[Source: Verde Independent] – Arizona State Parks Director Bryan Martyn is coordinating public meetings and will travel across the state in a new program called “The Director’s Historic and Archaeological Preservation Series,” which will focus on Arizona‘s historic and cultural treasures.
The Arizona State Parks department not only manages all 27 State Parks, but also the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which has various roles in 90 communities across the State. Martyn will engage local leaders, residents, museum leaders and other preservation enthusiasts in discussions about Arizona‘s important historic and archaeological resources.
SHPO manages the nationally acclaimed Site Steward program that protects archaeological resources throughout Arizona. The program has more than 1,000 volunteers to oversee millions of acres of state/federal and tribal land. (Watch video: Harrison Ford www.AZStateparks.com/SHPO/index.html). The SHPO also reviews properties for the National Register of Historic Places, reviews actions that might affect historic properties, provides technical assistance to historic property owners and Certified Local Governments, and oversees historic matching grants.
“I am planning meetings about our important historic and archaeological resources that need to be preserved and promoted for tourism, such as the historic State Parks. But I also am interested in supporting the “Main Street Program” which is now managed by the State Historic Preservation Office. I hope to start a dialogue about how we can work together to protect resources and re-adapt or re-use historic resources and focus on how these resources provide economic benefits for the communities. My goal is to bring attention to critical historic structures and how they could be protected through adaptive re-use.”
A schedule of each town visited will be posted on AZStateParks.com (Director’s Series) and the public is welcome to contact him about issues in their communities as they relate to historic and cultural resources and talk with him while he is there. Follow the series on Twitter and Facebook at AZStateParks. If you would like to contact the director, email [email protected]. (Below are preliminary sites to visit with a final schedule posted on the website weekly.)
For more information about the Director’s Historic and Archaeological Preservation Series or for information about all of the Arizona State Parks visit AZStateParks.com or call (602) 542-4174.
[Source: Sonoran News.com] – J. Scott Wood, Tonto National Forest Archaeologist and Heritage Manager was nominated by two chapters of the Arizona Archaeological Society (AAS) and selected to receive their prestigious Professional Archaeologist Award for 2011. Ron Robinson, outgoing President of the AAS will present Scott with this award at the AAS State Meeting, held October 14-16, in Benson, Arizona at the Cochise Community College-Benson. The official presentation will be Saturday, October 15th, following a member dinner and silent auction.
An MA archaeology graduate from ASU, Scott has worked at Pueblo Grande Museum and at the ASU Office of Cultural Resource Management. His career with the Forest Service began 35 years ago and he is widely considered an expert on the Tonto National Forest, particularly because of his knowledge in ceramics. He has authored and co-authored dozens of publications and articles and his book, Checklist of Pottery Types for the Tonto National Forest is referenced all over the world.
Scott is currently an AAS member and professional consultant for both the Desert Foothills Chapter (DFC) in Cave Creek and the Rim Country Chapter (RCC) located in Payson. Scott has taught AAS workshops, held field schools, lectured at seven state-wide chapters and led hikes to areas of member interest. He has involved AAS members in various professional projects including a recent partnership with ASU students and Professor David Abbott, where, under Scott’s direction, DFC members gathered Hohokam pottery on Perry Mesa and then sorted the ceramics for further study. DFC President Paddi Mozilo says, “Our success as a chapter is due to Scott’s ongoing and enthusiastic support and advice; he has given all our members a deeper appreciation and involvement in the field of archaeology.”
In addition to his extensive AAS volunteer schedule and his duties as a Tonto Forest Archaeologist, Scott has many state-wide site interests. He has trained the vast majority of site stewards in the Site Steward Program, developed by the Arizona State Parks Department. He is involved in the protection and conservation of many rock art and archaeological sites around the state, recently collaborating with the City of Payson to develop the Goat Ruin Site as a public attraction. RCC President Evelyn Christian is grateful for the chance to have its members be a part of the survey, stabilization and protection of this site. She believes that, “without Scott, this site would not have gotten the attention and protection that it merits. He is leading Payson’s efforts to prepare this site for future public education and enjoyment.”
