ARARA 2024 Conference

Farmington:
When the founders of ARARA held their first conference in 1974 they could have picked anywhere. But they chose Farmington, NM. Farmington is in an interesting area. Near the "four corners" where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico come together it is surrounded by culturally significant landscapes along with rock art and other archeology. It is at the junction of the San Juan, Animas, and La Plata rivers and is a short drive north of Chaco, southeast of Mesa Verde, and northeast of Canyon de Chelley. The Aztec and Salmon ruins are just outside of town. The Ute Mountain, Southern Ute, Jicarilla Apache, and Navajo reservations surround it.

Map source

Farmington is a small city with a population of 50,000. It has a regional airport (Four Corners Regional Airport "FMN") but it isn't served by commercial airlines. (Information on airlines serving the airport is inconsistent right now. We'll try to get more definitive information as we get closer to the conference.) A larger airport in Durango, CO "DRO" is served by American and United. Durango is about a one hour drive from Farmington.


Our conference will be hosted at the Courtyard Marriott. We will have room rates at this location but there are many other hotel options in Farmington. There are also plenty of dining options outside of the hotel. Here is a comprehensive online guide to attractions in and around Farmington.

The map above shows our hotel location (black arrow on right) and the nearby downtown area with many restaurant options highlighted in yellow on the left. There are many other food options in Farmington. Map source.

Climate:
May is a very pleasant month in Farmington. Average high temperature is about 80 degrees with an average low temperature of 45 degrees. There is almost no precipitation.

Call for Papers:
It's time to start thinking about submitting your research for the 2024 conference. The call for papers is open and will close February 15, 2024.

Rock Art:
David Casey, our local member arranging field trips, reports: "Substantial rock art images began to appear during Basketmaker II period (0 to AD 400). Pueblo I,II and III images are also present in limited numbers but are dominated by Hopi, Kerese, Chacoan, and Gallican images. Finally there are many Diné panels from AD 1550 to 1790."

Diné culture considers the northwestern are of New Mexico known as Dinetah as their homeland. Diné medicine men became well known for their healing ceremonies and rituals , more than 30 of which are reflected in the rock art by an elaborate pantheon of holy people. Diné sand paintings were part of those ceremonies and rituals and share imagery with the rock art.

We think you will enjoy rock art in the area. A few examples are shown below: