Community Activities and Announcements (Ongoing)

This page is updated bi-weekly. Check back frequently for updates!

(Latest Update - December 6, 2025)

Upcoming Archaeology Tours, Events, Classes & Lectures:

SAND CREEK NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE - ONSITE TALK (NEAR EADS, CO/IN PERSON/FREE):

• (New) Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, December 6-31, 2025 (10:00am-11:00am MT and 2:00pm-3:00pm MT) – Attend a talk presented by a Park Ranger about the significance of this historic site.  Check in with the Contact Station for the exact location for the talk.  For more information, visit here.

UTE MOUNTAIN MUSEUM - TOUR (MONTROSE, CO/IN PERSON/$):

• (New Dates) December 7, 14 and 21, 2025 (Times vary) – Shavano Valley Petroglyph site was used from at least 1000 BCE to 1900 CE by both Archaic and Ute peoples.  Tours are led by a trained Shavano Valley Petroglyph docent.  Space is limited and payment must be made by phone in advance.  For more information and to book your tour, visit here.

DENVER-CAS ANNUAL MEMBERS NIGHT - MEETING AND SOCIAL EVENT (ENGLEWOOD, CO/HYBRID/FREE):

• (New) December 8, 2025 (5:00pm-7:00pm MT) – Join us for an enjoyable evening of snacks, dessert and member presentations on archaeology adventures.  This meeting is open to members of the public. Bring a snack or dessert to share.  For more information, visit here.

HISTORY COLORADO CENTER - AUTHOR EVENT (DENVER,CO/IN PERSON/FREE):

• December 10, 2025 (7:00pm MT) – Spend an evening with Pulitzer Prize Finalist, MacArthur Fellow and award-winning novelist, Tommy Orange. Mr. Orange is a member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.  His writings center upon Native American histories and themes including the Sand Creek Massacre and Native American Boarding Schools. This event has sold out. You can place your name on a waitlist here.

DECEMBER'S ARCHAEOLOGY MEET-UP - SOCIAL EVENT (WHEATRIDGE, CO/IN PERSON):

• December 13, 2025 (4:30pm MT) – December's event will be held at Brewery Rickoli and it is open to professional archaeologists, students and members of the public who are interested in talking about archaeology.  For more information, visit here.

OLD PUEBLO ARCHAEOLOGY CENTER - WORKSHOP CLASS (TUCSON, AZ/$):

• December 13, 2025 (9:00am-12:00pm MT) – Arrowhead-Making and Flintknapping Workshop. Learn how to make arrowheads, spear points and other flaked stone artifacts like ancient peoples did.  This workshop is limited to six participants.  For more information and to register, visit here.

CHEROKEE RANCH CASTLE - TOUR (SEDALIA, CO/$):

• Ongoing - Located in nearby Sedalia, visit this historic ranch with its castle, petrified wood forest, and impressive historic collection. Learn about owner Tweet Kimball establishing the Cherokee Ranch and Castle Foundation to protect the ranch's plant life, wildlife and archaeological sites. For more information and to make a reservation, visit Cherokee Ranch & Castle Tour.

• December 15, 2025 (5:00pm-8:00pm MT) – Conversation and Book Signing with Michael and Kathleen Gear, acclaimed authors of multiple series of novels including the North America’s Forgotten Past series and novels with Colorado connections.  Monies raised from this event will help to fund archaeology projects at Cherokee Ranch.  For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.

  
  

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE AND SCIENCE (DENVER, CO/IN PERSON/$):

• December 15, 2025 (7:00pm MT) – Science Spotlight: Snowmass and Elephants. Come learn about the mastodon and mammoth fossils recovered during the Museum’s excavations in Snowmass, Colorado which will take place in conjunction with the temporary exhibit, The Secret World of Elephants.  For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.

