Archaeology Southwest

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Archaeology Southwest A private non-profit that explores and protects heritage places while honoring their diverse values.

We work in the original homelands of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded their lands since time immemorial. Our HQ in Tucson is located on the ancestral lands of the Tohono O'odham.

09/29/2026

A sneak peek of R.E. Burrillo — researcher, author, and research associate with Archaeology Southwest — and his October Archaeology Café talk, "American Archaeology: The Past, Present, and Future of the Past" — the first talk in this year's Archaeology Café theme, Among Friends: Conversations with Archaeologists.

🗓️ October 6 — Tucson (Archaeology Southwest HQ + Zoom)
🗓️ October 15 — Phoenix (S'edav Va'aki Museum)
🚪 Doors 5:30 p.m. | Talk 6:00 p.m. | Free

Join us for the Café — https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/event/american-archaeology-the-past-present-and-future-of-the-past/

09/28/2026

Protect Chaco's 10-mile buffer.

Pueblo Pintado was built about a thousand years ago and connected to Chaco Canyon by an ancient road. Today it's the easternmost site protected within Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and the sites just beyond the park boundary are the ones now at risk. The Bureau of Land Management has proposed revoking Public Land Order 7923, the 10-mile protection around the park.

Here's how to help:
📞 Call your senators, ask for your senator at (202) 224-3121 which will take you to the official switchboard they can transfer you to your specific senetor. Ask them to oppose revoking PLO 7923 and to support the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, which would make the protection permanent.
🤝 Support Paul Reed and the archaeologists at Archaeology Southwest who work to protect places like this: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/join_donate/

Phoenix, we're coming to you — and we mean that more than usual this year. 🌵Archaeology Café is based in Tucson, but thi...
09/24/2026

Phoenix, we're coming to you — and we mean that more than usual this year. 🌵

Archaeology Café is based in Tucson, but this October we're partnering with the S'edav Va'aki Museum to bring "Among Friends: Conversations with Archaeologists" to Phoenix — one of the only times we've brought this series to the Valley in years.

R.E. Burrillo joins us with "American Archaeology: The Past, Present, and Future of the Past" — where the field has been, where it stands now, and where it's headed.

🚪 Doors 5:30 p.m. | Talk 6:00 p.m.
📍 S'edav Va'aki Museum, 4619 E. Washington St., Phoenix
Free. Fun. Lively. In person only.

If you're in the Valley, this is a rare one — we'd love to see you there. Can't make it in person? The recording posts to our YouTube channel a few days later.

Link in bio to join us.

Save your seat for October 6 🗓️R.E. Burrillo opens this year's theme, "Among Friends: Conversations with Archaeologists,...
09/22/2026

Save your seat for October 6 🗓️

R.E. Burrillo opens this year's theme, "Among Friends: Conversations with Archaeologists," with a talk on "American Archaeology: The Past, Present, and Future of the Past" — where the field has been, where it stands now, and where it's headed.

🚪 Doors 5:30 p.m. | Talk 6:00 p.m.
📍 Archaeology Southwest, 300 N. Ash Alley, Tucson
💻 Or join us live on Zoom
Free. Fun. Lively.

Can't make it? The same talk travels to Phoenix on October 15, and the recording posts to our YouTube channel a few days later.

Link in bio to join us.

Pull up a chair — Archaeology Café is back for its 2026–2027 season, and this year we're gathering Among Friends: Conver...
09/21/2026

Pull up a chair — Archaeology Café is back for its 2026–2027 season, and this year we're gathering Among Friends: Conversations with Archaeologists.

We're celebrating nearly 40 years of the researchers, students, neighbors, and friends who've gathered around Archaeology Southwest over the decades.

Join us at our Tucson headquarters, with select talks traveling to the S'edav Va'aki Museum in Phoenix — or livestream on Zoom from wherever you are.

🚪 Doors 5:30 p.m. | Talks begin 6:00 p.m.
Free. Fun. Lively.

First talk: October 6 — details coming this week. Whether you're a Café regular or joining for the first time, consider yourself among friends. Full schedule — link in bio.

09/21/2026

Mark your calendars for October 15th 2026 at 6:00 pm for our upcoming Archaeology Café in collaboration with Archaeology Southwest! Doors open at 5:30 pm.

