Arizona State Museum

Over the past six months, Gina Watkinson, assistant conservator and ASM’s newest faculty member, has had the pleasure of mentoring Arnold Zavala, an emerging collections management professional, through the Association of Registrars and Collections Specialists (ARCS) Mentoring Program. The mission of the program is to connect established museum professionals with emerging and mid-career specialists for mentorship, professional growth, and the exchange of knowledge and ideas.

Gina and Arnold have been meeting virtually to discuss issues related to the museum profession, including collections stewardship, health and safety, and career development. Recently, they had the opportunity to meet in person and made a visit to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City together.

https://www.arcsinfo.org/membership/mentoring%20program

Last Friday, ASM hosted Akimel O’odham master basket weaver August Wood ( on Instagram) and more than a dozen of his students and friends to examine O’odham baskets for inspiration and insight into traditional basketry techniques. Associate curators Drs. Ed and Ruth Jolie, with curatorial assistant Connor Moore, facilitated the visit. Great fun was had by all and we look forward to many return visits.

ASM objects are featured in the cover story of the current issue of "Archaeology Magazine," which explores the sounds of the ancient world, from Bronze Age cymbals to Celtic war horns to Puebloan cocoon rattles.

Read and listen here:

Making Ancient Music - Archaeology Magazine Tuning in to the sounds of the ancient world

Join us for our next FREE, in-person lecture at Whiskey Del Bac, featuring Jannelle Weakly, ASM’s photographic and multi-media collections manager. Thursday, August 20, 6:00 p.m.

Full details and RSVP here:
https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/events/reflections-connections

ASM will be popping up at Tucson Comic-Con! Join us Sept. 4, 5 & 6 at the Tucson Convention Center, Booth F18.

Special booth guests will be Indigenous creatives Tom Farris and Bobby Stills.

Full details below:

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ASM at Tucson Comic-Con Image When All Day, Sept. 4 – 6, 2026 eventAdd to Calendar Add Event to Calendar ASM at Tucson Comic-Con All Day, Sept. 4 – 6, 2026 Select your calendar type below: Google iCal File Outlook Enterprise (Office 365) Outlook Personal (outlook.com) Yahoo! We'll be popping up at Tucson Comic-Con!Stop...

Congratulations to Dr. Suzanne Eckert, ASM’s head of collections, and eight co-authors on the publication of: “Production and provenance of Inka pottery in Qullasuyu: petrographic and geochemical evidence from the Arica-Carangas macroregion (northern Chile and western Bolivia),” in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences 18: 172-200 (2026).

This study examines the organization of Inka pottery production and circulation within Qullasuyu, with particular focus on its expression across the distinct ecological zones of the Arica–Carangas vertical transect, spanning from the Pacific coast to the Altiplano. In this context the coauthors address three interrelated questions: Where did Inka pottery circulating in the Qullasuyu region originate? What are the social implications of multiple production origins? Did the state promote or develop local production of Inka-style ceramics in the region?

Read the article now:

Production and provenance of Inka pottery in Qullasuyu: petrographic and geochemical evidence from the Arica-Carangas macroregion (northern Chile and western Bolivia) - Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences The production and circulation of Inka ceramics were central to structuring negotiations between the Inka state and local communities annexed to Tawantinsuyu, as well as to strategies of imperial legitimization and control. Archaeological and ethnohistorical evidence indicates that distinctive Inka....

Dr. Michael Brescia, curator of ethnohistory, is in Mexico conducting summer research.

In Puebla, he recently presented the lecture, "De la biblioteca a la cerveza Palafoxiana: Relatos del patrimonio cultural de México" (From the Palafoxiana Library to Palafoxiana Beer: Stories from Mexico's Cultural Patrimony).

The program took place at Casa Laurel, a popular restaurant housed in a seventeenth-century Spanish colonial-style building.

Some 60 people came out to hear Michael discuss the tangible and intangible dimensions of culture over the long haul of Mexican history.

Space suddenly available! Travel with us September 23-29:

New Mexico Pueblos Learning Expedition Image Mission San Esteban del Rey at Sky City Acoma When All Day, Sept. 23 – 29, 2026 eventAdd to Calendar Add Event to Calendar New Mexico Pueblos Learning Expedition All Day, Sept. 23 – 29, 2026 Select your calendar type below: Google iCal File Outlook Enterprise (Office 365) Outlook Personal ...

ASM Associate Director and bioarchaeologist, Dr. James Watson, is in the second week of work in Germany, leading students on a UA Study Abroad program and supporting the mission of DPAA*, excavating a WWII crash site. Last evening (after a long day in the field) he gave the students a lecture on distinguishing between human vs. animal bone in archaeological contexts.

*The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is a US Department of Defense program with the mission of providing the fullest possible accounting for U.S. personnel missing from armed conflicts around the world.