Archaeology Southwest

FOR THREE DECADES, ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTHWEST HAS PRACTICED A HOLISTIC, CONSERVATION-BASED APPROACH TO EXPLORING PLACES OF THE PAST. WE CALL THIS PRESERVATION ARCHAEOLOGY. WE FOSTER MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS TO THE PAST AND RESPECTFULLY SAFEGUARD ITS IRREPLACEABLE RESOURCES.

2021 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS OUTREACH & EDUCATION2021 MEANT THE RETURN OF SOME OF ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTHWEST'S IN-PERSON ACTIVITIES. WE HELD FIVE HANDS-ON ARCHAEOLOGY CLASSES AND PROVIDED ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY DEMOS AND TALKS AT 12 DIFFERENT EVENTS IN PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA AND IN GRANT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO. WE BEGAN CONSTRUCTION ON AN EARLY AGRICULTURAL PIT HOUSE TO BE USED IN INTERPRETATION AT THE PRESIDIO MUSEUM IN TUCSON. THE ARCHAEOLOGY CAF LECTURE SERIES CONTINUED IN ITS VIRTUAL FORMAT, SHARING EIGHT PROGRAMS WITH A WORLDWIDE AUDIENCE. THE UPSIDE TO HOSTING THIS PROGRAM ONLINE IS THE VAST AUDIENCE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO REACH IN SOME CASES, OUR AUDIENCES DOUBLED OR EVEN TRIPLED. THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE FOR THE 2021-2022 SERIES ON AVIAN ARCHAEOLOGY WHICH BROKE PREVIOUS ATTENDANCE RECORDS. WE PUBLISHED THREE ISSUES OF ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTHWEST MAGAZINE: "'IIHOR KWSNAVK: CONNECTING AND COLLABORATING IN THE GREAT BEND," "FOOTPRINTS IN THE MIDDLE SAN JUAN, AND "REVISITING BIRDS IN THE SOUTHWEST."GREAT BEND OF THE GILA 2021 REPRESENTED REAL MOMENTUM ON OUR COALITION'S CAMPAIGN TO PERMANENTLY PROTECT PUBLIC LANDS IN THE GREAT BEND OF THE GILA, A STRETCH OF RIVER VALLEY AND SURROUNDING SONORAN DESERT IN SOUTHWESTERN ARIZONA BETWEEN METRO PHOENIX AND YUMA. THE RESPECT GREAT BEND COALITION IS LED BY ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTHWEST AND THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY. EACH OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS HAS BEEN WORKING TOWARD THIS GOAL FOR A DECADE OR MORE. THE GREAT BEND IS AN EXTRAORDINARY NEXUS OF NATURAL, CULTURAL, GEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE THAT HAS SHAPED MUCH OF THE SOUTHWEST'S HISTORY AND HERITAGE. ITS PUBLIC LANDS MUST BE PROTECTED IN A WAY THAT RECOGNIZES THESE LANDSCAPES' CULTURAL, HISTORICAL, AND NATURAL VALUES.TO DATE, THE CAMPAIGN NOW HAS A DEDICATED WEBSITE, RESPECTGREATBEND.ORG, AND A VIBRANT PRESENCE ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, TWITTER, AND YOUTUBE; TWO SHORT FILMS BY PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING PHOTOJOURNALIST DAVID WALLACE; AND A DIGITAL STORY MAP UNDER DEVELOPMENT IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR COALITION PARTNERS AT THE CONSERVATION LANDS FOUNDATION.THE GREATER CHACO LANDSCAPE2021 SAW FURTHER PROGRESS ON OUR COALITION'S BROADLY SUPPORTED EFFORTS TO PERMANENTLY PROTECT A ZONE AROUND CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK FROM OIL-GAS LEASING, AND TO PROTECT HERITAGE PLACES ON PUBLIC LANDS IN THE GREATER CHACO LANDSCAPE MORE GENERALLY. WORK ON INITIATIVES RELATED TO FEDERAL REVIEW OF OIL-GAS LEASING ACROSS THE U.S. RESULTED IN A WHITE PAPER ON THE FINDINGS HIGHLIGHTED IN A NATIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE FALL. WE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED THAT THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT SHOULD TAKE A MUCH MORE ACTIVE AND HANDS-ON ROLE IN THE PLANNING AND EXECUTION OF OIL-GAS LEASING ACROSS THE WEST. WE WERE THRILLED WHEN SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR DEBRA HAALAND ANNOUNCED THE WITHDRAWAL OF 351,000 ACRES FROM FEDERAL OIL-GAS LEASING FOR 20 YEARS IN THE 10-MILE ZONE SURROUNDING CHACO CANYON. RESEARCHWE COMPLETED A TWO-VOLUME SITE MONITORING, DAMAGE MITIGATION, AND RESEARCH PLAN FOR 57 ANCESTRAL HERITAGE SITES IN THE BACKCOUNTRY OF TONTO NATIONAL MONUMENT. RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS CONTINUED ON THE RAYMOND F. ROBINSON COLLECTION, A LEGACY COLLECTION PRIMARILY FROM SITES IN THE SAFFORD BASIN AND SAN PEDRO RIVER VALLEY. DATA FROM THE ANALYSES ARE NOW IN CYBERSW, AND THE TEAM AUTHORED A PRESENTATION ON ONE OF THE SITES FOR THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY.FIELDWORK WRAPPED UP ON THE LOWER GILA RIVER ETHNOGRAPHIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROJECT AND A PETROGLYPH INVENTORY OF OVER 5,000 GLYPHS WAS COMPLETED FOR THE GILLESPIE NARROWS. WE ALSO FINISHED MAPPING AND DOCUMENTATION OF THE ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL KOMADK TRAIL THROUGH THE SONORAN DESERT NATIONAL MONUMENT. CYBERSWCYBERSW IS ONE OF THE LARGEST RESEARCH DATABASESIN TERMS OF VOLUME AND VARIETY OF DATAIN THE WORLD. FOCUSED ON THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST AND MEXICAN NORTHWEST, THE WEBSITE AND UNDERLYING GRAPH DATABASE PROVIDE A POWERFUL TOOLKIT FOR GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE BREAKING ACTUAL GROUND. PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS IN 2021 INCLUDE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRIBAL WORKING GROUP TO GUIDE DEVELOPMENT, HELP ESTABLISH PRIORITIES, AND HELP EXPAND THE PLATFORM TO INCLUDE DATA OF INTEREST TO TRIBES; AND THE INCLUSION OF INTRASITE, OR HOUSEHOLD-LEVEL INFORMATION TO THE DATABASE, SIMILAR TO WHAT THE US CENSUS COLLECTS, THEREBY EXPANDING OUR USER BASE TO GEOGRAPHERS AND OTHER SCIENTISTS WHO USE SUCH DATA, AS WELL AS ENCOURAGING CROSS-DISCIPLINARY RESEARCH ON HOUSEHOLDS PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.LANDSCAPE AND SITE PRESERVATIONWE CREATED OUR FIRST STRATEGIC PLAN SPECIFIC TO ARCHAEOLOGY SOUTHWEST'S LANDSCAPE AND SITE PRESERVATION PROGRAM. THIS ROBUST PLAN MANDATES A STEPWISE TRANSITION FROM OUR PRIOR, LARGELY OPPORTUNISTIC ACQUISITION STRATEGY TO A MORE DELIBERATE DEPLOYMENT OF OUR 22 PRESERVES IN PURSUIT OF OUR GOALS, MISSION, AND VISION. IT EXPLICITLY RECOGNIZES INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AS CO-OWNERS AND COMMITS TO COLLABORATIVE STEWARDSHIP WITH INTERESTED TRIBAL OFFICIALS. ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE CRIME RESPONSE & PREVENTIONSINCE 2018 WE HAVE BEEN HELPING THE BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, WESTERN REGION OFFICE, TO IMPLEMENT AND ENFORCE THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES PROTECTION ACT (ARPA), A FEDERAL LAW THAT PROTECTS ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCES ON TRIBAL AND FEDERAL LANDS. THERE ARE SEVERAL DIMENSIONS TO THIS ARPA ASSISTANCE INITIATIVEDETECTING VIOLATIONS, MONITORING VULNERABLE SITES, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO REPORT INCIDENTS, RESPONDING TO THOSE REPORTS, REMEDIATING DAMAGE, AND ULTIMATELY PREVENTING ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE CRIME (ARC) BY PROMOTING HERITAGE STEWARDSHIP. WITH OUR BIA COLLEAGUES, WE CONDUCTED THREE DAMAGE ASSESSMENTS OF POSSIBLE ARPA VIOLATIONS ON TRIBAL AND FEDERAL LAND IN ARIZONA; ASSISTED IN DAMAGE ASSESSMENT TRAINING WITH THE STAFF OF THE WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE TRIBAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE; RAISED AWARENESS OF ARC AND THE VERY REAL TOLL IT TAKES ON INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES; AND GREW THE REACH AND CONTENT LIBRARY OF THE SAVE HISTORY CAMPAIGN (SAVEHISTORY.ORG).PRESERVATION ARCHAEOLOGY TRAINING 2021 WAS THE PRESERVATION ARCHAEOLOGY FIELD SCHOOL'S FIRST SEASON BACK AFTER THE PANDEMIC HIATUS OF 2020. THROUGH THIS PROGRAM WE HAVE HELPED A DIVERSE GROUP OF OUTSTANDING STUDENTS GAIN EXPERIENCE IN HANDS-ON SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH. OF OUR 88 UNDERGRADUATES SINCE 2014, 60% HAVE BEEN FROM GROUPS HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED IN ARCHAEOLOGY, INCLUDING 35 STUDENTS FROM COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND SMALL COLLEGES. OUR TEAM HAS INCLUDED STUDENTS AND STAFF MEMBERS WHO SELF-IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC (18%), BOTH ASIAN AND HISPANIC (5%), ASIAN AMERICAN (3%), NATIVE AMERICAN (7%), AND AFRICAN AMERICAN (5%). OUR GROUP HAS INCLUDED MANY NONTRADITIONAL STUDENTS AND FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS, AND 7 ARMED FORCES VETERANS. ABOUT 65% OF OUR FIELD SCHOOL ALUMNI HAVE CONTINUED TO WORK PROFESSIONALLY OR EARN GRADUATE DEGREES (OR BOTH) IN ARCHAEOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY, AND CLOSELY RELATED FIELDS. MORE THAN 25% OF OUR STUDENT ALUMNI HAVE CONTINUED ON TO GRADUATE PROGRAMS IN ANTHROPOLOGY, AND OVER 55% ARE NOW EMPLOYED IN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY-ADJACENT POSITIONS IN STATE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES AND PRIVATE CULTURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FIRMS.