We members of the GCAS are a very lucky bunch indeed. Our two allotted rooms in the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site's historic Wood House are complete. We're ready to get to work on our educational programs and research collections that will form the backbone of the new Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center. Meet the dozens of generous folks who have given the GCAS their time, skills, hard-earned money, and valued library materials to our project. It is because of their unwavering support that we are able to start 2022 in just the right way. Thank you all for standing by us!

The GCAS's own Thatcher Rogers has shared with us a link to his recently published article in the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology that describes the latest stage of his ongoing archaeological research into the connections between the Mimbres and Casas Grandes cultures. Thatcher wrote that the GCAS's Nancy Coinman Grant Award that he received in 2019 helped him collect some of the data and images he used in this article. We are thrilled that our group could contribute to research like Thatcher's.

Thatcher continues,

My paper is titled: Ancestral relations and late prehispanic dynamics between the Mimbres and Casas Grandes cultures of the American Southwest/Mexican Northwest region

Archaeology Southwest's last lecture of the season discussing the significance of turkeys in the ancient US Southwest happens soon, so set the date and enjoy learning all about turkey feather blankets:

Dr. Cynthia Bettison has announced her retirement as Director of the Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Museum effective January 1, 2022. During her 30+-year tenure the WNMU Museum, located in WNMU’s historic Fleming Hall, became a major repository of Mimbres Pottery including the Museum’s acquisition of the NAN Ranch collection (the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials from a single prehistoric Mimbres site). Dr. Bettison also launched the ongoing renovation of Fleming Hall itself.

Following are the position summary, application link, and contact information Dr. Bettison provided with her announcement. Please do not contact Dr. Bettison regarding this position. All interested candidates should apply via the link provided below, and direct any further inquiries to the WNMU Human Resources office email at employment@wnmu.edu or call 575-538-6328:

Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 7:00 PM via Zoom: GCAS general meeting features Christopher Adams, our good friend and the East Zone Archaeologist for the Black Range District of the Gila National Forest, who will present "The 1885 Apache Fight on Trujillo Creek, Southern New Mexico." Chris will discuss the archaeological work he has conducted on an 1885 Apache fight located on the Gila National Forest along Trujillo Creek, approximately seven miles southeast of Kingston, NM. If you have attended any of Chris's previous presentations, you know to expect an engaging historical tale that Chris brings alive with illustrations and photos of his own research and field investigations.

Archaeology Southwest continues with their lineup of FREE online Zoom presentations for their Avian Archaeology season. Set some dates and register soon for one or more of the following:

December 7, 2021, 6:00PM MST: “Turkey Feather Blankets in Ancestral Pueblo History” offered by Bill Lipe (Professor Emeritus, Washington State University) and Mary Weahkee (New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies). More info and registration here.

January 4, 2022, 6:00PM MST: “Ducks, Power, and the San Juan Basketmakers” featuring Polly Schaafsma (Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology). More info and registration here.

Rehab work continues in IFWEF's two upstairs rooms; the walls have been painted and the floors refinished, with final touches underway. Downstairs, the GCAS library's built-in bookshelves are in place and awaiting their final finish coats. (See volunteer Steve Collie at work in the first two photos over there on the left.)

Meanwhile, our GCAS volunteers spent an exciting morning assembling the furniture for the MAREC lab in the adjacent room. Our lab's two-station work bench sports a tabletop ledge shelf and an electrical power strip for small power tools. Two rolling trolleys stowed underneath this work station offer additional storage opportunities for all participants. A freestanding locking cabinet will keep researchers' work product secure. Our refinished hutch provides an extra work surface as well as space for educational materials.

(Scroll down for more photos!)

Dr. Cynthia Bettison has announced her retirement as Director of the Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Museum effective January 1, 2022. During her 30+-year tenure the WNMU Museum, located in WNMU’s historic Fleming Hall, became a major repository of Mimbres Pottery including the Museum’s acquisition of the NAN Ranch collection (the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials from a single prehistoric Mimbres site). Dr. Bettison also launched the ongoing renovation of Fleming Hall itself.

Following are the position summary, application link, and contact information Dr. Bettison provided with her announcement. Please do not contact Dr. Bettison regarding this position. All interested candidates should apply via the link provided below, and direct any further inquiries to the WNMU Human Resources office email at employment@wnmu.edu or call 575-538-6328:

There are two remaining presentations in Archaeology Southwest's monthly series on the significance of turkeys in the ancient US Southwest. Set these dates:

Our GCAS library and archives are fully inventoried and as cross-referenced as can be, so now we have a good idea where certain gaps appear in our collections. We aim to fill those gaps and that's where our GCAS members come in. Don't wait! Act now!

Our faithful GCAS librarian, Marianne The Librarianne, would be happy to accept any past GCAS newsletters that come her way from anyone in a decluttering mood. A full and complete set of newsletters is especially important to the GCAS for tracking the history of where our group has gone each month on field trips. Marianne is open to taking any GCAS materials off your hands at any time, but for this project she says she is especially interested in receiving newsletters for any one of the dates in the following list. If you have a little something on this list, or for any other reason at all, you are welcome to contact her via email at webmaster@gcasnm.org, or by telephone at 772-529-2627 to see how smooth and easy letting go of old newsletters can be: