Preservation Archaeology News - Spring 2009

News from the Center for Desert Archaeology

Viewpoint: Assembling the Pieces of the Puzzle

Center Programs Manager Linda Pierce discusses how a successful partnership between the Center for Desert Archaeology and Phoenix’s Pueblo Grande Museum led to the creation of Pieces of the Puzzle: New Perspectives on the Hohokam, an innovative exhibition that uses museum collections, GIS data, and digital media to lead visitors through our research team’s intellectual process.

Following on the first phase of our National Science Foundation-funded research on the dramatic population decline in the Southwest in the 14th and early 15th centuries, we applied to another NSF program, Communicating Research to Public Audiences, for support to help us convey the interim results of this work. The program is a component of NSF’s Informal Science Education initiative (ISE). The idea behind the program -- and our intention in applying for the funding -- is to disseminate research results, research in progress, or research methods beyond academia. Enabling people to learn about and explore the Southwest’s past through creative and varied means is a critical aspect of the Center’s mission, so this seemed like a good fit.

An issue of Archaeology Southwest devoted to the project was already planned as part of the original 2003 NSF award (see Archaeology Southwest Vol. 22, No. 4, Fall 2008), but we felt that a traveling exhibition would reach an even broader audience and encourage dialogue with Native Americans who identify themselves as descendants of the Hohokam. An exhibition would also allow us to incorporate digital media in ways that would help people visualize the demographic changes the team has reconstructed, and enable visitors to connect with team members as they explained -- in video footage and narration -- the methods that led to those reconstructions.

Pueblo Grande Museum was a logical partner: not only are they focused on interpreting the Hohokam -- an archaeologically-defined culture that flourished in the Sonoran Desert prior to the arrival of Spanish -- but the museum was also one of the main sources of archaeological collections used in the Center’s research. They were enthusiastic about joining with us to produce a new kind of exhibition. We met throughout 2006 to develop the proposal, and submitted it to NSF in December 2006. The grant was awarded in July 2007; work began in earnest in the early spring of 2008.

The exhibit development team was made up of Center staff and associates Brett Hill, Patrick Lyons, Doug Gann, Jeff Clark, and myself. Brett and Patrick were primarily responsible for the intellectual content, and Jeff acted as a consultant -- the three of them comprised the original research team. Doug and his assistants Mat Devitt (see Become Acquainted below) and Kathryn MacFarland produced the digital media components of the exhibition. I served as project coordinator. We were joined by Pueblo Grande staff members Larry Warner, Holly Young, and Stacey Ray. As Curator of Exhibits, Larry was responsible for the design and installation of the exhibition. Holly, the Curator of Collections, selected pieces from the collection and provided curatorial content. Stacey brought the necessary educational and public programming expertise. Additionally, we had several key advisors: Barnaby Lewis, an O’Odham Elder of the Gila River Indian Community; Todd Bostwick, City of Phoenix Archaeologist; and Roger Lidman, Pueblo Grande’s Director. Nancy Mahaney, former director of the Huhugam Heritage Center, was involved in initial planning.

We framed a series of questions that structure the exhibit:

What does Hohokam mean? This is a critically important question, and one that we must explore further in dialogue with descendant communities and through the programs we develop in conjunction with the exhibition. Visitors should understand that there is a meaningful difference between archaeologists’ use of the term “Hohokam” to describe an archaeologically-defined culture and Huhugam, an O’Odham word that specific communities use to designate their ancestors. Population drastically declined, the artifact styles archaeologists call “Hohokam” ceased to be used, and lifeways almost surely changed, but there were still people in the Southwest -- and they had descendants.

How do archaeologists know how old things are? Although archaeologists use many dating techniques, we focus here on how changes in ceramic styles help Center researchers date the occupancy of certain archaeological sites within relatively narrow time frames -- on the order of two or three generations. This, in turn, helps them understand where people moved and when.

How do archaeologists know that ancient people migrated? Here again, we show how researchers use artifact styles to trace the movements of people and interactions among different groups. We also explain how a microscopic analytical technique known as petrography helps archaeologists determine where pottery was made, which in turn enables them to discern if an object was traded, or the people who made those kinds of objects moved and brought that knowledge with them.

How do archaeologists count ancient people? We describe the methods of archaeological demography: counting or estimating the number of rooms at individual sites; deducing which rooms might have been inhabited at about the same time; determining an average number of people per room based on historical and archaeological information; and comparing data over time to elicit patterns. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are specialized computer databases that enhance archaeologists’ ability to compile and analyze these data.

Catastrophe -- or something more complex? The pieces come together as we discuss how the tools and methods described thus far are enabling the Center team to determine that a population decline did occur, and it wasn’t because of a catastrophic event. Rather, it happened gradually, as a century-long process across a broad region -- a process Center researchers call “coalescence.” A suite of social and environmental factors created cycles of increasing concentration of population, which had effects on birth and death rates, as well as political, economic, and religious systems. Population became concentrated at fewer large sites even as it declined. Coalescence led to situations where factors such as disease and conflict could have had further negative effects on overall population.

Exploring these questions takes visitors through the process -- how Center archaeologists came to their conclusions, how archaeologists work. We want to share that intellectual journey, not just “tell” our “answer” or proclaim certain results as the absolute truth. Based on initial comments from visitors, I think we’ve achieved that.

At the same time, the exhibition underscores the Center’s preservation archaeology message: archaeology is more than digging. This research is based on the study of existing data, whether site records or artifact collections. Large-scale excavation was not required to tackle this very complex, big-picture question about population collapse well before the arrival of European diseases. Moreover, the high research potential of existing archival and object collections argues for continued and expanded financial support for the professional care and curation of these collections.

The story of this exhibition is just beginning. It could go well beyond how archaeologists approach a specific question. We hope to build on this partnership and secure funding so that descendant communities can host an expanded exhibition at their cultural centers -- in that sense, we see it as a “conversation starter.” In collaboration with these communities, we’d like to explore and more fully develop the kind of programming that would foster dialogue around these fundamental questions about change and continuity in cultural identities. These conversations would inform changes and additions to this core exhibition -- and provide new pieces of the puzzle!

Become Acquainted: Mathew Devitt

Preservation Archaeologist and Digital Media Specialist Mat Devitt returned to the Center in late December of 2008, and we’re so glad to have him back! From 2001–2006, Mat served as a Center intern and research assistant. He subsequently completed a Master’s Degree in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. Mat and Kate chatted about his background and his new role in late February.

Are you more or less a native Tucsonan? Was there a connection between living here and becoming an archaeologist?

Here seems like as good a place as any to be from. I was born in Germany but moved to the U.S. in the early ‘80s. I moved to Tucson in 1988, though I spent a few months in Germany each year after I first moved here. As to becoming an archaeologist, I blame Tineke Van Zandt! I always say, it’s because of Tineke that I stopped being a professional photographer and became an archaeologist.

Can you elaborate? What was it about Dr. Van Zandt?

Well, I was working full-time as a professional photographer, and I decided to take some classes at Pima [Community College] that looked interesting -- I just wanted to stimulate my brain. I had no real plan for my professional life other than doing photography. Tineke’s class -- it was basically an “intro to archaeology” course -- was my first class back to school. She so obviously loves what she does, and that was affecting. It was at 9:00 in the morning, too, and I’ve never been as on-time for a class that early as I was for Tineke’s classes! After that, I took two more courses with her, and ultimately every archaeology class that Pima had to offer.

How did you end up at the Center?

While attending Pima, I called archaeological organizations in town and asked if they had part-time work or volunteer opportunities. Patrick [Lyons, former Center Preservation Archaeologist and current Research Associate] called me back and offered some volunteer work. I primarily assisted with office tasks and library research at that time. Then, after about 4–6 months, Patrick took me back to the lab, where he had four trays of Salado Polychrome sherds. He asked me to organize them. I’m sure I was a bit taken aback, but he said “just look at them carefully, and group them according to how you think they should be separated.”

Did you think it was a test?

Looking back, yes, it was probably intentional! I must have passed, because I was hired in November of 2001 as a research assistant.

What were your responsibilities after that?

In the first phase, I looked at Salado Polychromes -- and what we called “other interesting ceramics” -- in all of the ceramic type collections from central and southern Arizona. This included collections at the Arizona State Museum, Eastern Arizona College, the Amerind Foundation, and the Archaeological Research Institute at Arizona State University. I also examined collections from ASU’s Roosevelt Community Platform Mound Study in the Tonto Basin of central Arizona. I photographed whole vessels, as well. Our goal was to identify the spatial distributions of various types of Salado Polychrome. That took about two-and-a-half to three years.

