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thearchcons.org
The Archaeological Conservancy
@thearchcons.org
410 followers 230 following 660 posts
Preserving the past...for the future!
We're the only National nonprofit dedicated to acquiring & preserving the most significant US archaeological sites, almost 600 sites in the past 40+ years. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/thearchcons
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thearchcons.org
BELIZE—Underwater excavations at the Paynes Creek Salt Works have revealed a well-preserved Late Classic Maya salt-making compound, with wooden building posts, salt-making pottery, and household items beneath mangrove peat on the seafloor.

Read more: buff.ly/TJ34CV0
Primary study: bit.ly/4iN8B6k
Ancient Maya submerged landscapes and invisible architecture at the Ch'ok Ayin residential household group, Belize | Ancient Mesoamerica | Cambridge Core
Ancient Maya submerged landscapes and invisible architecture at the Ch'ok Ayin residential household group, Belize
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December 7, 2025 at 5:01 PM
thearchcons.org
TAKE A TOUR—From Mission San Diego de Alcalá to “the king of missions” at San Luis Rey and the stone arches of San Juan Capistrano, our March 9–14, 2026, California Missions and Archaeology Tour blends architecture, archaeology, and the desert landscapes of Anza-Borrego.

Learn more: buff.ly/nyZ05uP
December 6, 2025 at 5:00 PM
thearchcons.org
GUATEMALA--A new study of three jade-inlaid teeth from a museum collection shows the inlays were drilled into the front teeth of children as young as 7–10 years old—while the teeth were still developing.

Read more: buff.ly/RbSjSLH
Primary study: buff.ly/Hk9CK2n
December 6, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
Colonial Williamsburg’s 78th Annual Antiques Forum (virtual or in-person) is coming up Feb. 19–25, 2026. The theme “That the future may learn from the past” ties into the 250th anniversary of American independence and Colonial Williamsburg’s 100th anniversary.

Read more: buff.ly/ucj03f2
Governors Palace, North & South Elevation, Drawing # 5, David Hayes, October 30, 1931.Credit: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Upholstery Conservator Leroy Graves examines an easy chair in the Conservation Lab.Credit: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Portrait of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller (Mrs. John D. Rockefeller); Robert Brackman, New York, New York; Oil on canvas; Gift of the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund through the generosity of John D. Rockefeller 3rd, his wife Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller, and their four children; 2019-82, A&B. Credit: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
December 5, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
ONLINE—There’s still time to join a free lecture that follows scarlet macaws, metals, and ritual networks across northern Mesoamerica and the greater US Southwest/Northwest. In “Macaws for Metal?” by Michael Mathiowetz.
PCSWDC: www.pcswdc.org/events
Register: bit.ly/4iDxDEJ
EVENTS — Pre-Columbian Society of Washington DC
The Pre-Columbian Society of Washington, D.C. (PCSWDC), is an educational organization dedicated to furthering knowledge and understanding of the peoples of the Americas before the time of Columbus.…
www.pcswdc.org
December 4, 2025 at 11:14 PM
thearchcons.org
ASIA TO PATAGONIA—Whole-genome sequencing of 1,537 people from 139 Indigenous groups has traced the longest human migration on Earth, from North Asia to southern South America.

Read more: buff.ly/HbicBqn
Science article: buff.ly/NiDYQX1
Humans reached southern South America by 14,500 years ago, genomes from 139 Indigenous groups reveal
A large-scale genome study shows that Indigenous peoples in the Americas split off several times, resulting in loss of important genetic diversity.
livescience.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:01 PM
thearchcons.org
CAHOKIA REGION—A 4-ton bald cypress marker post from the Mitchell site has now been precisely dated to A.D. 1124, the political and economic peak of Cahokia. New analyses show the tree was hauled in from bottomland forest.

Read more: buff.ly/mEcyR5f
PLOS ONE article: buff.ly/ls3ThyE
Giant wooden marker post dates Cahokia's political and economic peak
Dr. Nicholas Kessler and his colleagues examined the largest known marker post from the ancient North American city of Cahokia. Their study is published in PLOS One.
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November 16, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
SPIRIT CAVE—North America’s oldest known natural mummy is an ancestor, not an outlier. aDNA work proves the individual is related to present-day Native Americans, supporting the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe claim: this is their Storyteller.