AAS State President Ron Robinson is pleased to be able to present Scott with this award. He notes that Scott attends all of the AAS State Meetings and goes out of his way to make himself available to members for questions and discussion. “Scott’s knowledge and expertise have made him an invaluable contributor to the growth and education of all AAS members. We hope that this award will demonstrate how much we appreciate him and all he does on our behalf.”
The AAS is an independent and non-profit organization with twelve chapters and over 600 professional and avocational members. The goals of the AAS are to foster public awareness, interest, research and conservation of Arizona’s rich archaeological heritage, with special emphasis on protecting these scarce resources. AAS members enjoy lectures, classes, hikes and certification training in different facets of archaeology. Please check the AAS website at www.aarchsoc.org for more information and to find a chapter near you.
Join Ranger Chad at Homolovi State Park for a tour of Homolovi IV, one of the park’s archaeological sites not usually open to the public. The pueblo consisted of approximately 150 masonry rooms built in a step-wise fashion down the sides of a small butte on the west side of the Little Colorado River. It was occupied for a short time in the late 1200s, but the site also includes petroglyphs from a much earlier time. The Homolovi Research Program excavated this site for the first time in 1989.
Homolovi IV tours will take place this fall on the following dates: September 24, October 1, October 2 (in conjunction with Flagstaff Festival of Science), October 8, October 15, October 22 and October 29, weather permitting. The tours will begin at the Homolovi State Park Visitor Center at 10:00AM and be finished by 12:30PM and are limited to 15 participants. Please call the park to reserve your spot on the tour of your choice (928) 289-4106.
Normal fees apply for special events/day use: $7 per vehicle with up to 4 adults, and $3 for each additional adult. Camping fees are $18 if you do not use the electricity and $25 if you need the electricity. For more information call Homolovi at (928) 289-4106, located five miles northeast of Winslow, Arizona off of I-40 (exit 257 on State Road 87). The park campground is convenient to I-40 and accommodates large rigs, as well as tent camping. For more information about the 30 State Parks, statewide hiking opportunities, off-highway vehicle trails, and other outdoor recreational and cultural opportunities in Arizona, call (602) 542-4174 (outside of the Phoenix metro area call toll-free (800) 285-3703) or visit AZStateParks.com. Visit AZStateParks on Facebook and Twitter or you can load the “Oh, Ranger! ParkFinder” mobile app for your smartphone. The link is: http://www.ohranger.com/app/parkfinder.
Somewhere out there, there’s a modern Western explorer who decided he had something so important to say that it had to be slathered in silver paint on a remote rock wall full of ancient petroglyphs in the national forest.
The mysterious etchings depicting people, animals and a blazing sun are in a box canyon known as Keyhole Sink in the Kaibab National Forest east of Williams, a mountain town off Interstate 40 that has welcomed sojourners since its namesake, fur trapper “Old Bill” Williams, explored the locale in the early to mid-1800s.
The pristine rock art in Keyhole Sink was a silent reminder of the ancient culture that long flourished in northern Arizona, and it stood unaltered for at least 1,000 years. That all changed in August, when someone painted “ACE” on top of the petroglyphs in sloppy, dripping letters. Under the defacement is an indistinguishable glop of paint that could be more lettering.
Kaibab officials aren’t sure exactly what it says, nor what it means, other than a potentially expensive restoration job that might not work. Investigators are trying to find the culprits but have no suspects.
“It’s beyond words,” Kaibab archaeologist Neil Weintraub said of the damage. “It feels like an attack on this site. What has it done except give people pleasure for years?”
The damage at Keyhole Sink is a fresh reminder of the ongoing assault on ancient archaeological sites in Arizona and across the Southwest – graffiti, looting of artifacts, littering and garbage-dumping. Sites are defaced with paint, bullet marks, paintball stains and messages scratched into rocks. Professional thieves remove pottery, hack out chunks of ancient art-covered rock and dislodge anything they can carry away.