After that, I was less directly involved with work on that grant, and switched over to analyzing worked sherds from the Center’s excavations in the Lower San Pedro [River Valley]. I was interested in what types of ceramics became worked sherds, and what choices were made about what parts of broken vessels to keep -- what parts were reused. That led to my Glyphs article [Vol. 56, No. 7, January 2006] on worked sherds, and worked-sherd potrests, which are made from the broken necks of jars. I thought that they might be an indicator of northern migrants. Worked-sherd potrests are more commonly found up north, where they are suited to the shapes of Puebloan vessels. We found two of them at an immigrant enclave site in the San Pedro.

What was your focus in graduate school? What are some of your other research interests?

I went to graduate school to study the Salado phenomenon in northern Mexico. The Center’s NSF research -- the Coalescent Communities Project -- showed that there was a southward migration, the end point of which I believe might be somewhere around the site of Casas Grandes, or Paquimé, in the state of Chihuahua. The subsequent northward migration is where we may see a split between eastern and western Salado traditions. I ended up being very interested in ethics and our responsibility to the archaeological record, indigenous people, and the general populace.

I’m also interested in the rise and fall of the Classical eastern Mediterranean, which seems to provide the best analogue for the kinds of complexity and social problems we have today. I suppose it gets back to the adage about understanding history so as not to repeat it -- Jeff [Clark] said it well in his comment on our website, “I believe archaeology is supposed to take lessons from the past and apply them to the present. Otherwise, what we archaeologists do is just entertainment.”

I started out as an engineering student, so the intersection between technology and cultural interaction has always fascinated me. One usually drives the other, and it’s not often in a positive way. Now that I think about it, this probably also explains why I find myself working at that intersection between technology and public archaeology -- though that use of technology in cultural interaction is more positive.

That’s a good lead-in to explaining your current role and responsibilities. What do you envision for digital media resource development and outreach at the Center?

Doug [Gann] and I design interactive multimedia projects. We create three-dimensional models of archaeological sites and photorealistic 3-D models of artifacts. This is a significant undertaking in this economy: Doug determined recently that the Center has created six interactive multimedia projects for institutions across Arizona, and by this summer, the public probably won’t be able to access any but two of them. We’re shifting the focus of our work to the Internet in part because that’s something agencies can’t take away. That’s the great thing about digital media -- everything we’ve created so far can be converted to an Internet delivery system, and we don’t have to worry about the institution or park being closed.

At the same time, in this global community, it’s important to provide non-local people with access to and information about sites and objects that they might never be able to see directly. When we recreate places and things online, virtually, we greatly expand our audience. Our end goal is to be able to share as much information about the Center’s mission and work and the archaeology of the Southwest as possible. I enable our team to pursue more experimental avenues for doing this -- I research tools and techniques on the cutting edge of archaeological interpretation on the Internet. Right now, I’m exploring ways in which we can use the Internet and free geographic software to disseminate cultural information to a global audience. It’s about finding creative ways to have people want to engage in history and culture so we can better understand one another.

To view some of the digital media team’s past work, check out http://www.cdarc.org/pages/what/current/vv/vv-example-1.html and http://www.youtube.com/user/Chronography. The former is a demonstration page for the Virtual Vault, a joint project with the Arizona State Museum; the latter features a selection of animations that will soon appear at our redesigned website. See www.cdarc.org/pages/how/you_care.php for more of Jeff’s thoughts as cited by Mat and other essays on “What Do the Places of Our Shared Past Mean to You?”

Celebrate: News We’re Proud to Share

In January, the Center published the Little Colorado River Valley National Heritage Area Executive Summary. This full-color, 20-page booklet represents the culmination of five years of combined work by Heritage Program Coordinator Linda Marie Golier, Center founder Bill Doelle, former staff members Anne Goldberg and Jonathan Mabry, and many other community partners. It sets forth the National Heritage Area concept, proposed boundaries, tangible benefits, guidelines, and goals, as well as seven themes that comprise the defining characteristics of the Little Colorado. To learn more about this ongoing effort, visit our website, www.cdarc.org, or send an inquiry to 300 E. University Blvd., Suite 230, Tucson, AZ 85705.

Doug Gann, Mat Devitt, a team of volunteers from the Little Colorado Chapter of the Arizona Archaeological Society, and crews from the Town of Springerville undertook an emergency stabilization project at Casa Malpais -- a unique and important National Historic Landmark in the Little Colorado watershed. Thanks to an $8,500 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Southwest Intervention Fund, two pueblo rooms at this 800-year-old site were saved from imminent collapse through a stabilization process that culminated in backfilling, or refilling the rooms with a clean, sandy fill in order to relieve soil pressure on all sides. You can read more about the project in the newsletter of the Western Region Office of the National Trust: http://www.preservationnation.org/about-us/regional-offices/western/additional-resources/2009_vol-7-NO2EDITsm.pdf.

Zuni Origins has achieved not one, but two important accolades since our last issue: first, it was honored as one of 2008’s Southwest Books of the Year by the Pima County Public Library in partnership with the Friends of the Pima County Public Library and the Arizona Historical Society. This prestigious regional award was announced in an annual publication released by the coalition. Soon after, we learned that Zuni Origins had been selected by CHOICE Magazine as one of 2008’s Outstanding Academic Titles. The list includes 679 books and electronic resources chosen by an editorial panel from among more than 7,000 titles reviewed over the course of the year -- the “best of the best.” Congratulations to editors David A. Gregory (Center for Desert Archaeology), David R. Wilcox (Museum of Northern Arizona), the chapter authors, and everyone who assisted with the production of this seminal work.

Now Showing: Pieces of the Puzzle, New Perspectives on the Hohokam opened to rave reviews on February 12. Center Research Associate Patrick Lyons gave his usual outstanding, witty presentation before leading guests through the exhibition. If you are in the Phoenix area, be sure to stop by Pueblo Grande Museum (www.phoenix.gov/parks/pueblo.html) to see this innovative look at the how the Center has come to view population dynamics in the southern Southwest in late prehistory (and see Viewpoint, this issue, for more on this landmark project). Special thanks to our partners at Pueblo Grande, especially Larry Warner, Curator of Exhibits, Holly Young, Curator of Collections, and Stacey Ray, Public Programs, for their singular contributions to the successful realization of the exhibition, which runs through spring of 2010.

Aaron Wright just reported that as of March 31, he has inventoried 2,100 petroglyphs in Phoenix’s South Mountains. Congratulations to Aaron and his team!

Pat yourselves on the back again! Our year-end fundraising campaign has brought in more than $12,000 to date. All of us at the Center wish to express our sincerest thanks for your generous and continued support. Together, we preserve the places of our shared past not simply for ourselves, but for future generations -- because it matters.

Participate: Events and Opportunities

The Center’s Board of Directors is pleased to announce Sunday Tea and Archaeology, a special, new benefit for our most generous supporters. Members and donors who make annual gifts of $500 or more are now invited to this exclusive series. These Sunday afternoon high teas at historic places such as the Arizona Inn provide an unparalleled opportunity to meet Archaeology Southwest authors and learn more about the topics explored in each issue of our award-winning magazine. These events are held quarterly. On June 7, archaeologist John Roney will share the latest findings regarding the development and spread of agriculture in the prehistoric Southwest. On September 13, noted historian Bernard L. (Bunny) Fontana will tell the story of Tucson’s own San Xavier Mission and recent conservation efforts that have restored this “White Dove of the Desert” to its former glory. Center Patrons, Heritage Circle members, and other special donors are invited to the Tea and Archaeology series. To make a gift or learn more about how you can be included in this group, please contact Linda Pierce at lpierce@cdarc.org or 520-882-6946.

We’re winding up the 2008–2009 season of our wildly popular Archaeology Café series with a panel discussion on the Las Capas site on Tuesday, May 5, 2009. Please check our website, www.cdarc.org, for more information on the May 5th meeting as it develops. We welcome your suggestions for speakers and topics for our next season, which should begin in September 2009 and continue through May of 2010. Email us at center@cdarc.org and put “Archaeology Café” in the subject line. Already we are hearing a great deal of interest in Apache history and archaeology, as well as downtown Tucson archaeology and history.

Our 2008 Annual Report should be arriving in your mailbox later this spring. We welcome your comments.

If you are in the Four Corners area next month, join Preservation Archaeologist Paul Reed for a tour of Salmon Pueblo on Saturday, May 23, at 10:00 am, in celebration of New Mexico Historic Preservation Month. Although the tour is free, reservations are required. Contact Salmon Ruins Museum for further information: (505) 632-2013.

