Southern Deserts Learning Expedition

March 15–21, 2014

Explore the archaeology and history of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts with Arizona State Museum researchers Dr. Michael M. Brescia and Dr. James T. Watson.

This brand new and exciting learning expedition introduces you to the driest expanse of the two southern deserts and the peoples who have forged their cultural identities and economic livelihoods in the region between present-day Tucson, Arizona and Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Access to water sources have fashioned the rhythms of daily life from the earliest times, bringing together disparate and competing groups for the limited natural resource. Learn how the region's early Native peoples, Europeans, and even we today, have adapted to this harsh, sun-baked environment. See how adaptation has been and continues to be expressed through culture and social organization.

You will visit key archaeological sites and historic monuments and have a lot of fun with Michael and Jim along the way!

From the Hohokam and Mogollon to the arrival of the Spanish, from the creation of the U.S.-Mexico border and the rise of the American West to Pancho Villa's raid on Columbus, New Mexico, come experience these southern deserts with us!

Itinerary and full details coming soon!

$1750 per person for non ASM members ($400 tax deductible)
$1650 per person for ASM members ($300 tax deductible)
$300 single supplement

Registration fee includes lodging, motor coach transportation, all breakfasts, some lunches, three dinner receptions, snacks and beverages on board the motor coach, all entry fees and gratuities. A minimum of 20 persons / 30 persons maximum.

Register Today!

Print and mail in the registration form: Sign-up Form (PDF requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Or you may call Darlene Lizarraga at 520-626-8381 to reserve by phone with your credit card.

Arizona State Museum's Payment and Refund Policy

• 50% deposit due at time of reservation.
• 100% refund possible >60 days prior to departure date.
• Payment in full due at least 60 days prior to departure.
• Gift portion only refunded 59–30 days prior to departure date.
• No refund <29 days prior to departure date. Amount becomes tax-deductible gift to ASM.

Your Guides

Michael M. Brescia, Ph.D. is associate curator of ethnohistory at Arizona State Museum and associate professor of history at the University of Arizona where he teaches courses on Mexico, comparative North America, and world history. He has conducted research in archives and rare book libraries in Mexico and Spain on the living legacies of Spanish water law in the southwestern United States and religious identities in colonial Mexico. He has published books that address the broader dimensions of the Mexican historical experience, including its more comparative features.

James T. Watson, Ph.D. is assistant curator of bioarchaeology at Arizona State Museum and assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona. His research examines health and disease in prehistoric populations through skeletal remains. He is specifically interested in understanding prehistoric human adaptations in desert ecosystems and the role local resources play in the adoption of agriculture and their impact on health. Current projects involve the excavation and analysis of the earliest farmers in the Sonoran Desert and of incipient agriculturalists in the Atacama Desert, along the northern coast of Chile. Jim has worked excavating archaeological sites in Sonora for the past decade and has contributed greatly to the preservation of its cultural resources. His research has been published in a variety of scholarly journals.

Your Host

Arizona State Museum’s scholars and extensive collections are among the most significant resources in the world for the study of Southwest peoples. Arizona State Museum is Arizona’s premier research museum, the oldest and largest anthropology museum in the Southwest (est. 1893), home of the world's largest collections of Southwest Indian pottery and American Indian basketry, and a Smithsonian Institution affiliate. Your support of our programs helps us continue our work. Thank you!

Image credits:
Jannelle Weakly and Jim Watson

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