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Ancient DNA analysis unlocks secrets of Ice Age tribes in the Americas
Scientists have sequenced 15 ancient genomes spanning from Alaska to Patagonia and were able to track the movements of the first humans as they spread across
cam.ac.uk
November 15, 2025 at 9:00 PM
thearchcons.org
PISCO VALLEY, PERU—Thousands of man-sized holes snake for nearly a mile across a desert ridge at Monte Sierpe, long billed as one of the Andes’ great mysteries. New research in Antiquity suggests the “Band of Holes” was an Indigenous accounting and exchange system.

Read more: buff.ly/Al0RCP3
Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Indigenous accounting and exchange at Monte Sierpe (‘Band of Holes’) in the Pisco Valley, Peru
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November 15, 2025 at 5:02 PM
thearchcons.org
TABASCO, MEXICO—At Aguada Fénix, using LiDAR and excavation, archaeologists mapped a complex of nested cross-shaped platforms, canals, and corridors up to 9 kilometers long, built ca. 1050–700 BCE by a community with little evidence for powerful rulers.

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Landscape-wide cosmogram built by the early community of Aguada Fénix in southeastern Mesoamerica
The cosmogram of Aguada Fénix built over the landscape between 1050 and 700 BCE rivaled the extents of later Mesoamerican cities.
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November 15, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
SANTA FE, N.M.— What can we learn about Indigenous urbanism by comparing Cahokia and Chaco? On Nov. 18, Dr. Timothy Pauketat (Illinois State Archaeologist and longtime Cahokia researcher) will explore how these two early cities reshaped ideas.

Read more: buff.ly/GtW0xdr
Cahokia versus Chaco: Indigenous Urbanism as Viewed from the Mississippi Valley - Dr. Timothy Pauketat (School for Advanced Research) - Santa Fe Archaeological Society
Understanding Cahokia—an indigenous city opposite modern-day St. Louis—is assisted by comparing it to Chaco. Both developed at about the same time, with major cultural and political shifts at both…
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November 14, 2025 at 9:00 PM
thearchcons.org
ICYMI: Our latest virtual lecture is now available. Dr. Stephen Humphreys, CEO of AVAR, shares how archaeology can support veteran well-being

Watch: youtu.be/cPIlwXDpNX4
Read the feature in our fall issue: buff.ly/N9Mvu0G
AVAR website: americanveteransarchaeology.org
November 14, 2025 at 5:40 PM
thearchcons.org
JOIN US FOR A VIRTUAL LECTURE: Tonight at 5 p.m. MT.
Dr. Stephen Humphreys shows how well-designed fieldwork supports veteran well-being—and what veterans bring to archaeology.

Free. Register here: buff.ly/sAyjZBX
Read the feature: buff.ly/2PywYvQ
Nov. 13 | Digging for Recovery: AVAR’s Model for Veteran Well-Being Through Archaeology - The Archaeological Conservancy
In this presentation, Dr. Stephen Humphreys will speak about American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR) and mental well-being
thearchcons.org
November 13, 2025 at 4:47 PM
thearchcons.org
VIRTUAL LECTURE: Tomorrow, Thu., Nov. 13 at 5 p.m. MT.
“Digging for Recovery—AVAR’s Model for Veteran Well-Being Through Archaeology” with Dr. Stephen Humphreys (CEO & Founder, AVAR). Free for everyone.

Learn more and register: buff.ly/sAyjZBX
See the feature in our fall issue: buff.ly/2PywYvQ
Nov. 13 | Digging for Recovery: AVAR’s Model for Veteran Well-Being Through Archaeology - The Archaeological Conservancy
In this presentation, Dr. Stephen Humphreys will speak about American Veterans Archaeological Recovery (AVAR) and mental well-being
thearchcons.org
November 12, 2025 at 4:41 PM
thearchcons.org
ONLINE—Nov 13 (Thu): Crow Canyon webinar. “Harmonizing Tradition: Navajo Music and the ‘Beauty Way’ in Archaeology.” Free.

Read more: buff.ly/7fg6DjW

#CrowCanyon #IndigenousKnowledge #Archaeology
Archaeology Webinars - Crow Canyon Archaeological Center
Colorado operates on Mountain Time and recognizes Daylight Savings
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November 9, 2025 at 9:00 PM
thearchcons.org
NEW MEXICO—Fresh Paleoindian work documents a Clovis lithic source and campsite in central NM, The Blue Canyon Site.