The sites are vulnerable because they’re not behind locked doors. They are operated on the assumption that visitors will behave, since monitoring is intermittent at many of these locations. There aren’t enough people, either paid or volunteer, to check them frequently. There are simply too many sites. Often, they’re hard to reach.
“We can’t monitor them all, and neither can the land managers,” said Nicole Armstrong-Best, interim coordinator for Arizona’s Site Stewards program. The program oversees a group of volunteers who monitor local, state and federal sites all over the state.
There are about 800 volunteer stewards who monitor the 3,000 most significant or most affected sites the program tracks. Armstrong-Best said there are thousands of other sites – both known and undiscovered – not being watched.
More than 130 vandalism reports have been filed by the stewards since October 2009, when a computerized reporting system was put in place. Reported incidents include petroglyph thefts, paint damage, graffiti and dumping of debris. In a few cases, even shrines and cairns have been built on the sites, along with other alterations.
Looters and vandals can be prosecuted under the Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979. But experts say the cases can be difficult to prosecute unless there are witnesses. Still, there have been enforcement actions in Arizona and neighboring states recently.
Perhaps the best known is a federal sting that targeted looters in the Four Corners area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. More than 25 people were arrested in the case.
In other examples of prosecution, a Bullhead City man was hit with several citations after a paintball fight damaged petroglyphs in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and the federal Bureau of Land Management is investigating a case near Tucson in which people were spotted spray-painting a series of rock-art panels.
Archaeology buffs like Robert Schroeder of Phoenix wonder if it’s a good idea to have the sites listed so publicly.
“I don’t see any easy solution,” said Schroeder, who photographs petroglyphs, including some that have been damaged. “You want Americans to have access to the country’s cultural resources, but you want to keep sensitive sites off the radar, so to speak.”
Mike Johnson, deputy preservation officer for the BLM’s Arizona office in Phoenix, said urban growth in the West means more people looking to crowd into diminishing open space, putting more pressure on archaeological sites. At the same time, he said technology like GPS helps people find sites, and Internet marketplaces permit thieves to easily market what they’ve stolen.
Johnson said the BLM is working to increase steward visits and patrols by uniformed officers at sensitive sites, and to increased cooperation with Native American tribes, for whom these sites are sacred reminders of their ancestors.
Experts say that the impulse to restrict access is giving way to the idea that educating visitors about the value of the sites will make them more apt to notice and report criminal shenanigans.
“You give people who are professional looters more reason for concern, more eyes and ears out there,” said Andy Laurenzi of Tucson’s Center for Desert Archaeology.
Kaibab officials were proactive in trying to protect Keyhole Sink. Two forest roads leading to the small canyon were closed, and now the rights of way are carpeted with forest growth. Without easy access, garbage and litter almost disappeared.
To keep the site accessible, forest managers created a ¾-mile walking trail to Keyhole Sink. They figured that anyone willing to make the effort to get there on foot would value what they were seeing.
Kaibab officials erected signs warning against vandalism and explaining the significance of the site. Now, Weintraub said, the agency may have to consider installing cameras and motion detectors to protect the site, though that runs counter to his notion that the place is a touchstone to the past.
Until the paint is removed, he said, people who come there from around the world will be disappointed.
“We’ve lost the value of people being able to come there, see the stuff, sometimes sit there alone and imagine how it was for the ancient people who lived there,” he said.
Margaret Hangan, Kaibab National Forest’s heritage-program manager, said she was unsure if anyone would be caught for the vandalism. Kaibab officials are still trying to figure out the best way to remove the paint without leaving more damage. Officials hope publicity helps educate people and generates some tips on who did it.
“It hurts us emotionally, because this is just such a special place,” Hangan said recently, standing near a pool at the base of a cliff where a waterfall cascades during the snowmelt season. “It’s really hard to see that not everybody feels the same way we do about it.”
