Arizona Archeological Society

As I stand on Tempe Butte looking out over the Valley of the Sun, the city disappears… it is replaced by a whole different view of colors, patterns and most importantly, people. I’m here to record the petroglyphs but I’m finding that it’s really far beyond that. My home is in Phoenix, my house is about three miles away as the crow flies, even closer to the S'edav Va'aki Museum where I am a member of the Phoenix Chapter at the Arizona Archeological Society.

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Joe Crary ~ The eruption of Sunset Crater and the impact it had on various people in Arizona.

Phoenix Chapter, Saturday May 2nd, 2026

I’ll just say it, “I know the area of Mt.Eldon, Sunset Crater and its volcanic field like the literal back of my hand. I’ve spent hours soaring from two craters near Sunset, Merriam and Sheba Craters and flying cross country to near Wupatki from Mt. Eldon near by. I’ve even studied the area a little from a geologic standpoint and have a book on the subject, “Volcanoes of Northern Arizona” but as an amateur archeologist/photographer with a lean on petroglyphs, I just wanted to understand what Mr. Crary was going to present about the effects of the eruption of Sunset Crater on the indigenous people. His presentation drilled down on the evidence in tree rings, the pottery and mortuary findings.

Pottery is so important to understanding the history of the indigenous people, so much can be learned from it. I have in my mind how people make pottery today yet I knew that the people long ago were somewhat creative but probably made their wares in a simple fashion. Right there as I listened to Mr.Crary’s presentation, I pulled up the PHX City WiFi and typed in, “How did the Hohokom make their pottery?” And the return was a piece from Desert Archeology, Inc.

Hohokam Ceramic Studies: Past, Present, Future This week’s blog is written by James Heidke, Desert Archaeology’s senior ceramic analyst.

As Mr. Crary presented, I scanned the article and it read of the same terms and descriptions. It was an amazing aha moment for me as many things were coming together all at once.

To keep this brief, I asked for the presentation, I pulled out a Paper Clip thumb drive I keep in my wallet and he quickly uploaded it for me to study.

   

The volcanic cinder cones near Sunset Crater

Self portrait over Merriam Crater

…in front of Sheba Crater

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Spence Gustav

Phoenix Chapter, Saturday April 4th, 2026

I get to the museum a few minutes before the presentation to get a good seat up front and some cookies and a cup of coffee. Last month I sat in front of a couple that were down from the Verde Valley chapter (I think) and we began to chit chat. We inevitably ended up on the topic of rock art in the valley and how Shaw Butte was next in my efforts to document the petroglyphs there. They said look at this photo. On their iPhone was a picture of a street sign that I knew and beyond the spiral man petroglyph circled in red. I had a 400mm lens that would easily bring that closer and the very next weekend, I went to that street sign and found the spiral man. I grabbed my back pack and triangulated where it was and found a group of petroglyphs around it and did a pretty good job recording them. I wanted to thank that couple at this months meeting but they were not there. 

I sat down in the front row next to a gentleman. He immediately said that he was going to confiscate my camera. I sat it down on the seat beside him and he picked it up like he was comfortable operating one. “What do you shoot?” He said he shot Nikons and said something about film. I told him I just sold a beautiful F3. I have an F6 and I’m no longer a fan of AI-S lenses and manual focus photography. I’m tired from hiking when I take pictures, sweat in my eyes, I need all the help I can get so I switched over to a well thought out kit of AF lenses not unlike the marvel construction of the manual focus Nikkors.

“Well, if you take the camera, leave me the lens but first, the Petroglyph, the newsletter of our society, the two last presentations, I took the pictures of the presenters.”

“Touche’ let me take the pictures first before you take my camera.”

We transitioned our conversation to the Verde Valley and he told me of his work there. We discussed my next targets (Perry Mesa ~ Verde Valley) and what would be the best place to focus on first? I told him that I knew the Verde Valley like the back of my hand from soaring over it in my hang glider for twenty years. But I haven’t explored much of it on foot.

It was nice chatting with Mr.Gustav and he decided to let me keep my camera. Spence presented “Red Rock Ranger District FOF Cultural Resources Photo/Research Projects”.

