2018 Awards in Public Archaeology
Presented by the Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission at the 17th Annual Arizona Historic Preservation Conference.
Each year at the Arizona Preservation Conference, the Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission recognizes individuals and/or programs that have made significant contributions to the protection and preservation of, and education about, Arizona's non-renewable archaeological resources.
Commission: Tom Wilson (Chair), Margaret Hangan, Sarah Herr, Lauren Jelinek, Ian Milliken, David Salge, Chris Watkins, Anglea Garcia-Lewis
SHPO Staff: Kathryn Leonard (SHPO), Ann Howard (Deputy SHPO, Archaeology), Jim Cogswell (SHPO Liaison to GAAC), Joe Roth (Programs Specialist), Sean Hammond (Site Steward Program)
Award: Avocational Archaeologist
Recipients: Michael Hoogendyk
Nominator: Will Russell, Archaeologist, Arizona State Parks & Trails
After moving to Arizona, Michael Hoogendyk quickly fell in love with the desert landscape and began exploring its wilder reaches. During his solo hikes in the backcountry, he routinely came across archaeological sites that unlocked his imagination and triggered a flood of questions. Wanting to know more about the people who once lived in the places he had come to love, Mike joined a number of archaeological and museum organizations, and he has attended conferences, workshops, and lectures at every opportunity. He took several classes at Arizona State University, including a field semester on Perry Mesa with Kate Spielmann and Dave Abbott.
Perry Mesa, south of Cordes Junction, has become Mike’s favorite cultural landscape. He became a backcountry volunteer with the Bureau of Land Management, and an active member of the Friends of Agua Fria National Monument (FAFNM). Over the past decade, Mike has made over 340 trips onto Perry Mesa and/or Black Mesa. Undeterred by falls, a rattlesnake bite, and melanoma, he has hiked over 1,600 km, documented through sketches, notes, and nearly 20,000 photographs. Mike has thus far encountered 887 archaeological sites with architecture, hundreds of isolated petroglyph sites, and thousands of agricultural features. He has dutifully shared coordinates, descriptions, and photographs with BLM and Tonto National Forest, resulting in the region’s most comprehensive archaeological database.
In 2011, Mike suggested that the FAFNM sponsor an archaeological conference dedicated to showcasing research on and around Perry Mesa. He not only championed the idea, but spearheaded the entire project, arranging for presenters, discussants, sponsors, and venue. The event was unique in that it was designed to engage academic and professional archaeologists, land managers, avocationalists, enthusiasts, and the general public. Mike went on to edit the conference’s published proceedings. Research presented at the conference also recently filled a special edition of the Journal of Arizona Archaeology.
Mike possesses a seemingly endless supply of enthusiasm and energy. Most recently, he has lent his voice to the political struggle to protect our nation’s cultural and natural resources, including the ongoing fight to save Bear’s Ears National Monument. In 2017, Mike volunteered as the new Assistant Site Steward Program Coordinator with Arizona State Parks and Trails, volunteering over 20 hours a week. Since joining the program, he has tackled a number of critical issues, improving Site Steward Program efficiency, communication, and morale. He revived the dormant program newsletter – The Watch – and is creating an archive of program materials stretching back 32 years.
Award: Site Steward
Recipients: Nancy & Joe Jordon
Nominator: Neil Weintraub, Coconino National Forest
Nancy and Joe Jordan have spent 15 years and thousands of hours monitoring historic and prehistoric sites across on the Coconino National Forest. They have been diligent stewards of early Flagstaff area landmarks such as Leroux Springs Cabin, Clark Cabin, and Broillar Park Cabin. At some of their sites, they initiated the tradition of keeping an ammo can with information about the site and a log book for the public. This low-fi kind of interpretation and public interface has been of great value to forest archaeologists and provides important feedback from the public. As one comment from a log book reads: “Nancy and Joe – Keep up the great work. Thank you for keeping up such a great place. We cannot lose places like this.”
Over the past few years, Joe and Nancy expanded their stewardship to include the Kaibab National Forest adding Keyhole Sink and the Hardy Hill trestle to their list of sites monitored. In the past year, Joe and Nancy began researching Joe’s interest in the Kaibab’s one-room school houses across Coconino County. This led them on a fascinating journey across the Kaibab to find remnants of these historic places. In addition, Joe did extensive archival research painstakingly reading through every Williams News from World War I through 1950. While the newspapers were scanned on CDs, none were searchable, so Joe read every page of the weekly Williams News, well over 1000 issues!
Joe then presented his research at a full house of nearly 40 members of the public at the Williams City Council Chambers during Archaeology Month on March 14th. Kaibab Forest Archaeologist Margaret Hangan posted Joe’s lecture live on Facebook which was then viewed by several hundred more members of the public. The program is currently archived on Facebook.
