Community Activities and Announcements (Ongoing)

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

(Latest Update - October 14, 2025)

Upcoming Archaeology Tours, Classes and Lectures:

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

• (New) 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.

SMITHSONIAN ASSOCIATES (ONLINE/$):

• (Revised Start Dates) Class, Online - Wednesdays, October 15, 22 and 29, 2025 and November 5, 2025 (8:30am-10:00am MT) – Four-Part Daytime Course, Cave Art to the Renaissance – Instructor: Joseph Paul Cassar, Art Historian.  Part 1:  October 15, 2025 - Cave Paintings and the Ancient Near East; Part 2:  October 22, 2025 - Egypt and the Aegean World; Part 3:  October 29, 2025 - The Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans; Part 4:  November 5, 2025 - Ravenna and Giotto.  For more information and to register for the Zoom link, visit here.

HISTORICORPS CONSERVATION PROJECT (NEAR PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO/IN PERSON):

• Volunteer Opportunity, October 12-17 and 19-24, 2025 -  Historicorps is seeking volunteers to help with a stabilization and conservation project on the Provancher Ranch located in the San Juan National Forest.  For more information and to register to volunteer, visit here.

SOUTHWEST SEMINARS - TRAVEL WITH A SCHOLAR TOUR (NEW MEXICO/IN PERSON/$):

• (New) October 15-18, 2025 -  Navajo Country & Culture: Canyon de Chelly and Monument Valley.  Tour led by Sunny Dooley, Diné and Dr. John Ware.  For more information and to register for the tour, visit here.

CHIMNEY ROCK NATIONAL MONUMENT - TOURS (PAGOSA SPRINGS, CO/$):

• Ongoing through October 15, 2025 -  Several tours are available as well as free in-person lectures.  For more information and to make reservations, visit Chimney Rock National Monument Tours & Lectures. NOTE: The Monument is currently closed due to the Federal Gov't shutdown.

SOUTHWESTERN KILN CONFERENCE - EXPERIMENTAL ARCHAEOLOGY (STAFFORD, AZ/IN PERSON/FREE):

• October 17-19, 2025 – This gathering brings together ceramists, archaeologists and southwestern ceramic enthusiasts to explore and recreate ancient southwestern ceramic techniques.  All are welcome.  This year’s conference will be held at the Eastern Arizona College in Stafford, Arizona and two other nearby locations.  For more information about the conference, visit here.  To learn about this year’s event and to register, visit here.

INTERNATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY DAY - EVENT (MORRISON, CO/IN PERSON/FREE):

• Save the Date October 18, 2025 (8:30am-1:30pm MT) -  Come to this free family-friendly event at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre to learn more about archaeology.  There will be exhibitors, archaeology lectures, cultural tours and activities as well as three food trucks and a beer garden.  General information is available here regarding exhibitors, speakers, and tours. Note, registration for tours is required and spaces are limited.

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

• October 18, 2025 (11:00am-8:00pm MT) – The second annual Uncompahgre Pow-Wow will be taking place at the Montrose County Event Center.  For more information, visit here.

DANGER CAVES STATE MONUMENT AND JUKE BOX CAVE - TOUR (UTAH/IN PERSON/$):

• Saturdays, October 18,2025 through November 8, 2025 (10:00am MT) -  Join professional archaeologist, Ronald Rood for a tour of both caves.  Learn about the archaeology of the Great Basin and how these two sites and the surrounding environments were used by pre-contact Indigenous peoples.  Note: Each tour date is limited to 18 participants, and payment is by credit or debit card at time of reservation.  For more information and to reserve a spot, visit here.

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK - TOURS (SW CO/$):

• Ongoing through October 19, 2025 (various times) – A number of tours are available in the Mesa Verde National Park.  For more information and to reserve a tour spot, visit Mesa Verde National Park Tours. NOTE: The Park is currently closed due to the Federal Gov't shutdown.

FOUR MILE HOUSE HISTORIC PARK (GLENDALE, CO/IN PERSON):

• October 24, 2025 (10:00am-4:00pm MT) – The SCFD Free Day requires registration for tickets here. General information and costs for other days can be found here.

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

• (New) October 26, 2025 (4:00pm-6:00pm MT) and November 2, 9, 16 and 23, 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.

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

• (New) November 2, 2025 (10:00am-3:30pm AZ Time):  Park of Four Waters, S’eḏav Va’aki, and South Mountain Park Hohokam Canals, Platform Mound, Museum and Petroglyphs Tour.  Tour Leaders: Dr. Christopher Schwartz and Dr. Aaron Wright.  The tour is currently full.  You are encouraged to place your name on the wait list.  For more information and to access the wait list, visit here.

CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER - TOUR (ARIZONA/$):

• November 2-8, 2025 – O’odham tribal members and archaeologists will introduce participants to the ancestral places and historic sites of the Tohono O’odham Nation and their ancestors, the Huhugam (Hohokam). For more information and to check space availability, visit here.

CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK - GUIDED TOUR (UTAH/IN PERSON/FREE):

• Saturdays, ongoing to November 9, 2025 (9:00am-1:00pm MT) – A free four-hour guided hiking tour through Horseshoe Canyon which includes stops at four major pictograph panels.  For more information, visit here. NOTE: The Park is currently closed due to the Federal Gov't shutdown.

HISTORY COLORADO CENTER (ONLINE/$):

• (Final Class) November 12, 2025 - The Museum Basics classes are suitable for those working or volunteering in cultural institutions such as museums, archives and libraries as well or those hoping to get into this field.  For more information and to register for a class, visit History Colorado Museum Basics Classes . The final class is Fundamentals in Collections Rehousing.

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

• Ongoing - November 15, 2025 (10:00am MT) - 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.

LINDENMEIER ARCHAELOGICAL SITE - TOUR (SOAPSTONE PRAIRIE NATURAL AREA, WELLINGTON, CO):

• (Open during Fed Gov’t Shutdown) Ongoing through November 30, 2025 (Dawn until Dusk) – The Folsom (Paleo-Indian) occupation site is on the National Register of Historic Places and was excavated by the Smithsonian Institute in the 1930s. There are interpretive presentations by specially-trained naturalist and visitors can view bison of the Laramie Foothills Conservation Herd.  For further information, visit Lindenmeier Site in Soapstone Prairie Natural Area.

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.

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.

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

• -(Museum open during Fed Gov’t Shutdown) 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.

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.

  NOTE: The Monument is currently closed due to the Federal Gov't shutdown.

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.

  NOTE: The Historic Site is currently closed due to the Federal Gov't shutdown.

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

OCTOBER 15, 2025

• (Revised Day and Topic) 11:00am-12:00pm MT – Shumla Archaeological Research and Education Center (Comstock, TX/Online/Free): Shumla’s Road Ahead. Speaker: Dr. Karen Steelman, PhD, Shumla Science Director.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

OCTOBER 16, 2025

• 4:00pm MT – Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, Discover Archaeology Webinar Series (Online/Free):  Zooarchaeology as a Tool for Conservation and Management: A Case Study on Sea Otters.  Speaker: Dr. Emma Smith, Post-Doctoral Fellow at University of New Mexico’s Center for Stable Isotopes.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• 6:00-7:30pm MT – Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, Food For Thought Thursday Webinar Series (Tucson, AZ/Online/Free):  Reconstructing the Biographies of Culture and Power in Conquest Mexico: Malinche, Hernán Cortéz, and the Origins of Indigenous-Spanish Relations.  Speaker: Dr. Michael M. Brescia. For more information and to register receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• 6:30pm-8:00pm MT – Maxwell Museum (Albuquerque, NM/Hybrid/Free): The Meaning and Making of Maize Beer in the Andes.  Speaker:  Dr. Frances Hayashida, Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Latin American and Iberian Institute, University of New Mexico.  For more information, visit here.  To register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

OCTOBER 19, 2025

• 11:00am MT – World Virtual Tours Webinar (Online/Free but donations appreciated):  Pachacamac: The Day the Conquistadors Destroyed the God of Earthquakes. Host: Vanessa Vasquez, Professional Peruvian Tour Guide and Cultural Ambassador.  For more information and to register using ‘Book Now’, visit here.

• (New) 1:00pm MT – World Virtual Tours (Online/Free but donations are appreciated): Petra and the Wonders of Jordan. Presenter: Rami Alsadi, Licensed Tour Guide in Israel.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link using ‘Book Now’, visit here.

• (New) 4:00pm MT – Archaeological Institute of America, The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California Chapter (Online/Free): Meanwhile…At Giza: The Central Field Cemetery in the Fifth Dynasty.  Speaker: Julia Puglisi, Harvard University.  For more information about the lecture, visit here.  To register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

OCTOBER 20, 2025

• (New) 9:00am MT – Road Scholar (Online/$): Tracing Sacred Routes – Mediterranean & Europe.  Speaker: Dr. Rob Weiner, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Society of Fellows and lecturer in the Dept. of Religion at Dartmouth College.  This lecture is the first of a two-part series exploring ceremonial roadways in the ancient world. For more information and to register to receive the link using ‘Book Now’, visit here.  To register for the second lecture of the series, Tracing Sacred Routes – Ancient Americas on November 18, 2025 at 9:00am MT, visit here.

• (New) 4:45pm-6:00pm MT – Smithsonian Associates (Online/$):

  Demosthenes: Democracy’s Defender.  Speaker: James Romm, Professor of Classics at Bard College.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Egyptian Studies Society (Englewood, CO/Hybrid/Free):

  Bad Boys of the Bronze Age: Recent Updates Regarding What Happened to the Mysterious Sea Peoples.  Speaker: Dennis Pricolo, retired Navy Captain in cryptology and Egyptian Studies Society member.  For more information and to access the “Enter Lecture” Zoom link at the bottom of the web page, visit here.

