Depictions of archaeology in popular culture are full of dubious tales of ancient extraterrestrials, lost civilizations, giants, and widespread scientific conspiracy. In this talk, I will explore such fantastic claims focusing in particular on a few popular claims here in our own backyard in Arizona. My goal is not to simply “debunk” these claims (though I will do that too) but to further […]

The Patayan cultural tradition is one of the least understood archaeological constructs in the Greater Southwest. While recognized nearly 90 years ago as a distinct assemblage of material culture traits centered on the lower Colorado River, research has always been hampered by poor chronological control. Few Patayan archaeological sites have been excavated, and of those […]

The Powder River Basin west of Kaycee, Wyoming is rich with history. The lush basin east of the Big Horn Mountains, known now as Hole in the Rock, was home to Indigenous people for centuries who left images on the red sandstone canyon walls and in alcoves. The Basin was also the site of the […]

A recently published book reports the results of Rex Gerald's 1957 excavations, sponsored by the Amerind Foundation, at the Davis Ranch Site, in southeastern Arizona's San Pedro River Valley. In this presentation, I will summarize Gerald's findings as well as the results of recent studies, placing Gerald's work in the context of what is currently […]

 Previous documentation of petroglyph panels with apparent archaeoastronomical associations at Horseshoe Mesa (WS834) in Wupatki National Monument, Arizona, raised questions about the recording methodologies. The solar effects had been documented only on solstices and equinoxes, using tightly cropped still photographs, “freezing” a moving event and removing the interaction from the context of the panel. This […]

Our annual holiday potluck and research slam will be held at Archaeology Southwest this year. There is ample parking across the Franklin Ave opposite Ash Alley. Please bring a dish to share and plenty of cash to vote on your favorite presenter in the Research Slam. The drinks are on us. This year only those […]

Chasing Centuries is a one-of-a-kind travel-history presentation based up a recently published book of the same name (Sunbelt Publications -- Jan 2019) that takes the reader along on an exciting and little-known adventure at the crossroads of archaeology and botany. Travel with author Ron Parker as he explores the depth and duration of human/agave coevolution […]

For over a century, archaeology got the history of the ancient Southwest wrong.  So argues Steve Lekson as he advocates for an entirely new approach – one that separates archaeological thought in the Southwest from its anthropological home and moves it to more historical ways of thinking.  Focusing on the enigmatic monumental center at Chaco […]

Used book sale continues

Fifteen years of rock art recording on four major petroglyph sites in Southern Arizona has enabled assembly of motif details, drawings, and photographs of more than 16,000 glyphs located in landscapes with similar characteristics. By applying the scientific method to the collected and organized data, by working with ethnographic accounts and linguistic analysis by others, […]