UPAC News Summer 2000

President: Garth Portillo, BLM State Office, P.O. Box 45155, Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155, (801) 539-4276, Garth_Portillo@ut.blm.gov

Vice President, Membership and Ethics: Kristen Jensen, 329 A West 3rd Avenue, Dugway, UT 84022, (435) 831-3587 kjensen@dugway-emh3.army.mil

Vice President, Government Affairs and Research: Kathy Callister, Dugway Cultural Resource Manager/Native American Coordinator, CSTE-DTC-EP, Bldg 5330, Room 1519, Dugway, UT, 84002-5000 (801) 522-3573, callistr@dugway.emh3.army.mil

Secretary: Marian Jacklin, Dixie National Forest, 82 N 100 E, Cedar City, UT 84720. (435) 864-3700, mjacklin@fs.fed.us

Treasurer: Lori Hunsaker, University of Utah Anthropology, 270 South 1400 East Room 102, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0060, (801) 585-6444, lahunsaker@hotmail.com

Newsletter Editor: Jason Bright, University of Utah Anthropology, 270 South 1400 East Room 102, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0060, (801) 585-6444, jason.bright@anthro.utah.edu, submissions to kaokoland@canada.com

Utah Archaeology Editor: Steven Simms, Dept. of Sociology, Social Work& Anthropology, Utah State University, Logan UT, 84322-0730; (435) 797-1277, ssimms@hass.usu.edu

This past spring, several new UPAC officers were elected and others were retained in office for another term. As your new President, I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve. Now, all we need is for the membership to tell us what to do! Please remember, we serve at your discretion. Please bring any issues, concerns, complaints to the attention of one of the officers. And, share your accomplishments and good news with us, as well. I wish everyone a good summer and a great field season, and hope to see you all at the Fall meeting.
- Garth Portillo

As of the end of June, there was $3,972.93 in the money market account. We only have $191.96 left in checking after we paid for the printing and shipping of the 1998 journals -- everyone should have receieved theirs by now. -- We should probably do some sort of "membership/please pay your dues" drive.

Kenny Wintch is looking for information about Hopi or other late prehistoric puebloan sherds north of the San Juan Anasazi area in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho and Wyoming. 801-538-5168; tlmain.kwintch@state.ut.us

State History along with USAS and State Parks will be conducting some test excavations at the Mushroom Springs Site located on Antelope Island. We are planning to begin on or around the 17th of August. Mushroom Springs is a site associated with Fremont materials with some hints of Archaic material. If you are interested in helping out, or just visiting, contact Ron Rood at 801-533-3564.

BLM recently contracted Abajo Archaeology to excavate a very small cave overlooking the Hidden Valley section of the south fork of Mill Creek, near Moab. Local residents had reported finding a skull protruding from sediments in the cave. The shallow fill in the cave proved to be rat midden and ceiling spall debris, devoid of other human bones, bone fragments or artifacts of any kind.

Analysis of the skull by Shannon Novak and Derinna Kopp of the University of Utah identified it as the calvarium (cranial portion of the skull, lacking facial bones and mandible) of a 1.5 to 2.5 year old child of unidentified sex or ancestry. Numerous cut marks and remnants of soft tissue indicated that the calvarium had been placed in the dry cave shortly after intentional removal of the skin using sharp tools. Lack of cranial deformation suggests that the child was not Puebloan, but its age and affiliation have not been determined.

Nancy Mahoney (Doctoral Candidate - Arizona State University) will conduct test excavations into the Cottonwood Falls Great House and associated community sites in July and August of 2000. Resultant data should clarify the temporal relationship between the occupational histories of the great house and its surrounding community. The data will also contribute significantly to Mahoney's PhD. dissertation research, which seeks to improve our understanding of the function of great houses by contrasting artifact assemblages from Chaco era great houses with assemblages from associated community sites.

