Dr. Stephen Lekson will discuss and sign his new book, A History of the Ancient Southwest (SAR Press, 2009) at 2 pm on Sunday, July 19, in the New Mexico History Museum Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public with Museum admission, which is free to NM residents on Sundays.

Dr. Lekson, a curator and associate professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado, has drawn a decade of controversy for his theory of “the Chaco meridian†– an ancient migration pattern connecting Casas Grandes, Mexico, to Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. First pursued 10 years ago in his book The Chaco Meridien: Centers of Political Power in the Ancient Southwest, the theory continues in his latest book, sure to have archaeologists and anthropologists arguing anew.

Dr. Lekson received his doctorate in anthropology from the University of New Mexico and has more than 25 years of experience in Southwestern archaeology, with field research in Chaco Canyon, the Mesa Verde region, the Rio Grande, the Mimbres area, and the Hohokam region of southern Arizona. He has worked for the National Park Service, Arizona State Museum and the Museum of New Mexico.

From 1992-95, he was president of the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Dr. Lekson’s books include Intrigue of the Past: Discovering Archaeology in New Mexico; Chaco Canyon: A Center and Its World; and Great Pueblo Architecture of Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.  He has been an invited speaker at many conferences and public lectures, including the Smithosnian Institution, the Archaeological Institute of AMerica, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts. He has been a featured speaker on several radio and television specials, including National Public Radio, the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.

For more information on the event, call (505) 476-5200.

For more New Mexico information visit: www.new-mexico-visitor.com

Get a glimpse of the next generation of Native American artists and craftspeople at the annual Young Natives Show, Saturday and Sunday, July 18 and 19, from 9 am-3 pm in the Palace of the Governors Courtyard on the New Mexico History Museum campus. Enter this free, family-friendly event through the Blue Gate on Lincoln Avenue, just south of the History Museum’s main entrance at 113 Lincoln Ave.

Children and grandchildren of artists associated with the Museum’s Native American Artisans Program (commonly known as the Portal Program) will demonstrate their own arts and crafts – giving them an opportunity to learn from their families and to continue the cultural economic development supported by the Portal.

Almost every day of the year, the Portal Program offers what can be seen as the lowest-tech and highest-interactive exhibition in the Museum. Native American artists and craftspeople display and sell their handmade goods to tourists and residents, giving visitors a chance to interact with creators who still practice traditional techniques. Each day, vendors participate in a drawing for one of the 70 available spaces. They represent tribes, pueblos, chapters and villages in New Mexico, the Navajo Nation, and parts of Arizona. The Native American Portal Artisans Committee creates and enforces rules for those who sell their work under the portal. The rules emphasize authenticity (a maker’s mark is required on all goods), traditional materials, and handmade work produced as generations of Native artisans have created it.

The Young Natives Show lets visitors see those who will someday join their ranks. Spy the next Maria Martinez and start your collection early!

For information on this event, call (505) 476-5200.

For more New Mexico information visit: www.new-mexico-visitor.com

Sumner & Dene is proud to announce our August show “Stories” by Lori Gordon, August 7-29 with the opening reception Friday, Aug 7, 5-9pm.  Lori was originally a landscape painter on the Gulf Coast when Katrina destroyed her home and studio.  Since then Lori has created recycled art from the rubbles of Hurricane Katrina.  Then Hurricane Gustavo hit flooding the trailer she was living in while rebuilding her home.  Never one to complain, Lori says the hurricanes have given her a new way to see art.  On her “Stories” exhibition, Gordon says “Art communicates stories in a fashion much different from the spoken or written word. In this series, I have used art to explore and embrace the story. I am particularly drawn to the expression of the spiritual in our experience, and the manifestation of religious stories in our lives.”  Sumner & Dene, located in Downtown Albuquerque at 517 Central NW, is open weekdays 10-6, Saturdays 10-5.  For more information go to www.sumnerdene.com or call 505-842-1400.

For more New Mexico information visit: www.new-mexico-visitor.com