OLD PUEBLO ARCHAEOLOGCIAL CENTER (TUCSON, AZ/IN PERSON/$-DONATION REQUESTED):

• (Rescheduled) Changed from December 21, 2025 to January 10, 2026 (8:30am-12:00pm MT) – Winter Solstice Tour to Los Morteros Hohokam Village and Signal Hill Civilian Conservation Corps & Petroglyph Sites.  For more information about the tour, visit here. To register for the new January 10^th date, please email Old Pueblo directly at info@oldpueblo.org or call (520)798-1201

VIRTUAL WORLD TOURS - TOUR (ONLINE/FREE BUT DONATIONS ARE APPRECIATED):

• (New) December 21, 2025 (9:30am MT) – Recorded Virtual Tour - Machu Picchu Walk: Archaeoastronomy and the Sacred Sciences of the Incas.  Presenter: Jimmy S, Licensed Professional Peruvian Guide.  This is a recorded walking tour with a live Q&A session.  For more information and to register using the ‘Book Now’ tab, visit here.

• (New) December 28, 2025 (9:30am MT) – Live Virtual Tour - Inca Live Walk: The Living Town of Chinchero. Presenter: Jimmy S. Licensed Professional Peruvian Guide.  For more information and to register using the ‘Book Now’ tab, visit here.

THE WHITTE MUSEUM - ROCK ART TOUR (NEAR COMSTOCK, TX/IN PERON/$):

• Saturdays, ongoing through December 30, 2025 (12:30pm-2:30pm CT) – Visit the White Shaman Mural, located near the Seminole Canyon State Park within the Lower Pecos Canyonlands.  Please note this is a strenuous two-hour hike.  For more information, to select a tour date, and to view the provided video of the tour’s terrain, visit here.

OLD PUEBLO ARCHAEOLOGY CENTER - ADULT EDUCATION CLASS (TUCSON, AZ/ONLINE/$DONATION REQUESTED):

• (New) January 26, 2026 to April 22, 2026 (6:30pm-8:30pm MT) – Archaeology of the Southwest. 14-Session online adult education class.  For more information and to register, visit here.

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA, COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES - SEMINAR CLASS (TUCSON, AZ/HYBRID/$):

• (New) Tuesdays, January 27, February 3, 10, 17, 24 and March 3, 2026 (6:00-8:00pm MT) – Lessons From Our Past. Instructor: Dr. Terry Hunt,  Professor of Archaeology at University of Arizona.  This course will journey deep into human history to uncover the remarkable story of our species from the first sparks of imagination to the rise of complex society.  For more information and to register, visit here. 

DEER VALLEY PETROGLYPH PRESERVE - EXHIBITS AND TOUR (PHOENIX, AZ/IN PERSON/FREE):

• Ongoing until May 2026 – Operated by the Arizona State University, this preserve contains a museum, gallery and a free audio tour of a quarter-mile petroglyph trail.  For more information, visit here.

CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER – CULTURAL EXPLORATIONS TOURS (VARIOUS LOCATIONS/IN PERSON/$):

• Crow Canyon has announced their 2026 Cultural Exploration Tour Programs (May 17-23, June 14-20, September 13-19, and November 8-14).  For more information and to register for a tour listed at bottom of the web page, visit here.

AMACHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE - GUIDED AND SELF-GUIDED TOURS (NEAR GRANADA, CO):

• Ongoing: Amache was one of ten internment camps established by the U.S. government during WWII to detain Japanese and American citizens of Japanese descent. There is a museum to visit,  a self-guided map/audio tour of the historic site and a virtual visit link.  For more information, visit Amache Visitors Information . To learn more about Amache, watch this PBS Documentary Video. To learn more about the archaeology at Amache , watch this TEDx Talk by University of Denver Professor of Archaeology, Dr. Bonnie Clark.

CANYON OF THE ANCIENTS NATIONAL MONUMENT- TOUR (SW CO/$):

• Year-Round Tours:  A choice of guided tours led by the Southwest Colorado Canyons Alliance are available.  For more information, visit Canyon of the Ancients Tours.

SAND CREEK NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE - SELF-GUIDED TOUR (NEAR EADS, CO):

• Ongoing Sunday, Monday, Thursday through Saturday (9:00am-4:00pm MT): The Contact Station at the Sand Creek National Historic Site outside of Eads, Co (near Chivington) is open (closed federal holidays). Note: Visitor Center in the town of Eads is closed until further notice due to cuts in federal government spending.  For more information, visit Sand Creek Visitors Information . Please also visit the Sand Creek Massacre exhibit at History Colorado Center, 1200 N. Broadway, Denver 80203.

