Arizona State Museum

Attention Educators!

Arizona State Museum is partnering with the Smithsonian to offer a unique and engaging workshop for K-12 teachers. 

Using the Harvard Project Zero "Look-Listen-Connect" strategy for student engagement, teachers will learn about musical storytelling in the corrido and blues traditions, look at museum objects and cultural symbols, and think about cultural identity. Enjoy a live musical performance and try your hand at writing your own song. Dinner is included.

Arts Integration with the Smithsonian
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
3:30 - 7:00 p.m.
City High School, downtown Tucson (37 E Pennington St.)
Teachers will earn 3.5 professional development hours at this free training!

Register here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=Kl6bmOQU_k6Tt4zdX8XRHPhdgQ0ONydBpBKhyNxv8SZUODRHQkIyWjI5Q1Y5Vjk5MkFOR1VQR1NPVy4u

Congratulations to Ruben Urrea Moreno, ASM’s exhibit preparator and artist!

Ruben's latest mural will be unveiled and feted at the University of Arizona on November 6, at the Albert B. Weaver Science-Engineering Library, 744 N Highland Ave. The mural honors Los Universitarios, Mexican American students whose leadership helped pave the way for generations of Wildcats.

Event details and registration: https://events.trellis.arizona.edu/en/f44lNu67/los-universitarios-mural-dedication-5a3UV43WaLB/overview

Great fun to visit MIAC in Santa Fe this week, as part of our New Mexico Pueblos Learning Expedition. In addition to an enjoyable guided tour, we were blessed with a rain storm.

TO REVIEW OR NOT TO REVIEW, THAT IS THE QUESTION

Curator of Ethnohistory Dr. Michael Brescia’s latest publication gig is for the "Journal of the Southwest."

As the journal’s new Review Editor, he’ll introduce each article with his take on historical context and significance. His inaugural foray was the Spring 2026 issue, now available electronically.

It is also worth noting that this issue features several images from ASM’s photo collections.

Check it out: https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/57446

Dr. Jim Watson, ASM associate director and curator of bioarchaeology, participated in a panel discussion this weekend at the annual conference of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, held in Phoenix. The panel was entitled, "From Consultation to Co-Stewardship: Many Governments, One Landscape," and featured representatives from Gila River and Salt River, as well as from the Arizona Museum of Natural History and S'edav Va'aki Museum.

Mark your calendar for our next FREE, in-person talk at Wh***ey Del Bac, featuring archaeologist and art historian Dr. Mont Allen from the University of Arizona's School of Art.

"Images of Dionysus, God of Alcohol & Ecstasy, on Roman Sarcophagi"
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
6:00-8:00 p.m.

Images of Dionysus, God of Alcohol & Ecstasy, on Roman Sarcophagi Image When 6 – 8 p.m., Oct. 13, 2026 eventAdd to Calendar Add Event to Calendar Images of Dionysus, God of Alcohol & Ecstasy, on Roman Sarcophagi 6 – 8 p.m., Oct. 13, 2026 Select your calendar type below: Google iCal File Outlook Enterprise (Office 365) Outlook Personal (outlook.com) Yahoo! Wher...

When humans first arrived in the Americas about 20,000 years ago, they brought domestic dogs, the first domesticated animal in the Western Hemisphere, with them.

In a new chapter co-authored by Dr. Martin Welker, ASM associate curator of zooarchaeology, and three colleagues, we can read of genetic evidence indicating that most pre-contact dogs descended from Siberian ancestors rather than North American wolves.

Clay, Aidan, Aurelie Manin, Martin H. Welker, and Audrey T. Lin
2026 “A Cultural and Evolutionary History of Dogs in the Americas,” in “History of Rabies in the Americas: From the Pre-Columbian to the Present, Volume IV,” edited by Charles E. Rupprecht, pp. 49-80. Springer, Cham.

Read more at

A Cultural and Evolutionary History of Dogs in the Americas When humans first arrived in the Americas about 20,000 years ago, they brought domestic dogs, the first domesticated animal in the Western Hemisphere, with them. Dog remains are common in New World archaeological sites. Over time, dogs’ capacity for...

The Amerind Museum in Dragoon is hosting a Comcaac (Seri) show and sale on Sept 26 and 27.

While there, check out the exhibit, “Invisible No More,” which tells the story of the Hia-Ced O’odham. It is on loan from ASM and it closes at the end of the month after a one-year run.

Comcáac, (Seri) Show & Sale, September 26th & 27th - Amerind Museum - Research Center, Library, and Art Gallery Comcáac, (Seri) Show & Sale Saturday & Sunday, September 26-27, 10 AM- 4 PM Make plans to join us on Saturday, September 26th or Sunday, September

ASM’s Head of Collections and Curator Dr. Suzanne Eckert's latest peer-reviewed publication is in the July/August 2026 issue of "Geoarchaeology:" "Production Sequence of Rio Grande Glaze Ware as Revealed Through Petrographic Analysis."

In this paper, the co-authors use petrographic analysis of Rio Grande Glaze Ware (from the Rio Abajo region of New Mexico) to identify and measure ceramic attributes that reflect intentional choices at different steps in the production process.

Production Sequence of Rio Grande Glaze Ware as Revealed Through Petrographic Analysis In this paper, we present a systematic method focused on petrographic analysis to identify different steps in the pottery production process and use this method to evaluate Rio Grande Glaze Ware from...

Mark your calendar to join us next month at the University of Arizona Museum of Art for Dia de Los Mu***os Storytelling with the wonderful Zarco Guerrero!

Full details:

Dia De Los Mu***os Storytelling with Zarco Guerrero Image When 1 – 2 p.m., Oct. 10, 2026 eventAdd to Calendar Add Event to Calendar Dia De Los Mu***os Storytelling with Zarco Guerrero 1 – 2 p.m., Oct. 10, 2026 Select your calendar type below: Google iCal File Outlook Enterprise (Office 365) Outlook Personal (outlook.com) Yahoo! At the Unive...