Nancy Mahoney, Department of Anthropology
1236 W. 10th Place Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85281 Tempe, AZ 85287-2402
480-966-4893 nancy.mahoney@asu.edu

Archaeological Investigations at the Fort Douglas National Historic Landmark, Salt Lake City:

Since the fall of 1997 the University of Utah has sponsored the investigation of Fort Douglas (est. 1862) in preparation for the construction of student housing and the quarters for the 1992 Winter Olympics. SWCA, Inc. of Salt Lake City has been conducting the investigation which has involved a variety of tasks, from testing areas thought to include 19th Century building sites, the monitoring of construction activities and conducting data recovery efforts on features encountered during construction. Our work has resulted in the exposure of a company barrack constructed the first winter of the fort; a dugout 13 ft by 20 ft and five feet deep, that sheltered a company of 12 soldiers with a canvas roof. Archaeological remains of bath-houses, the 1864 assay office, a guard house, the blacksmith, wheelwright and carpenter shops have been exposed and documented. A variety of refuse deposits have been sampled representing a general, fort-wide trash dump used from the 1860 through 1880, a myriad of smaller trash lenses, and refuse from the largely undocumented married, enlisted men's families, or "Laundress Row." A number of privies associated with officer's residences have also been excavated. Finally, we were able to expose the formal garden of the Commander of the District of Utah's residence.

Together these features and the data collected afford the opportunity to investigate the dynamics of the military caste system and the economic interaction of the fort and the Great Salt Lake City during a time of extreme political and social stress between the theocratic state of Deseret and the Federal government. The results of several studies will be presented at the annual meeting of the Utah State Historical Society at Westminster College, Salt Lake City on the 11th of August.

Richard L. Wessel, SWCA, Inc.

I would like to obtain obsidian samples from dated and excavated contexts from southeastern Utah for XRF analysis and source characterization. Comparisons will be made to obsidian from Coombs (Anasazi State Park) and Black Ledge Cave, near Boulder, Utah. Please send information about possible samples and their contexts to Bill Fawcett, Utah State University, Logan UT 84322-0730, or bfawcett@wpo.hass.usu.edu, ph 435/797-1496. Please also send copies of obsidian sourcing studies from other parts of Utah, especially items in contract reports.

Volunteer Opportunities For Survey in Bryce Canyon National Park: The National Park Service, Intermountain Support Office is seeking volunteers for an archaeological survey at Bryce Canyon for four days: September 1-4. The area is beautiful, but topographically and climatically rugged. Volunteers must come prepared for adverse conditions. Archaic period scatters and historic features are expected in the area. Camp will be car-accessible, and a few A-frame tents can be provided. Hot showers are also available, as are meals for a small fee. Work will proceed in four 10 hour days, but volunteers do not have to commit to the entire project. Please contact Chris Wenker or Lisa Meyer at (435) 834-4901 by August 15th.

This years Great Basin Anthropological Conference will include a "silent" auction held after the Friday night banquet presentation by Tom Dillehay. The auction should help to set a festive mood for the band, but we also aim to raise money for a scholarship fund. The auction is still in the planning stages, however, several items have already been donated including: Native American crafts, professional publications, and gift certificates. We urge UPAC members to consider donating items or services and mention the following for the sake of example: Artifact reproductions are always popular. Help convince a Press to donate some books, or donate some good books (like the first edition signed copy). Or how about a gift of that home brew (uh, root beer of course - it is Utah). I am sure there are some folks out there willing to bid for a swingin' deal on some analysis services. How about a free botanical identification from that flotation sample or identification of a bushel of bones (ok a shoe box), or any number of services that all this anthropological talent can provide. Potential donors are encouraged to be creative! Our idea is to have even more fun at the banquet and to do some good.

If you would like to donate auction items or services, or volunteer your help, please contact the auctionmeister, Lori Hunsaker at lahunsaker@hotmail.com.

Meeting began at 1:35 pm
In attendance 20 adults, 4 children and 10 dogs.
Out going President Dennis Weder called the meeting to order and then turned it over to Garth Portillo the new President.
Minutes of the fall meeting were approved as found in the newsletter with no corrections.

New Officers : Garth Portillo- President
Lori Hunsaker -Treasurer
Kristen Jensen- Vice president , Membership and Ethics
Jason Bright- Newsletter Editor

Jim Dykmam: we have checking and money market accounts the money market is earning 6% interest. Has over 3000 dollars in it currently. Checking has $1828. Need dues paid to bring it up more. (Started his tenure as treasurer paying for Porta potties and ended his tenure paying for Porta potties).

Ron Rood for Kevin Jones: Read statement on plaque for the Dorman award in honor of "Doc." Dorman and all his efforts to help advance Utah Archaeology. "Doc" passed away the week before our meeting. The funeral will be held on April1, 2000 Kevin Jones and Dave Madsen attending and were not able to attend UPAC.

