R.E. Burrillo - Bears Ears Archaeology: Past, Present, and Future

A presentation in April 2017 by R.E. Burrillo hosted by the Verde Valley Archaeology Center at Cliff Castle Casino. Bears Ears includes what is almost undoubtedly the greatest and densest assemblage of archaeological sites in any comparably-sized area on the continent. Every temporal stage of Southwest prehistory is represented there, from Paleoindian straight through to the Spanish. It is also one of the most important landforms to Native American cultures of the region, as sacred as Grand Canyon or the San Francisco Peaks. This talk is split into three parts: a short summary of the exploration and cultural resources of the Bears Ears area (i.e., synopsis of the Historic Photography project); a summary of some prominent research projects in Bears Ears archaeology that are currently taking place; and, a rundown of the conservation effort and challenges. R.E. Burrillo is an author and archaeologist with multiple degrees in anthropology and archaeology. His technical work has appeared in Kiva, Southwestern Lore, The Archaeological Record, and Blue Mountain Shadows. His mainstream work appears in Archaeology Southwest, the Salt Lake Tribune, the San Juan County Record, and Cracked. He currently splits his time between Flagstaff, Salt Lake City and Cortez, Colorado.