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (Tucson, AZ/Hybrid/Free): The Role of Collective Action in Community Resilience Northwest Mexico.  Speaker:  Dr. Andrea Torvinen, Collections Manager of the Ceramic Technology Lab and Florida Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville.  This presentation will discuss possible causes for the decline of the Epiclassic period site, La Quemada, Zacatecas, Mexico.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 7:00-8:00pm MT – Santa Fe Archaeological Society (Santa Fe, NM/In Person/$): Gender Violence in the American Southwest.  Speaker: Debra L. Marin, University of Nevada-Las Vegas.  For more information, visit here.

OCTOBER 21, 2025

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Colorado Archaeological Society – Pikes Peak Chapter (Colorado Springs, CO/Hybrid/Free): Windy Ridge Quartzite Quarry.  Speaker: Chris Johnston, Operations Director, Paleocultural Resource Group.  For more information and to access the Zoom link, visit here. 

OCTOBER 22, 2025

• (New) 6:00pm MT – Archaeological Institute of America, Nashville Society (Online/Free): Shipping Stone for Justinian’s Empire?  Speaker: Justin Leidwanger, Stanford University.  This International Archaeology Day special lecture will reexamine the significance of the “church wreck” linked to the Justinian’s revival of the Roman Empire.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

OCTOBER 23, 2025

• (New) 7:00pm MT – Archaeological Institute of America, Boulder Society (Boulder, CO/In Person/Free): Justinian’s Tree: Underwater Environmental Histories in Byzantine Harbors.  Speaker: Brita Lorentzen, University of Georgia.  Lorentzen will discuss the evolution and environmental history of the harbor at Lechaion in Ancient Corinth.  For more information, visit here.

OCTOBER 24, 2025

• (New) 5:00PM-6:30PM MT - Archaeological Institute of America, Denver Society (Denver CO/IN PERSON/FREE): Justinian's Tree: Underwater Environmental Histories in Byzantine Harbors.  Speaker: Brita Lorentzen, University of Georgia.  Lorentzen will discuss the evolution and environmental history of the harbor at Lechaion in Ancient Corinth.  For more information, visit here.

OCTOBER 25, 2025

• (New) 8:00am-2:00pm MT – Smithsonian Associates (Online/$): The Legacy of the Ancient World: The Texts that Tell the Stories.  All-Day Lecture/Seminar.  Presenter: Gary Rendsburg, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Professor of Jewish History, Rutgers University.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

OCTOBER 27, 2025

• (New) 10:00am-11:15am MT – Smithsonian Associates (Online $): A Game of Thrones: The Assyrian Crown Prince.  Speaker: Paul Collins, Head of the Middle East Department at the British Museum.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 6:00pm MT – Southwest Seminars (Sante Fe, NM/In Person/$): Coming & Going: 13,000 Years of Migration on the Southern Colorado Plateau.  Speaker: Dr. E. Chuck Adams, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, University of Arizona.  For more information, visit here.

OCTOBER 30, 2025

• (New) 1:00 MT – Amerind Museum (Online/Free): O’Odham Pottery: Prehistoric, Historic, and Contemporary Native American Ceramic Production in the Phoenix Basin of Southern Arizona.  Speakers:  Linda Morgan, MA (Akimel O’Odham, Diné) and Katrina Soke (Akimel O’Odham).  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 5:00p-6:00pm MT – Archaeological Institute of America, Central Arizona (Phoenix) Society (Online/Free): Reading Matthew’s Gospel in the Cemeteries of Roman Syria and Judea.  Speaker: Dr. Tony Keddie, Associate Professor of Ancient Mediterranean Religions and Fellow of the Ronald Nelson Smith Chair in Classics and Christian Origins, University of Texas-Austin.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link, visit here.

• (New) 7:00pm MT – University of Boulder, Department of Classics, College of Arts and Sciences, McClanahan Lecture (Boulder, CO/In person/Free): Discovering Ancient Dalmatia – Archaeological Research on the Croatian Island of Brač.  Speaker: Dr. Sarah James, Associate Professor, Department of Classics, Colorado University-Boulder.  For more information, visit here.

NOVEMBER 1, 2025

• (New) 12:30pm-2:00pm MT – Archaeological Institute of America, Denver Society (Denver, CO/In Person/Free): The Ancient Mayan Script of Hand Forms Embedded in Figural Art.  Speaker: Dr. Rich A. Sandoval, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Metropolitan State University of Denver.  For more information, visit here.

NOVEMBER 2, 2025

• (New) 1:00pm MT – World Virtual Tours (Online/Free but donations are appreciated): Kerma: Egypt’s Southern Neighbor.  Speaker: Jacob Glenister, PhD candidate in Egyptology, University of Pennsylvania.  For more information and to register to receive the Zoom link using ‘Book Now’, 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.