Bookshelf: Remembering Awatovi

Arkansas State Archaeologist Emerita and Center Advisory Board member Hester Davis conveys the congeniality of life and the historical significance of work at Awatovi in the late 1930s.

Richly illustrated with more than 160 images of camp life -- including portraits of nicknamed automobiles -- and peppered with personal accounts, hand drawings, typewritten lists, even an ode to cinnamon rolls, Davis’s loving treatment is not, in fact, a memoir: she was nine years old at the time her older brother and sister worked on the Peabody Museum’s Awatovi Expedition, and her first visit to the site occurred in 1991. Not long before that encounter, as the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the renowned expedition passed, Davis had an idea to undertake this archaeological history: “It would be fun, I thought, to make a record of what the people who were part of those five years remembered about their experiences on this last of the grand expeditions in the United States,” (xix).

In addition to her own family members, Davis interviewed and corresponded with about twenty of the original participants, many of whom had since become known to her through the course of her own distinguished career in archaeology. She was also in contact with surviving Hopi crew members, as well as the families of those who had passed. Many visits to homes and archives -- and quite a few boxes of documents -- later, Davis compiled this detailed, very personal story of one of the most celebrated and influential projects in early modern American archaeology. As Brian Fagan notes in his thoughtful foreword, the Harvard expedition to remote Antelope Mesa became legendary not only for its incredible findings, interdisciplinary studies, superior organization, and rotating cast of important, infamous and soon-to-be famous characters, but also for its lively civility, its sense of purpose and fun.

An introductory essay by Eric Polingyouma conveying the Hopi history of the place known as Awat’ovi provides a deeper understanding and orientation. Davis follows with a more general history of Awatovi and scholarly interest in it. She continues with chapters detailing the conception and establishment of the project -- including the recruitment of key staff and Hopi crew members; work in the first season; the expansion of the team and building of the permanent camp over successive seasons; the trusty field vehicles and tricky weather conditions; the tender vagaries of camp life and unforgettable experiences -- pianos, weddings, decomposing easy chairs; the cook’s singular artistry; the scores of visitors; the precipitous end of the expedition; and the enduring scientific and methodological contributions it has made to Southwestern archaeology.

Davis’s personal narrative style only adds to the warmth and charm of this wonderfully readable historiography.

Remembering Awatovi: The Story of an Archaeological Expedition in Northern Arizona, 1935–1939, by Hester A. Davis, with contributions by Eric Polingyouma and Brian Fagan. Peabody Museum Monographs No. 10, Harvard University Press, 2008. $35.00 hardcover, $18.95 paperback.

*************************************************************
The Center for Desert Archaeology is a private nonprofit organization that promotes the stewardship of archaeological and historical resources in the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest through active research, preservation efforts, and public education.

You can help us pursue this mission by becoming a member or making a donation
on-line at http://www.cdarc.org/pages/getinvolved/. Thank you!

Board of Directors
William H. Doelle, President
Al Arpad, Vice President
Bernard Siquieros, Secretary
Peter Boyle, Treasurer
Demion Clinco, member-at-large
Diana Hadley, member-at-large

Advisory Board
Hester A. Davis, Arkansas Archaeological Survey (retired)
Don D. Fowler, University of Nevada, Reno
William D. Lipe, Washington State University
Margaret Nelson, Arizona State University
William J. Robinson, University of Arizona Tree Ring Lab (retired)
James Snead, George Mason University
Elisa Villalpando, Centro INAH Sonora

Contact us at:
http://www.cdarc.org

Center for Desert Archaeology
300 E. University Blvd., Ste. 230
Tucson, AZ 85705 USA
phone: 520-882-6946
fax: 520-882-6948

Preservation Archaeology News, September 2007

Update: Progress on Preservation Efforts at Camp Naco

Center President Bill Doelle shares up-to-the-minute information about efforts to save the endangered adobe military complex.

Many of our readers are aware of the rich history and grim state of Camp Naco (sometimes called Camp Newell) as reported in the fall 2006 issue of Archaeology Southwest. Built between 1919 and 1923, the installation first housed military personnel during the Mexican Border Defense campaign and later served as a base camp for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Troops encamped at the facility included units of the renowned Buffalo Soldiers. The only Western camp made of adobe—and, ironically, the only one that remains fairly intact—Camp Naco has suffered tragic vandalism, severe erosion, and disastrous arson.

