular expertise and presentation by Kelley Taylor of Sacred Scarlets, a non-profit group devoted to preserving Scarlet Macaws and learning their position in southwest archeology. Learn concerning the in depth, fascinating, and mysterious use and commerce of those tropical parrots, referred to as Scarlet Macaws all through the southwest by Ancestral Puebloan individuals, together with these dwelling at Wupatki Pueblo. The presentation will characteristic Sedona and Bonita, two captive-bred Scarlet Macaws, as instructional animal ambassadors. Wupatki National Monument | Find out how to get there »
March 31 Online Event: The Altar Valley Conservation Alliance: Collaborative Conservation in a Polarized West
With Tom Sheridan, Sarah King, and Mary Miller. Founded in 1995, the Altar Valley Conservation Alliance (AVCA) is a grassroots collaborative conservation group of ranchers southwest of Tucson, Arizona. At a time when “Cattle Free in ’93” was a aim of some environmental teams, who wished to take away cattle from federal and state lands, the AVCA positioned itself within the “Radical Center,” bringing ranchers, environmentalists, and company land managers collectively to search widespread floor on Arizona vary lands. Southwest Center (University of Arizona) | Learn extra and register (free) »
April 4 Online Event: Archaeologies that Matter
With Kisha Supernant (University of Alberta). Dr. Supernant will talk about “Archaeologies that Matter: Heart-centered Practice, Indigenous Knowledge, and Restorative Justice in Canada.” Archaeology Café (Archaeology Southwest) | Learn extra and register (free) »
Remember to ship us discover of upcoming on-line and in-person lectures, excursions and workshops, and anything you’d like to share with the Friends. Thanks!
