The Office of Archaeological Studies (OAS) has completed their studies of the excavations on the north side of the Santa Fe Plaza, which took place earlier this year. They found evidence of the Pueblo Revolt, which ultimately led to the Fiesta celebration which takes place every September in Santa Fe. As proclaimed in 1712 and held annually ever since, Fiesta celebrates the resettlement of Santa Fe led by Don Diego de Vargas in 1692, after Pueblo Indians took control of the town and forced out the Spanish colonists in 1680.

At a dig being made in advance of the construction of the new community stage, archaeologists found an old acequia, artifacts from a military conflict, and the remains of past everyday life on Santa Fe’s plaza. The acequia and artifacts may be the hard evidence that supports historical documents and accounts of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

Museum of New Mexico archaeologists, led by Stephen Lentz, found a cobble-lined ditch that diverted water from a spring east of the plaza for irrigation of plaza trees and vegetation. Known variously over time as the Plaza Acequia and the Acequia Madre, it is apparently the same canal that supplied water to colonists who took refuge in the Palace of the Governors during the Pueblo Revolt. Governor Otermín led several skirmishes over the water supply before Pueblo Indians managed to cut it off. In 1693, de Vargas used the same tactic to force the surrender of the Indians who occupied the Palace of the Governors as part of a smaller revolt. Although the date of construction is unknown, the irrigation ditch was in use until at least 1872 and it is shown on historic maps and in photographs.

More evidence of the colonial period conflict comes from the discovery of broken arrowheads, musket balls, gunflints and a broken sword tip. Found at the edge of the buried acequia, the artifacts are, in all likelihood, remains from one of the engagements led by Governor Otermín. Historical accounts say that Plains Indian groups eventually joined the rebellion; an Apache-style arrowhead offers supporting evidence for those statements.

In addition to the signs of military conflict, the excavations also yielded artifacts that paint a picture of everyday life on the plaza. Cut animal bones are probably from the butchering stands that stood in front of the Palace of the Governors. Historical accounts suggest that sheep were the primary part of a colonial diet; most of the recovered bones are from sheep. Another item that may have been sold or traded in the market was pueblo-made pottery, interestingly, some of it made in European vessel forms such as soup plates.

It is rare to find evidence of the Pueblo Revolt period of Santa Fe history. Most of the Spanish documentary records were destroyed over the centuries and only a few scattered documents are known from archives in Chihuahua, Mexico City, the Vatican, and Spain. Tim Maxwell, OAS director, says that archaeology is one of the few remaining sources of information about early colonial life in Santa Fe. (The Office of Archaeological Studies is part of the Museum of New Mexico/Department of Cultural Affairs.)

Darwin Award: Junk Food Junkie

The 1994 Darwin Award went to the fellow who was killed by a Coke machine which toppled over on top of him as he was attempting to tip a free soda out of it.

Truth Emerges About Bush Misleading on Medicare
From the dailymisleader.com

In pushing Congress to pass its controversial Medicare bill, President Bush promised that “corporations have no intention to what they call ‘dump retirees’” from their existing prescription drug coverage. But according to a new report, Bush’s own health officials estimate that millions will be cut off from their existing drug coverage because of the new Medicare law.

According to government documents obtained by the New York Times, the Bush Administration now estimates “that employers will reduce or eliminate prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006.” That represents one-third of all the retirees with employer-sponsored drug coverage. Medicare’s new benefits are often less comprehensive than those offered by employers.

As reported in an earlier Daily Misleader, even while Bush was reassuring the nation about the Medicare bill, he was actually working to create an incentive for employers to cut off seniors from existing coverage. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Administration quietly added “a little-noticed provision” to the bill that allows companies to severely reduce, or almost completely terminate, their retirees’ drug coverage “without losing out on the new subsidy.” In other words, the President did not just break his promise to sign a bill that prevents seniors from losing their existing drug coverage. He actually acted to reward companies who cut off their retirees with a lavish new tax break. The companies that lobbied for the provision donated almost $140,000 in hard money and $2.5 million in soft money to Bush and his party since 2000.

The Wedding Test

My girlfriend and I had been dating for over a year when we decided to get married.  My parents helped us in every way, and my friends encouraged me.
My girlfriend?  She was a dream!  There was only one thing bothering me. That one thing was her younger sister.

My prospective sister-in-law was twenty years of age, wore tight miniskirts, and low cut blouses.  She would regularly bend down when near me, and I got many pleasant views of her underwear. It had to be deliberate.  She never did it when she was near anyone else.

One day little sister calls and asked me to come over to check the wedding invitations.  She was alone when I arrived. She whispered to me that soon I was to be married, and she had feelings and desires for me that she could not overcome and didn’t really want to overcome.  She told me that she wanted to make love to me just once before I got married and committed my life to her sister.

I was in total shock and could not say a word. She said, “I’m going upstairs to my
bedroom, and if you want to go ahead with it just come up and get me.” I was stunned.  I was frozen in shock as I watched her go up the stairs.  When she reached the top, she pulled down her panties and threw them down the stairs at me.

I stood there for a moment, then turned and went straight to the front door.  I opened the door and stepped out of the house and walked straight toward my car. My future father-in-law was standing outside. With tears in his eyes, he hugged me and said, “We are very happy that you have passed our little test. We could not ask for a  better man for our daughter. Welcome to the family!”

The moral of this story is.... always keep your condoms in your car.

Top 11 Thoughts
for 2004

11. Life is sexually transmitted.

10. Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

9. Men have two emotions: Hungry and Horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich!

8. Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to use the Internet and they won‘t bother you for weeks.

7. Some people are like Slinkies...not really good for anything, but you still can‘t help but smile when you see one tumble down the stairs.

6. Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.

5. Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

4. Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents?

3. In the 60‘s, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

2. Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.

1. Many terrorists come to America and hang around on expired visas (some for as long as 10-15 years) . Now take Blockbuster, for example. You‘re two days late with a video rental and those people are all over you. I think we should put Blockbuster in charge of US immigration.