The Camp Naco Arizona Preservation Committee (CNAPC) and the Town of Huachuca City now lead the charge to rehabilitate and preserve Camp Naco. On May 19th, volunteers from the Fort Huachuca Basic Officer Leadership Course helped remove extensive brush and trash in and around the structures. Soon afterwards, Huachuca City secured an award from the Arizona Heritage Fund, and we helped the CNAPC obtain an additional $17,500 in funding from the Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation. As a result of the CNAPC’s efforts and those of a host of concerned partners, on August 30th Camp Naco was declared one of Arizona’s Most Endangered Historic Places. This designation by the Arizona Preservation Foundation raises awareness of the Camp’s historic significance and critical state. Moreover, the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office has determined that the site is eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places as a military district, and the CNAPC plans to submit a full National Register nomination form in early 2008. And I’m pleased to report that I learned on September 17th that the Town of Huachuca City will contract with asbestos abatement specialists and a fencing company in the very near future. These are two essential steps in protecting Camp Naco and preparing it for access by a team of University of Arizona students led by Brooks Jeffery who will conduct a thorough condition assessment of the remaining structures. Everyone involved should be truly proud of their work on behalf of this historic resource.

Camp Naco still desperately needs your help. To find out more, contact Debby Swartzwelder, Secretary of the Camp Naco Arizona Preservation Committee, at debby_j@cox.net.

To read about other endangered places in Arizona, check out http://www.azpreservation.org/c_endangered.php.

To order the issue of Archaeology Southwest that features Camp Naco and archaeology of the borderlands, click here: http://www.cdarc.org/store/.


Speak Out: Lower San Pedro Valley Threatened

A proposed interstate bypass could impact a region rich with 12,000 years of human heritage. Find out what’s going on and what you can do about it.

As our regular readers and visitors to the Center may know, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has been conducting preliminary assessment of the necessity and feasibility of a transportation corridor (or “bypass”) from the Buckeye area to eastern Arizona. One of the proposed routes would result in an interstate highway running directly through the Lower San Pedro River Valley. Center staff and associates are monitoring the situation closely and advocating against this route and several alternatives because of the serious threat posed to irreplaceable cultural resources. As of early September, ADOT officials have indicated that the San Pedro route remains under consideration. ADOT will present its findings to the Arizona Board of Transportation in October and the public in November. Time is of the essence—you must act now!

To read more about the plan and organized, community-based opposition to it, visit the extensive and informative website of the Cascabel Working Group, residents and land owners of the Middle San Pedro Valley (roughly from the Tres Alamos Wash Bridge to the San Manuel city limits) who have voluntarily joined together in protest: http://i10bypassinfo.us.

For more information about the ADOT assessment, and to provide your comments to ADOT via an electronic form, go to http://tpd.azdot.gov/planning/i10bypass.php.

The Cascabel Working Group website offers additional options for voicing your concerns to ADOT.

Thank you for acting to preserve our shared heritage in the San Pedro!


Become Acquainted: Deborah Huntley and Kate Sarther

In early September two new staff members joined the Center family. We hope you’ll join us in extending a warm welcome to Preservation Archaeologist Deborah Huntley and Membership Coordinator Kate Sarther.

Deborah Huntley
Although Deb’s expertise is in Southwestern prehistory, particularly ceramic studies, she has worked on archaeological projects in Arizona, New Mexico, southern California, and even Germany.

Deb completed her undergraduate studies in Anthropology at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1991. She received her Master’s degree in 1995 (in Anthropology and Museum Studies) and her Doctoral degree in Anthropology in 2004, both from Arizona State University. Deb worked for several years in Cultural Resource Management in San Diego, California, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. She also has taught Anthropology courses at several Arizona and New Mexico community colleges.

Kate Sarther
Kate’s archaeological career began at the University of Chicago, where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations and assisted the Collections staff at the Oriental Institute Museum for many years. Her professional training in archaeological preservation and collections management landed her in Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Crete, and ultimately Tucson, where she received a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Arizona in 1997.

During her tenure as assistant curator in the Archaeological Repository at the Arizona State Museum, Kate focused on the curation challenges embodied by older collections as well as the storage crisis incurred by exponential growth in new collections throughout the American Southwest.