Prison Site: still under investigation no new information. The site was damaged by tons of dirt dumped on top and heavy equipment over the top. Also in area that Gov. Leavitt designated as Open space.

Mountain Meadows: articles in Salt Lake Tribune had caused lots of excitement in Northern Utah. Lots of letters to the editor.

USAS curriculum is being finalized. Level 1 has been taught in several locations and is ready to go. Ron asked for teachers for the classes from the UPAC group. Would especially like those not acting as advisors to help. Hoping to hold workshops for the teachers this fall.

Jill Jensen: Announced that the 1999 Journals was ready for pick up. She made a plea for papers and to get us to work with the USAS members to get their research published in the Journal. You can pick them up form her at the meeting.

Garth Portillo: Has a questionnaire regarding the IMACS Form. They are available over the internet or he has copies. Asked that members and others interested please fill out and return. This is being done to see if we need an upgrade on the forms after 20 years. On-line questionnaire can be obtained from http://www.gnomon.com/imacsquest.htm. Eric Ingbar of Gnomon is leading the project. This information need to be back to him soon as it will be discussed at the Great Basin Conference in Oct.

Ron Rood passed out the 2000 Prehistory and Heritage Posters. Drawn by Whitney Parker age 12.

Request from floor (?) that we professionals make available to USAS Newsletter a list of volunteer opportunities that might be available.

Meeting adjourned at 2:00 pm. (one of the shortest meetings on record for this organization)

UTAH STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2000 ANNUAL MEETING
Friday, August 11, Westminster College
1840 South 1300 East, Salt Lake City

5:45 p.m. Evening Session Gore Business Building Auditorium
This session is open to the public at no charge.

5:45 p.m. Social Time
Before the program begins, enjoy an informal cookout outside the Gore building.

6:30 p.m. Evening Program
Annual Utah History Address by James E. Shelledy, Editor of Salt Lake Tribune
Annual Awards Presentation

Registration (Register by August 4) Mail to: Annual Meeting Registration, Utah State Historical Society 300 Rio Grande St., Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Method of Payment: ______Check Enclosed
(Make checks payable to Utah State Historical Society.)

Gnomon, Inc.
Resource Management Computing, Analysis, and Mapping
1601 Fairview Drive, Suite F Carson City, Nevada 89701 (775) 885-2305

Twenty years ago, IMACS was designed to combine both management and research information and no changes have been made to the form or manual since 1992. In an effort to ensure that the IMACS site form continues to meet our needs in the field, laboratory, and office, the Utah IMACS Data Subcommittee asks for your input and comments. Has IMACS worked? Will it be adequate in the future? Does it need to be amended or even replaced? Please record your responses on the attached IMACS Questionnaire and return to:

We will also create an on-line version of the questionnaire. You can find the on-line questionnaire at http://www.gnomon.com/imacsquest.htm

The responses will be tabulated according to category of user, e.g. Federal or State government, private consultant, etc., so be sure to include this information on the form. We will compile the results and they will be presented at the Great Basin Conference in Ogden this fall.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the questionnaire. Your input is essential for this project. Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I will relay any that I can't answer on to the appropriate members of the committee.

Please return completed questionnaires to: Eric Ingbar
Gnomon, Inc.
1601 Fairview Drive, Suite F
Carson City, NV 89701
775 885-2305 fax

You may return them via email to: eingbar@gnomon.com. Additional copies of this document are available as Adobe Acrobat files at: ftp://ftp.gnomon.com/imacsquest.pdf

1. In what role do you most often work with IMACS records? Please try to indicate what you think your primary perspective on IMACS might be.

4. Approximately how many IMACS forms do you complete, review or approve each year? ____

5. What do you think are the strengths of the current IMACS format and way in which it is utilized? In what topics or manner does it best meet your needs?

6. What are the weaknesses of the current IMACS format and ways in which it is utilized? In what topics or manner does it fail to meet your needs?

8. Please rate the appropriateness and adequacy of the current IMACS form set in conveying the following categories of information by putting an X in the appropriate space:

9. Please feel free to extend your thoughts with any narrative comments you wish to make. These may be general or specific to parts of the IMACS form set.

UPAC NEWS

NEWSLETTER FOR THE UTAH PROFESSIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL COUNCIL