Read more: buff.ly/pYl2WiW

#Paleoindian #Clovis #NewMexico
November 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
thearchcons.org
CONSERVANCY SITE SPOTLIGHT—The 25-acre Borax Lake Archaeological Preserve is a National Historic Landmark designated as “a prime example of early Holocene lakeshore settlement dating to 11,000 years ago.” It was the Archaeological Conservancy's first preserve in its Western region, acquired in 1987.
November 9, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
ONLINE—Nov 12 (Wed): AIA Archaeology Hour. Alison Futrell, “The People’s Arena.” Free public lecture (8pm ET / 6pm MT).

Read more: buff.ly/EcgzEam

#AIA #Archaeology #PublicLecture
AIA Event Listings - AIA Archaeology Hour November 2025: The People's Arena - Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological event listing for Archaeological Institute of America
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November 8, 2025 at 9:00 PM
thearchcons.org
GEORGIA COAST—Mississippian migrations, local impacts: New OA analysis reframes a 14th-century immigration event at community scale.

Read more: buff.ly/A6RhxHZ

#Mississippian #SoutheastArchaeology #Migration
Local Responses to a Fourteenth-Century AD Immigration Event on the Georgia Coast | American Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Local Responses to a Fourteenth-Century AD Immigration Event on the Georgia Coast
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November 8, 2025 at 5:01 PM
thearchcons.org
SITE SPOTLIGHT—The Terrarium Archaeological Preserve encompasses a 360-acre parcel archaeological easement acquired in 2020. It is located in the Coast Range of northern California. A prior survey IDed previously documented petroglyph boulders and an additional 5 sites, one dating back 2,500 years.
November 8, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
BATON ROUGE, LA—The Conservancy’s Southeast team is at #SEAC! We caught up with MSU grad student John Knapp Watts, who (with a fellow student) is presenting new Prospect Hill research. Proud to see TAC preserves supporting student scholarship.

More about Prospect Hill: buff.ly/RQh1Sy7
November 7, 2025 at 9:00 PM
thearchcons.org
SITE SPOTLIGHT: Bill Bear Fort Salem Archaeological Preserve (Ohio)—Woodland-era circular ditch-and-wall with two conjoined mounds still visible. Hopewell-period origins likely; Adena activity possible. Open to the public with small parking, picnic tables, benches, and a dedication area.
November 5, 2025 at 5:03 PM
thearchcons.org
ATOTONILCO DE TULA, HIDALGO—Mexico will reroute ~8 km of the Mexico City–Querétaro rail line to protect the El Venado petroglyphs, a sacred rock art site. INAH archaeologists are surveying nearby panels (El Chamán, El Nahual) as plans adjust.

Read more: buff.ly/T4vekLe
CDMX-QRO train route will take a detour to save ancient rock art
An 8-kilometer detour will be designed to protect petroglyphs along the proposed Mexico-Querétaro rail line.
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November 5, 2025 at 1:00 AM
thearchcons.org
OAKLAND, CA—More than 1,000 items were stolen in an Oct. 15 break-in at the Oakland Museum of California’s off-site storage, including Native American baskets, jewelry, historic photos. The museum is urging public tips.

Read more:
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'A real violation.' More than 1,000 artifacts stolen from Oakland museum in brazen heist
Items stolen from the Oakland Museum of California included Native American baskets, jewelry, laptops, historic photographs and intricately carved ivory tusks.
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November 4, 2025 at 9:01 PM
thearchcons.org
ARIZONA—New research argues the earliest European settlement in the American Southwest was Coronado’s 1541 Suya/San Jerónimo in the Santa Cruz Valley.

Read more: buff.ly/YrZ6JsQ
Journal article: buff.ly/KSL4B33

#Southwest #Arizona #SpanishColonial #Coronado #AmericanAntiquity #PublicArchaeology
Arizona marks the spot: Locating the first European settlement in the American Southwest « Archaeology# « Cambridge Core Blog
Recent Coronado Expedition (1539-1542) research has produced abundant and rich evidence pointing to the surprising interpretation that the first European settlement in the American Southwest was…
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November 4, 2025 at 5:05 PM