Read more about Deb and Kate here:
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/about/kate.php
http://www.cdarc.org/pages/about/d_huntley.php


Participate: Events and Resources You Should Know About

Monthly
One Friday each month, the Center opens its doors—and sometimes a few closets—for a Behind the Scenes tour and overview of current projects. Please contact Linda or Kate if you’d like to join us, (520) 882-6946, kate@cdarc.org, or lpierce@cdarc.org.

Saturday, October 13, 2007
Open House and Publication Clearance Sale! 40-60% off
From 9:00 a.m. to noon, meet Center staff, learn about ongoing projects, and tour our facility. Browse titles in the Center’s shady courtyard or go online that day to take advantage of these deep discounts on almost all of our publications.
The Center is located in the historic YWCA building at 300 E. University Boulevard, just west of the intersection of 4th Avenue and University Blvd. Street parking is available in the surrounding area, and check www.cdarc.org for updated parking information prior to the event. To check out our online store, go to www.cdarc.org/store/.

Wednesday, October 17, 31 & November 14, 2007
Prehistorical Oracle: Ballcourts, Ruins, Rock Art
Join archaeologist and former Center staff member Sarah Luchetta to learn why Oracle was an important region within the prehistoric Southwest. In this series of lectures and field trips, you’ll visit Hohokam sites in the Black Mountains west of Oracle, the Romero Ruins at Catalina State Park, and the Baby Jesus Rock Art Site at the base of the Catalinas.
Offered through Central Arizona College, the class will be held at Oracle State Park from 6:00–7:30 p.m. To register, call Priscilla at Central Arizona College, (520) 357-2817. The series is $75 for three Wednesday evening lectures and three Saturday field trips (Oct. 20, Nov. 3 & 17, from 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.).

Thursday, November 1, 2007
Center President Bill Doelle will address a private gathering of the Bisbee Corral of the Westerners on Prehistoric Population Collapse in the Southern Southwest: A Perspective from the San Pedro Valley. To have Bill speak to your organization, contact Kate at (520) 882-6946 or kate@cdarc.org.

Monday, December 17, 2007
The Center’s own Doug Gann will share his perspective on Preservation Archaeology at Casa Malpais as part of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society’s (AAHS) Lecture Series. Meetings are held at the University Medical Center’s Duval Auditorium from 7:30–9:00 p.m., and are open to the public.

Everyday
Temperatures drop, shadows grow long—time to get out there! Did you know that the Center’s website features visitors’ guides to most of the major publicly accessible archaeological sites in the Southwest? Experience the resources you’re helping to preserve. Check out Visiting Places of the Past at http://www.cdarc.org/pages/library/online_exhibit_visit.php.


This just in!

Delayed, but coming soon—a special 20-page issue of Archaeology Southwest on “The Hohokam Archaeology of the Tucson Basin.”

The summer issue of ESRI’s e-zine, ArcUser, features an article by J. Brett Hill (Center for Desert Archaeology), Mathew Devitt (University of New Mexico, former CDA), and Marina Sergeyeva (University of Illinois) entitled “Understanding Past and Future Land Use: Modeling Archaeological Sensitivity.” To read about how the team employed GIS data to create an archaeological sensitivity map of Santa Cruz County, which in turn aids development planning in the proposed Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, go to
http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0507/pastlanduse.html.


*************************************************************
The Center for Desert Archaeology is a private nonprofit organization that promotes the stewardship of archaeological and historical resources in the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest through active research, preservation efforts, and public education.

You can help us pursue this mission by becoming a member or making a donation
on-line at http://www.cdarc.org/pages/getinvolved/. Thank you!

Board of Directors
William H. Doelle, President
Al Arpad, Vice President
Bernard Siquieros, Secretary
Peter Boyle, Treasurer
Diana Hadley, member-at-large

Advisory Board
Hester A. Davis, Arkansas Archaeological Survey (retired)
Don D. Fowler, University of Nevada, Reno
William D. Lipe, Washington State University
Margaret Nelson, Arizona State University
William J. Robinson, University of Arizona Tree Ring Lab (retired)
James Snead, George Mason University
Elisa Villalpando, Centro INAH Sonora

Contact us at:
http://www.cdarc.org

Center for Desert Archaeology
300 E. University Blvd., Ste. 230
Tucson, AZ 85705 USA
phone: 520-882-6946
fax: 520-882-6948