Preserving dirt-walled structures in Mesa Verde National Park

Abstract

The authorities at Mesa Verde National Park have been building and managing temporary and permanent shelters over excavated mesa-top archaeological sites since 1919. Over twenty shelters have been built over the years. These have varied from informal vernacular constructions to structures designed by professional architects for the specific needs of the Park. There are presently twelve shelters in the Park. Two of the existing twelve shelters are informal 'temporary' shelters built by Park staff and are over sites that are not on exhibit to the public. The other ten shelters are over sites on exhibit and were designed by professional architects. One is of metal and was built in 1969. The other nine shelters are constructed of precast concrete with a wooden roof, built in 1984–87. The professionally designed shelters have been fairly successful in protecting the sites that they cover. In 2000 a wildfire damaged four shelters in its path but the archaeology protected by these shelters was undamaged.     

Early Navajo land use in northwestern New Mexico: Big Bead Mesa in regional perspective

Big Bead Mesa (LA 12351) is the most famous Navajo archaeological site ever investigated and has played an important role in the interpretation of Navajo culture history. It remains a sacred place to the Navajo, both for historical and spiritual reasons. Pioneering work by Dorothy L. Keur resulted in the publication of the first Society for American Archaeology Memoir and brought Navajo archaeology national recognition. James Hester used Big Bead Mesa as the type site for his Cabezon Phase, although he conducted no research at the site. Big Bead Mesa is not the only Early Navajo site in the Rio Puerco Valley; however, the surrounding area has never been adequately investigated or reported. This paper documents a variety of Navajo sites in the Rio Puerco Valley and indicates that Big Bead Mesa was only a small part of a much larger Navajo occupation that extended to the north, west, and south.     

18世纪末—20世纪初中国制瓷业的衰落:一个全球的视角

欧洲的扩张一方面促成了全球规模的产品市场,对中国制瓷业形成了需求冲击,进而成就了中国制瓷业近300年的黄金时代;另一方面,欧洲国家还施行了武装贸易和重商主义,这给欧洲制瓷业的发展提供了市场、技术和政策支持,促使欧洲制瓷业迅速发展。也正是藉此欧洲制瓷业在与中国制瓷业的竞争中逐渐取得优势。最终华瓷市场的丧失导致中国制瓷业利润微薄,瓷商相继破产,曾经为中国带来无数利润和荣耀的制瓷业就此衰落。