Conference 2010

The pre-registration deadline has passed for early registration, submission of abstracts, field trip sign-up, and the Vendor room. On-site Registration forms will be available at the Registration table. On-site registration fee is $25 for students, $80 for first family member, $50 for second (all over 18 must register). There are optional field trips and a workshop with fees varying $8 to $25 per person. Banquet cost is $40 per person. The online version of La Pintura vol. 35 no. 4 has additional information.

The Ramada Inn is our Host Hotel and the site of our Conference, in their Conference Center. Room reservations may still be made by calling (830) 775-1511 and ask for the ARARA rate ($88). This reduced rate is available until March 11^th, and includes a Breakfast Buffet and Internet.

Fieldtrips will take place on Friday and Monday. While the fieldtrip registration deadline has passed, members may sign up for any available spots during registration in Del Rio.

The Conference Opening Reception will take place on Friday evening from 6-8 pm at the Casa de la Cultura, 302 Cantu St., Del Rio, and features their Ballet Folklorico. Please watch this website for a map and directions to the event. Maps are also available at the hotel.

Public lectures sponsored by the ARARA Education Committee, will take place in the Kennedy Room, Del Rio Civic Center, 1915 Veterans Boulevard, Del Rio, 6:45 PM - 8:45 pm. ARARA members are welcome to attend. The program will feature:

Dr. William Breen Murray, "Rock Art Across the Border - Equinox alignment at Boca de Portrerillos, Mina, Nuevo Leon." Breen has a 30-year career in Mexican Rock Art Research and is currently ARARA's La Pintura Editor in Monterrey, Mexico.

Jamie Hampson, "Approaching Rock Art in Under-Studied Regions: Case Studies from the Texas Big Bend and Beyond." Hampson is Research Associate at the Center for Big Bend Studies at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas, and PhD student at the University of Cambridge.

ARARA Workshop - Jon Harman will conduct a 2-hour workshop on DStretch (see dstretch.com) - the Image-J plug-in he developed for image enhancement and which is now being used worldwide. This hands-on workshop will be held on Thursday evening at 7 pm at the Ramada Inn, Del Rio. Using images from around the world Dr Harman will discuss the basics of DStretch enhancement and more advanced topics. Bring your computers! Dr Harman will install DStretch for those who don't have it and will help you to get the best enhancements from your own images. For more information or to sign up, please send an e-mail to Donna Gillette (rockart@ix.netcom.com). The workshop fee is $20 and can be paid at registration.

Don't forget the ARARA Auction! Please bring your 'priceless' items (including white elephants) to the Auction table in the Vendor room. If you are unable to attend or have items that need to be shipped please contact the Auction Chair, Teddy Stickney (stick711@sbcglobal.net).

Two of ARARA's auction items for the Del Rio conference are quilted items including a 54" X 54" quilt and a smaller pillow sham. Carol Jean Garner organized this project including soliciting quilt squares, providing materials and doing all the quilting. You can see the quilt and pillow sham at this URL:http://tinyurl.com/ykb24jo

There are instructions on the website on how to make a bid. Each bidder will receive an email saying their bid has been received. Bidders are encouraged to check the website periodically as the highest bid will be posted there as the bids come in.

You will be able to send your bids through March 24, Wednesday, until 5:00 pm (MST). Your bid MUST include your name, address, land phone or cell phone number and email address. I know this seems like a lot of information but when trying to contact the successful bidder we need several ways of contacting if one way fails.

ARARA is still looking for a few volunteers. If you are willing to help during the conference please contact Priscilla Murr (priscillamurr@sbcglobal.net).

About Lower Pecos and its Rock Art

The Lower Pecos archeological area is situated near Del Rio, Texas, a small town on the Mexican border. This area contains a distinctive and significant archeological record. The area is comprised of limestone canyons with rock shelters along the Pecos Devils, and Rio Grande. Many of the rock shelters contain perishable items that usually are lost from the archaeological record in open sites such as woven mats, sandals, cordage, and painted pebbles.

The area is also home to some of the finest examples of prehistoric rock art in North America. The rock art dates to at least 4,500 years ago. For thousands of years, artists saw the sun-baked canyon walls as vast canvasses on which to create compelling imagery in vivid hues of red, yellow, black, and white. This enigmatic rock art provides fleeting glimpses into the worldview of ancient peoples. These painted images adorn the walls of hundreds of rock shelters and minor overhangs. The striking and inspiring rock art is photographed, illustrated, recorded, and studied by hundreds of enthusiasts across the country and a much smaller number of dedicated researchers. Pictographs are the most numerous and best-known rock art images in the Lower Pecos. Forest Kirkland and W.W. Newcomb (1967) have discussed four main styles. From oldest to most recent these are: Pecos River, Red Linear, Red Monochrome, and Historic. The oldest, the Pecos River style, is also the most common and most complex.

References

Some color photos of rock art at each field trip site are available in the online version of La Pintura vol.35 no.4 (see www.arara.org/La_Pintura_Downloads.html)

Additional color photos of White Shaman, Panther Cave, and Big Satan are on the web site of the Texas Archeological Society (txarch.org/Activities/AnnualMeeting/am2009/tours.php)

Many excellent photos of much Lower Pecos rock art (grouped by site) are on the web site of Chester Leeds (see www.chesterleeds.com/fotoplayer_out/index.html).

For rock art styles in the Lower Pecos River Culture Area, see books on Texas rock art listed on the ARARA website (also see www.texasbeyondhistory.net/pecos/art.html).

Lists of publications by Solveig Turpin and by Carolyn Boyd are listed on Leigh Marymor's Rock Art Studies: A Bibliographic Database (see http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/collections/rockart/search.html). Also see Turpin's publications at http://coahuilense.org/Autores/Dra. Solveig A. Turpin/SATVitaWeb-1.pdf. (available from coahuilense.org/Autores.html).

A map of the Lower Pecos area is in Kirkland and Newcomb 1967/1996, The Rock Art of Texas Indians, p.38 (also see www.texasbeyondhistory.net/pecos/index.html).

See the Rock Art Foundation gallery of photos of four styles, plus the Seminole Canyon State Park guide and map (see www.rockart.org).

The Shumla School features a rock art recording project, two student projects, and ethnobotany of the Lower Pecos (see www.shumla.org).

For more information see:

www.texasbeyondhistory.net/pecos/index.html

www.shumla.org

www.rockart.org/

Information on Texas Rock Art prepared by the ARARA Education Committee

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