AWARDS

NAA Silver Trowel for Lifetime Achievement Award

Now Accepting Nominations for the NAA Silver Trowel Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded annually at the NAA Annual Conference.

The Silver Trowel is presented to professionals that have spent a majority of their professional career working in Nevada, have made outstanding positive, lasting contributions to archaeology in Nevada, and have maintained the highest standards of professionalism and ethics in the conduct of his or her career. The award was created and first presented in 2004.

Send nominations to naa@nvarch.org

NAA 2018 award was presented to Dr. James “Pat” Barker.  Pat is known to many “older” agency, CRM, and academic archaeologists as the former State BLM Archaeologist between 1988 and 2006. To those people, including project proponents, he acted as the “Monty Hall of Archaeology.” Throughout his tenure he did his best to make all parties believe he was their advocate. Land exchanges promoted by Pat included transfer of High Basin petroglyph sites above Spanish Springs into public ownership. Alternative mitigation resulted in expansion of the Nevada State Museum’s “Tosawihi Quarry” warehouse addition. Perhaps most importantly, however, Pat played a key role in the successful civil ARPA prosecution of the Elephant Mountain Cave looter. At $2.5 m the highest fine leveled under that law. Post-2006 activities include involvement with UNR as Adjunct Assistant Professor, Nevada Rock Art Foundation as Director, Nevada State Museum as Research Associate, and Nevada Museum of Art as Consultant. – By Gene Hattori

Past Recipients

2018                    Dr. James “Pat” Barker
2017                     Dr. Kevin Rafferty
2016                     Donald Hardesty
2015                    Eugene M. Hattori
2014                     Robert Elston
2013                     Roberta McGonagle
2012                     Claude Warren
2011                     Tim Murphy
2010                     Alice Baldrica
2009                     Don & Catherine Fowler
2008                     [No Award]
2007                     Richard & Sheilagh Brooks
2005 | 2006     Margaret Lyneis [Awarded in 2005, Presented in 2006]
2004                    Mary Rusco

Ting-Perkins Award

Now Accepting Nominations for the Ting Perkins Award, awarded annually at the NAA Annual Conference.

The Ting-Perkins award is presented to a deserving individual for outstanding avocational contributions to archaeology in Nevada, and was created and first presented in 1982. The award is named in honor of Dr. Peter Ting (first President of AM-Arcs in 1967 and head of the Nevada Archaeological Survey) and Fay Perkins (who in 1924 along with his brother, John, first brought the Moapa Valley’s “El Pueblo Grande de Nevada” to the attention of Nevada Governor, James Scrugham, and later became curator of the Lost City Museum in Overton from 1952 until 1956).

Send nominations to naa@nvarch.org

This year we have two recipients of the Ting-Perkins Award for outstanding avocational contributions to Nevada archaeology. The NAA is proud to recognize Ken and Karen Hopple as co-recipients in 2018.

Many western Nevadans know Ken and Karen Hopple through their AmArcs participation, particularly Ken’s continued presidency of the organization. Ken had worked for the Hamilton Company’s founder in Southern California as a skilled machinist and tool and die maker. He continued working for the privately held company after its move to Reno and international expansion. He generously offered his trade skills to the Nevada State Museum by developing a method to conserve Carson City Mint coin dies discarded by the mint in the late 1870s. Ken and Karen assisted both Kelly Dixon and Julie Schabilisky with their historic archaeological graduate research in Virginia City. Karen and junior-author Gene Hattori later published original research into a particularly interesting 19th century Native American bisque doll from Germany, that is swaddled in a miniature Washoe cradleboard. Ken continued his museum involvement by taking the position as the museum’s Chief Coiner who also maintained the former mint’s historic “V&T”, Morgan and Orr coin press. Ken also continues his numismatic interests through certifications from and presentations at the American Numismatic Association Money Museum in Colorado Springs. – By Gene Hattori

Past Recipients

2018                     Ken & Karen Hopple
2017                     Allen Metscher | George Phillips
2016                     Keith Stever
2015                     Jean Myles
2014                     Bob Hafey & Loretta Watson
2013                     Elizabeth Russell
2012                     Anne Carter
2011                     [No Award]
2010                     [No Award]
2009                     Donna Murphy
2008                     Ann McConnell
2007                     [No Award]
2006                     Elaine Holmes | Darrell & Terri Wade
2005                     Oyvind Frock
2004                     Charles Brown
2003                     Farrel & Manetta Lytle
2002                     Phil Hutchinson
2001                     [No Award]
2000                     Helen Mortenson
1999                     Don Hendricks
1998                     [No Awards]
1997                     [No Awards]
1996                     [No Awards]
1995                     Grace Burkholder
1994                     Jean Stevens [Posthumously]
1993                     Steve Stoney
1992                     [No Award]
1991                     Norma & Herb Splatt
1990 – 1983     [No Awards]
1982                     Jean Myles


The 2009 Nevada Archaeology Awareness & Historic Preservation Month Poster Wins 2nd place in the 2010 Society for American Archaeology (SAA) Poster Contest!

Check out the most recent past poster contest winners on the SAA website.