Turns out, he knows a thing or two about photography.
 

Mr. Gustav studied archaeology and geology in college. He graduated with a degree in geology leading to a 35 year career in the international petroleum industry. He worked through both undergraduate and graduate degrees as a technical photographer and field technician at archaeology and geology field projects. Most of his professional career involved living and working overseas. He had resident assignments in England, Scotland, Norway, Egypt, Oman, Qatar, Colombia and Libya with extensive long term work in other areas of the Middle East, SE Asia, North and West Africa, Western Europe and South America. He retired to Sedona, AZ with the plan of doing volunteer work in photography, archaeology and geology. He has been a Sedona Friends of the Forest volunteer since 2007 in various capacities.

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Scott Wood giving a presentation on the archeology of Perry Mesa

    

Phoenix Chapter, Saturday March 7th, 2026

March Meeting: J. Scott Wood will discuss his observations about Perry Mesa. Scott received his MA in archaeology from Arizona State University. He worked at Pueblo Grande Museum and at the ASU Office of Cultural Resource Management. He is retired from the Forest Service and is widely considered an expert on the Tonto National Forest, particularly because of his knowledge of ceramics. He has authored and co-authored dozens of publications and articles and his book, Checklist of Pottery Types for the Tonto National Forest is referenced all over the world. 

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Phoenix Chapter, Saturday February 4th, 2026

 

Our speaker will be Felipe Molina. Mr. Molina is a life-long resident of Yoem Pueblo (Marana) and member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe. He is an oral historian, a teacher of Yaqui language and culture, an experienced and accomplished deer singer and practitioner of other parts of the pahko, and an author and mentor to young Yaquis. A sought-after ceremonial leader, he has performed at many public gatherings internationally. Molina will continue to work with a group of apprentices, teaching and learning traditional Yoeme foodways and cultural expressions. See attached links:

 

            https://arizonaartslive.com/story/felipe-s-molina/

https://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A382

 

Mr. Molina will present information about his Yaqui (Yoeme) history and culture, which is an extremely interesting aspect of the history of both Sonora and Arizona.

 

The following Saturday (2/14/26) AAS will sponsor a field trip to southern Arizona where we will visit some of the important Yaqui sites.  The field trip is open to all AAS members (limited to 20 participants) with Phoenix chapter members receiving an early notice of the event.

 

When my parents lived in Tucson I visited most of the sites we will visit on the field trip.  Even though I’ve been there before I will be the first person to sign up.  For those of you who would like to learn more about the history of Mexico, Sonora and the Yaqui I can recommend these books:     

 

Cycles of conquest : the impact of Spain, Mexico, and the United States on the Indians of the Southwest, 1533-1960 (by Edward H. Spicer)

Studies of the Yaqui Indians of Sonora, Mexico (by W. C. Holden, et al)

The Yaquis and the Empire: Violence, Spanish Imperial Power, and Native Resilience in Colonial Mexico (by Raphael Brewster Folsom)

Yaqui myths and legends (by Ruth Warner Giddings)

Felipe Molina resident of Yoem Pueblo (Marana) and member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe

 

        

I meet Tim Askelson and Sam Baar, two members of the Society. Sam and I talked about the classes he teaches, Tim spoke about photography and the Petroglyph, the newsletter of the society.

I want to know more about the indigenous people and their way of life in the area where I live.

I’m well on my way. As a young man, my parents used to go to the Catholic Church in Guadalupe so my interest in the Yaqui runs deep. Mom and Dad lived in a nice home in Arcadia. Devout Catholics, my father a Heart Surgeon. He attended the humble church in Guadalupe. As he parked his Porsche in the church lot, it was out of place but he always talked of being home and feeling that way. He told stories of getting on a Yaqui bus and ending up on the border of Mexico, crossing without papers completely trusting his friends, the parishioners, his stories about them were told to me while we were in Yugoslavia on religious pursuit, but that was a long time ago…

I sat there listening to Mr. Molina, the memories came pouring back.

Mural on the building where our meetings are located at the S'edav Va'aki Museum

Resources

Arizona Archeological Society

J. Scott Wood -  Checklist of Pottery Types - Perry Mesa