  
  

SALMON RUINS ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE AND MUSEUM - TOURS (NEAR BLOOMFIELD, NM/IN PERSON/VARIED):

• Ongoing ($) – Private tours are currently available.  For more information about these private tours, visit here.

Upcoming Archaeology Lectures

HISTORY COLORADO PAAC PROGRAM ENRICHMENT SERIES (ON-DEMAND/FREE):

• Exposing Hoaxes, Busting Myths, and Solving Mysteries - Archaeology Lectures presented by Dr. Ken Feder, Professor Emeritus at Central Connecticut State University. There are ten one-hour videos covering a range of topics available on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl68fplNJM8BsG6uJLeHUfMYtNHeza5l_.

NEW - LECTURES NOW LISTED BY DATE

DECEMBER 7, 2025:

• 1:00pm MT – World Virtual Tours (Online/Free but tips are appreciated): Egypt: History of the Pyramid. Speaker: Jacob Gleniser, PhD Candidate, University of Pennsylvania.  For more information, visit here.

DECEMBER 9, 2025:

• 12:00pm MT – World Virtual Tours (Online/Free but tips are appreciated): Everyday Archaeology – The Story of Tea.  Speaker: Matilda S., Archaeologist and Journalist.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

DECEMBER 10, 2025:

• 4:45pm-6:00pm MT – Smithsonian Associates (Online/$): The Amara Letters: Voices From the Bronze Age.  Speaker: Eric Cline, Author and Professor of Classics, History and Anthropology at George Washington University.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link visit here.

DECEMBER 11, 2025:

• 8:30pm MT – Pacific Coast Archaeological Society (Irvine, CA/Hybrid/Free): Frontiers and Encounters: Wari and Tiwanaku in the Moquegua Valley, Peru, during the Middle Horizon (ca. AD600-1000). Speaker: Dr. Ulrike Matthies Green.  For more information and to send an email request for a guest Zoom link to attend this meeting, visit here.

DECEMBER 15, 2025:

• 7:00pm MT – Denver Museum of Nature and Science – (Denver, CO/In Person/$): Science Spotlight: Snowmass and Elephants. Come learn about the mastodon and mammoth fossils recovered during the Museum’s excavations in Snowmass, Colorado.  The lecture will take place in conjunction with the temporary exhibit, The Secret World of Elephants.  For more information and to purchase tickets, visit here.

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (Tucson, AZ/Hybrid/Free): Architecture and Labor Organization at Betatakin and Keet Seel, Northern Arizona. Speaker: Dr. Katie Williams, Enrolled Member of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and Post-Doctoral Geospatial Scholar at Crow Canyon.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Southwest Seminars (Santa Fe, NM/In Person/$): Foodways and Archaeology: What Histories of Flavor & Cuisine Tell Us About the Past.  Speaker: Dr. Sarah Oas, Archaeologist, Paleobotany Specialist and American Southwest Archaeology.  For more information, visit here.

DECEMBER 18, 2025:

• (New) 7:00pm-8:00pm MT – Old Pueblo Archaeology Center (Tucson, AZ/Online/Free): Inhabitants of an Archaeological and International ‘Frontier’: The Precolonial History of the Santa Cruz Valley and the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands.  Third Thursday Food for Thought Series.  Speaker: Dr. Hunter Claypatch, Archaeologist.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

DECEMBER 21, 2025:

• (New) 11:00am MT – World Virtual Tours (Online/Free but donations are appreciated): Ancient Codes: Secret Messaging in Greece and Rome.  Speaker: Martine D., PhD in Classics and Ancient History with broad knowledge of Greek, Roman, Mesopotamian and Egyptian history, archaeology and culture.  For more information and to register using the ‘Book Now’ tab, visit here.