Due to their dedication, long-time service, and passion for site stewardship, the Coconino and Kaibab National Forest Heritage programs believe that Joe and Nancy Jordan have gone above and beyond their roles as Site Stewards and greatly deserve the Arizona Site Steward GAAC award.
Award: Professional Archaeologist
Recipients: J. Simon Bruder
Nominator: Jill Heilman, Arizona Department of Transportation
Dr. Simon Bruder, an artist by training, became interested in archaeology while attending Arizona State University in the 1970s and quickly found herself immersed in archaeology. After completing her PhD at ASU in 1982, she went to work in the field full-time where she has overseen over 800 projects with cultural resource components for the Museum of Northern Arizona, Dames & Moore, Michel Foster and Associates, EcoPlan, and Western Cultural Resource Management. Her efforts since have included assistance with regulatory compliance, archival research, archaeological survey and excavation, historic context development, ethnography, and architectural assessment for the Arizona Department of Transportation, the City of Phoenix, Maricopa Department of Transportation, the U.S. Air Force, the Arizona State Land Department and countless other municipalities, counties, federal agencies, tribal entities, and private sector clients.
In addition to her expertise in prehistoric archaeology, Dr. Bruder’s regulatory expertise and ability to understanding and interpreting the built environment led to her work developing historic contexts and she co-authored Good Roads Everywhere, Arizona’s historic road context. Her work in Alaska in the early 2000s provided an opportunity to development a historic context for the evaluation of mining properties and complete field inventories at 11 mining properties slated for remediation.
Simon Bruder’s pioneering talents were pivotal to the protection and preservation of intact significant archaeological deposits as part of improvement to the Interstate 10 (I-10) mainline between Ruthrauff and Prince Roads in Tucson. By designing a geogrid structure to reinforce sub-grade soils over undisturbed archaeological deposits, she was able to preserve those cultural resources. Without Dr. Bruder’s innovative efforts, these data would be lost to future archaeologists.
Dr. Bruder’s work at the Hedgpeth Hills petroglyph site played an integral part in the establishment of the Deer Valley Petroglyph Preserve, a museum treasured by young and old alike and one that is rated among the top 10 best museums in the greater Phoenix area.
Simon Bruder also has worked toward the protection and preservation of Arizona’s cultural and heritage resources through her participation in the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, the Arizona Archaeological Council (AAC), and as an Editorial Board member for the Journal of Arizona Archaeology, a publication of the AAC.
Award: Government Agency
Recipient: City of Peoria - Palo Verde Park
Nominator: Mark Hackbarth & Wayne Colebank, Logan Simpson Design
>In 2000, the City of Peoria acquired land for a park from the Terramar housing developer. The city developed a plan for the construction of a 20-acre recreational park on the land, but when archaeologists reported cultural resources the city directed planners to limit development to a small recreational park. The city proposed enhancing the archaeological resources in the park through four strategies: 1) nominate the park for the National Register of Historic Places, 2) limit construction of recreational facilities to 2.5 acres, set aside 0.5 acre with no disturbance, preserve as much as possible of the resources in an additional 1.0 acre of the recreational park, and keep nearly 15 acres with archaeological features as unmodified open space, and 4) monitor and preserve in perpetuity the archaeological resources in the 15 acres of the park. The city nominated the park for the National Register, and it was listed in 2011. It used cultural resource management information to guide design of the park. The city used the information from data recovery to create a brochure, also available on the city’s website, highlighting excavations at the park and nearby, and developed a trail with wayfinding directions and five interpretive signs. The city developed a park management plan and an historic properties treatment plan. Because of its sensitive treatment, thoughtful development, preservation of cultural resources and interpretation of Palo Verde Park, the Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission recognizes the City of Peoria with the award in public archaeology for a government agency.
Award: Tribe
Recipient: Gila River Indian Community, Cultural Resource Management Program
Nominator: Doug Mitchell & Andrea Gregory, Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd.
The Gila River Indian Community’s (GRIC) Cultural Resource Management Program (CRMP) was formed to help interpret, protect, and perpetuate the culture and traditions of Akimel O'odham and Pee-Posh tribes. The department provides cultural resource management and compliance services to all GRIC’s departments and other tribal and non-tribal entities working on or in the interest of the Community, in fulfillment of GRIC ordinances and federal and state laws and regulations. CRMP provides archaeological and cultural resource expertise for the management of archaeological sites, cultural properties, and for Community artifact collections.
The GRIC-CRMP staff includes Tribal members and actively supports the views and mission of the Community. The current staff at GRIC-CRMP includes Director M. Kyle Woodson, Project Managers Chris Loendorf, Teresa Rodrigues, Craig Fertelmes, Linda Morgan, and Laboratory Manager Eloise Pedro. The program is supported by a number of other very talented archaeologists and support staff, totaling nearly 50 people.
