Crow Canyon Archaeological Center researchers represent some of the best and brightest minds working in Southwest Archaeology today. And that research was on full display at the 84th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) in Albuquerque this past spring.

Crow Canyon staff, research associates, and Pueblo Advisory Group members were authors on an incredible 36 papers and 11 posters for this year’s meeting, as well as serving as session organizers, chairs, panel members, and SAA committee members.

“It’s always special to have an SAA meeting near our home in the Southwest, and we took full advantage of our proximity this year,” says Kyle Bocinsky, Ph.D., Director of the Research Institute at Crow Canyon. “Thanks to the establishment of the William D. Lipe Advances in Research Program through a generous gift from Leslie and Colin Masson, the Research Institute at Crow Canyon was able to send 19 CCAC staff members to the SAA’s this year.”

Some of the many highlights for Crow Canyon researchers at this year’s SAA included a symposium by Crow Canyon supervisory archaeologist Shanna Diederichs titled “Adopting the Pueblo Fettle: The Breadth and Depth of the Basketmaker III Cultural Horizon”; a presentation by the Research Institute’s Grant Coffey, Mark Varien, Ph.D., and Bocinsky titled “Basketmaker III in the Central Mesa Verde Region: Transitions, Social Dynamics, and Population Growth”; and posters from supervisory field archaeologist Samantha Fladd, “Gendered Identities and Room Conversions at Homol’ovi” and Crow Canyon educator Paul Ermigiotti, Mark Varien, Leigh Kuwanwisiwma of the Hopi tribe, and Grant Coffey titled “The Pueblo Farming Project: A Hopi-Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Collaboration.”

In addition to the research presentations, Crow Canyon research associate and Trustee Tim Kohler, Ph.D., received a Presidential Recognition Award from SAA. Tim was recognized for his leadership in public engagement in archaeology, and for organizing last year’s President’s Forum, “What Have We Learned”. The forum brought together a diverse panel of archaeologists to discuss what the archaeological record has taught us that is important and useful for modern society, and how our research might inform the future.

Congratulations and thank you to all of Crow Canyon’s staff and associates for your continued hard work–and thank you to all of Crow Canyon’s donors and program participants whose generous financial support makes it all possible.

For more information on how you can help support Crow Canyon’s important archaeological, cultural, and educational mission, click here or call (800) 422.8975, ext. 124.