Southwestern Archaeology, Inc. (SWA) Southwestern Archaeology Special Interest Group (SASIG) "Got CALICHE?" Newsletter Archaeology, Anthropology, and History of the Greater Southwest! Friday June 01, 2001 ***************************************** EDITOR'S NOTE I will be on the anthropological lecture circuit in Asia during much of June, through July 10th. Content capture and daily distribution of the GC newsletter may suffer during this period. I request increased reader participation in providing original archaeology stories, information blurbs, and URLs pointing to electronic articles from journalism sources. Please help this newsletter effort by sending information to . TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY From: Domingo Sánchez P It is a pleasure to anounce the new Web site about Astronomy in Culture of Venezuela. It covers the astronomy knowledge of the Carib ethnie and it is part of a bigger project which will include the Arawaks and independent linguisitc ehtnies of my country. In the future, we will include short notes in English. You are welcomed to visit . http://ehistory.freeservers.com The eHistory Bulletin is a refereed academic journal of history that targets undergraduates, secondary school students, and the general public as an audience. As more people turn to the internet for research purposes, The eHistory Bulletin seeks to provide a reliable source of historical information through the dissemination of general articles, book reviews, and critical reviews of websites related to history. From: George Gumerman The Arthur M. Sackler Colloquium of the National Academy of Sciences on "Adaptive Agents, Intelligence and Emergent Human Organization: Capturing Complexity through Agent-Based Modeling" will begin on the evening of Thursday, October 4 and will continue through Friday and Saturday, October 5-6, 2001 at the Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA. http://national-academies.org/nas/colloquia The purpose of this colloquium is to explore the adaptive agent models and, in so doing, to force reexamination of current social theory and encourage rethinking of the processes by which human organization emerges. A dominant theory in current social science is that of rational choice founded on the assumption that humans are economic actors maximizing their utility via "rational" calculation of cost/benefit ratios. Agent-based modeling raises serious questions concerning the application of the rational choice model to human economic actors. One of the inherent weaknesses of traditional social science is the intractable nature of social complexity. Adaptive agents methods are likely to become the foundations fo modeling and simulation that may help to resolve many of the problems of complexity and help in the development of policy tools that provide enhanced insight into the likely effects of policy action. COLORADO http://www.cortezjournal.com/1news1369.htm A first-of-its kind conservation easement that protects archaeological resources earned the Montezuma and La Plata land conservancies an award from the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. The award was for a conservation easement protecting archaeological ruins on Don Dove's property south of Cortez. NEVADA http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2001/may/31/053110839.html Assembly members agreed Wednesday to create special plates to commemorate the state's legacy with atomic testing and to encourage preservation of federal lands outside Las Vegas. http://www.tahoe.com/appeal/stories.5.31.01/CARSON/a1wagontrain31May9012.html The Highway 50 Association Wagon Train commemorates the California and Nevada gold rush. CALIFORNIA http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/20010531/t000045367.html The cornerstone of the giant Irvine Ranch will become a museum under a donation to the local historical society. CYBERIA http://www.rferl.org:80/nca/features/2001/05/30052001110903.asp The demographic shift in the U.S. identified by the census points to a new kind of political struggle ahead. Those who want to maximize the influence of Native Americans will want to shift decisions as much as possible to the local level, while those who seek to restrict that influence or to maximize the impact of whites will do just the reverse. That kind of politics is nothing new, but because it has an ethnic dimension, it may ultimately become more intense. http://www.kcstar.com:80/item/pages/printer.pat,fyi/3accb518.529,.html VCI Home Entertainment has released "The Lone Ranger." Blessed with stellar production values, "The Lone Ranger" is a vivid story about the plight of the American Indians in the late 19th century when many a white man attempted to wrestle more and more land away from them. I would have no trouble placing this on the list of 100 greatest American Westerns ever made. Its respectful treatment of the Indian is to be applauded. The subject of racism is tackled as the Lone Ranger and Tonto come to the aid of Indians. http://washingtonpost.com:80/wp-dyn/articles/A349-2001May31.html The blizzard of record setting gifts, especially at the National Museum of American History, has unnerved curators and scholars who think donors are dictating museums' future direction. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/31/opinion/31THU2.html This kind of gift-giving can warp an institution's priorities and professionalism. The gift will force the Smithsonian to devote space and intellectual energy to a permanent exhibit. But is this the kind of exhibit that the Smithsonian's professional staff would have chosen if the gift had come with no strings attached? ***************************************** Contact the Newsletter Editor (Brian W. Kenny): (W) 602.882.8025 / (F) 603.457.7957 or . Send books, letter mail, and other media to: Southwestern Archaeology Inc, PO Box 61203 Phoenix AZ, USA 85082-1203. 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