Their cultural resource investigations include those related to the extensive water delivery system in development on the Community, environmental clearance for Tribal member home sites, and many other Tribal projects. This program is the largest such Tribal effort in the state. Tribal and non-tribal members continually strive to better understand the rich cultural history of the Community and its ancestors. The program is also committed to the furthering of archaeological science, with their XRF studies, Fire Archaeology Program and projectile point experiments as just three examples. In addition, the program and Community also participate in the development of broader cultural studies associated with landscape use from prehistoric through historic and modern periods, as well as collaborating on the research and compilation of traditional narratives associated with the Community’s history.
Award: Lifetime Achievement
Recipient: Jerry Howard
Nominator: Laurene Montero, City of Phoenix Archaeologist
Dr. Jerry Howard has worked as a professional archaeologist for almost 50 years. Jerry earned his BA in anthropology from Cal State Long Beach in 1974 and first worked in California archaeology. By 1978, Jerry began his career in Hohokam archaeology. He first worked in CRM, working at sites such as Las Colinas, La Ciudad de los Hornos, Casa Buena, the Lehi Canal System, La Villa, and many others.
Soon he was focusing upon the dating, development, mechanics and significance of the of the Hohokam canal systems on both side of the Salt River. From his work on the canal systems Jerry developed the well-known map of the prehistoric Hohokam canals and villages along the lower Salt River. The map is the result of considerable background research and cartography. Dr. Howard examined and compared historical records, aerial photographs, data from archaeological excavations and on the ground conditions to develop the comprehensive map of prehistoric sites and canals that we use today.
This work led to Jerry’s MA from Arizona State University in 1990 on paleohydraulics and techniques for modeling the operation and growth of the prehistoric canal systems, and his PhD from ASU in 2006, Hohokam Irrigation Communities: A Study of Internal Structure, External Relationships and Sociopolitical Complexity. Jerry has at least 45 professional publications, many multi-volume, and he has presented innumerable papers at professional meetings. Among other things, Jerry is known as the preeminent scholar on Hohokam canals and irrigation systems.Hohokam Irrigation Communities: A Study of Internal Structure, External Relationships and Sociopolitical ComplexityThis work led to Jerry’s MA from Arizona State University in 1990 on paleohydraulics and techniques for modeling the operation and growth of the prehistoric canal systems, and his PhD from ASU in 2006,
By the mid-1980s, he was associated with what is now the Arizona Museum of Natural History and working to preserve Mesa Grande. After much effort, he was able to bring Mesa Grande into the public domain by working with the Southwest Archaeology Team and political leaders to convince the City of Mesa to purchase and preserve Mesa Grande. Jerry wrote a detailed stabilization plan for the site and oversaw an interpretive plan. This work led to his study Presenting the Past to the Public: Guidelines for Archaeological Park Development in Arizona. Jerry raised the money to fence the site, convened a planning team of prominent Hohokam archaeologists and members of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community and Gila River Indian Community to plan interpretation at Mesa Grande, and developed the plans for interpretation for a trail system and welcoming center, which opened to the public on January 19, 2013.
Jerry became a staff member of what is now the Arizona Museum of Natural History in 1993, until his retirement in March 2018. As City Archaeologist for the City of Mesa, he conducted excavations at the Pecos Road site and many others, and he monitored innumerable city construction sites. Most recently, Jerry directed the excavations at the Riverview and Riverview Park sites, probably 400 acres, where now reside the Riverview shopping center and Cubs stadium. True to his pledge to continue innovation in archaeology, Jerry pioneered the use of archaeomagnetic dating of prehistoric canal sediments. At the Riverview excavations, scientists conducted Optically-Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating on the canals, among the first use of this new technique in the United States. At the museum, Jerry attracted major donations of collections, and these led to exhibitions such as Cultures of the Ancient Americasand Native Cultures of Western North America.
He has served as chair of the Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission, is a founding member of the Southwest Archaeology Team (SWAT) and the Mesa Preservation Foundation. He is the recipient of the 1993 Ruppe Prize in Anthropology, the 2001 Victor R. Stoner award, the 2004 Governor’s Award in Public Archaeology, the City of Mesa Historic Preservation Award (2008) and the Historic Preservation Medal from the Daughters of the American Revolution.
As one of the nominators wrote, “in my 40 years as a professional archaeologist in Arizona, I have never encountered anyone in my discipline who exceeds Jerry Howard in their love and passion for unlocking the mysteries of the past and protecting heritage treasures. His relentless hard work, advocacy, skill, insight and experience have fostered a truly exceptional career in service to the wonderful cultural resources of Arizona—a career worthy of accolade.