Join us for this free talk featuring R. E. Burrillo. He will present “American Archaeology: The Past, Present, and Future of the Past,” and discuss archaeology’s evolution from collecting and exploration into a science, while confronting its complicated ties to nationalism, colonialism, exploitation, and cultural preservation.

Come early to enjoy discounted admission to the museum after 4:00pm. Trails close at twilight, but galleries will remain open until 8:00pm. Museum admission is also FREE to SVM, NARM, and Old Pueblo members.

Archaeology Southwest and our local & national partners working to protect & defend Bears National Monument filed motion...
09/02/2026

Archaeology Southwest and our local & national partners working to protect & defend Bears National Monument filed motions today, asking the federal court to allow them to challenge President Trump’s most recent assault on this Tribally-significant and culturally important national monument.

Utah Diné Bikéyah Conservation Lands Foundation Patagonia Access Fund A'Nuche National Trust for Historic Preservation & the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology join us as co-plaintiffs in this lawsuit.

09/02/2026

🚨BREAKING: Conservation Lands Foundation and our local and national partners working to protect and defend Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments filed motions today, asking the federal court to allow them to challenge President Trump’s most recent assault on these Tribally-significant and culturally important national monuments.

The filing reactivates litigation first brought in December 2017, when Conservation Lands Foundation and its partners challenged President Trump’s initial reduction of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The July 13, 2026, proclamations remove protections on more than 90 percent of each monument.

Utah Diné Bikéyah, Archaeology Southwest, Patagonia, The Access Fund, A’Nuche, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology join us as co-plaintiffs in our Bears Ears lawsuit, while Grand Staircase Escalante Partners and the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology join us in the Grand Staircase lawsuit.

“We are returning to court to defend the law, the integrity of public lands and the generations of people who have fought to protect these places. We will not stand by while this administration attempts to sacrifice these extraordinary landscapes to mining, drilling and other destructive development. If a president is allowed to illegally eliminate monument protections, no national monument is secure.” - Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation.

Downsizing Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante was illegal in 2017, and it remains illegal today. Opening these lands to short-term industrial exploitation threatens permanent harm to America’s public lands system. We remain alert and fully prepared to challenge any attempts to open these sacred places to drilling, mining, or road construction. Our commitment to standing alongside Tribal Nations and defending our shared natural heritage will not waver.

Read more via The New York Times story by Maxine Joselow in the comments below.

Skylar Begay (Dir. of Tribal Collaboration) and Anastasia Walhovd (Save History and BIA ARPA Assistance Program) are at ...
08/25/2026

Skylar Begay (Dir. of Tribal Collaboration) and Anastasia Walhovd (Save History and BIA ARPA Assistance Program) are at the annual meeting of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO), where they got to meet Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), a true conservation champion!

Pecos Conference 2026 📍 Mancos, ColoradoWe kicked things off with a visit to Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde — a powerful rem...
08/21/2026

Pecos Conference 2026 📍 Mancos, Colorado

We kicked things off with a visit to Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde — a powerful reminder of why we do this work. (And if you haven’t seen it yet, check out our Mesa Verde magazine issue from last year—https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/product/asw37-1/)

Then we moved on to the Pecos Conference itself, tents pitched in a field while amazing SW archaeologists took the stage to share their current or past work; no PowerPoints, just people, ideas, and good conversation.

Our own Paul Reed, Preservation Archaeologist, gave a talk titled “A Terrible Year for Preservation.” He’ll be following up with a blog covering both the setbacks and wins, so we can stay informed and keep fighting.

At our vendor booth, we debuted our new tee: “Respect the Land You Stand Upon.” Grab one through the link in our bio, https://www.bonfire.com/respect-the-land-you-stand-upon/.

Huge shout out to the students working with Karen Gust Schollmeyer! Annika Mayer, Nicole Lewis, and Keenan Raj presented “Crockery and Cooking Pots: Examining Variability in Technological Style of Corrugated Ceramics at the Dinwiddie Site,” and Lisa Mullendore presented “The View from the Valencia Site” and “Patterns in Unusual Fauna in SW New Mexico.”

Thanks to everyone in Mancos for a wonderful year — and to all our supporters we got to see there. We will see you next year for the 100th Pecos Conference anniversary!

Address

281 N. Stone Avenue
Tucson, AZ
85701

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15208826946

Website

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