DECEMBER 27, 2025:

• (New) 11:00am-12:00pm MT – Archaeological Institute of America, St. Louis Society (Online/Free): Battlefield Archaeology. Speaker: Douglas Scott, Retired Supervisory Archaeologist with the National Park Service.  Scott will draw on his experiences at the Little Big Horn Battlefield and at various Civil War battlefields to understand this fascinating category of archaeology sites.  To access the Zoom link at the top of the AIA-St. Louis website page, visit here.

JANUARY 7, 2026:

• (New) 4:45pm-6:15pm MT – Smithsonian Associates (Online/$): Teotihuacan. UNESCO World Heritage Sites Series.  Speaker: Justin M. Jacobs, Historian.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

JANUARY 8, 2026:

• (New) 8:30pm MT – Pacific Coast Archaeological Society (Irvine, CA/Online/Free): Biocultural Heritage and the Deep History of the Llanos de Moxos: Lessons from the Bolivian Amazon.  For more information and to send an email request for a guest Zoom link to attend this meeting, visit here.

JANUARY 19, 2026:

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Egyptian Studies Society (Englewood, CO/Hybrid/Free): Amarna and the Exodus. Speaker: Steve Zapiler.  For more information and to access the Zoom link to enter the lecture, visit here.

JANUARY 20, 2026:

• (New) 11:00am MT – School for Advanced Research (Santa Fe, NM/Online/Free but donations appreciated): Making Sound Among the Ancestral Maya. Speaker: Dr. Stephen D. Houston, Dupee Family Professor of Social Science and Professor of Anthropology at Brown University. This webinar focuses upon early Maya concepts and production of sound during the Classic period (ca 250-900 CE) when evidence is most abundant.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 4:30pm-5:45pm MT – Smithsonian Associates (Online/$): The Birth of the Sitcom in Ancient Greece.  Speaker: Mitch Brown, Classical Professor.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 6:30pm-7:30pm MT – Santa Fe Archaeological Society (Santa Fe, NM/In Person/Free): 10,000 years of Oaxaca Cuisines from Mesquite Pods to Mezcal.  Speaker: Dr. Shanti Morell-Hart, Anthropological Archaeologist and Paleo Ethnobotanist.  For more information, visit here.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE PUBLICATION OF THE FINAL REPORT ON THE SWALLOW SITE (5JF321)

We are pleased to announce the Swallow Site Oversight Committee has completed and released the final report on the Swallow Site located on Ken-Caryl Ranch, Jefferson County, Colorado. The report is titled, Archaeological Investigation at the Swallow Site, Jefferson County, Colorado and is published as Memoir Number 7 of the Colorado Archaeological Society, Denver (Copyright 2024).  The Denver Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society led the decade-long investigation at the Swallow Site with the help of many CAS member volunteers.  

The report is available to download as a “Read Only” pdf document from the Online Resource for Colorado Archaeology and Historic Preservation (ORCA) website via this link to ORCA’s Distributed Reports web page – https://archaeologycolorado.org/content/distributed-publications . Just click on the report’s title to access, read and/or save the pdf file.

Background:

During the early 1970s through to the late 1990s, the Denver Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society (DC-CAS) carried out archaeological fieldwork on the Ken-Caryl Ranch property in Jefferson County ahead of the construction of the Ken-Caryl residential development by Johns Manville Corporation.  Among the numerous archaeological sites identified, the Swallow Site (5JF321) was one of the most culturally-rich and important sites recorded on the Ken-Caryl Ranch property.

Through the efforts of a multitude of CAS member volunteers, the prehistoric occupation of the Swallow Site was recorded, excavated and analyzed.  However, numerous attempts undertaken to synthesize the high volume of information recovered into a cohesive report were unsuccessful.  In 2018, the Swallow Site Oversight Committee was formed to reexamine and synthesize the Swallow Site data and to produce a comprehensive final report for publication on behalf of DC-CAS.

The Denver Chapter Board is most appreciative and grateful for the Committee’s dedication, hard work and tenacity to bring this report to fruition.  The Board also wishes to express its thanks to the Paleocultural Research Group (PCRG) for the publication layout work undertaken for the final report and to the Online Resources for Colorado Archaeology and Historic Preservation (ORCA) for hosting the Swallow Site publication on their website.