Mark your calendars for Wednesday December 21, 2022, at 5:00 PM, because it's the GCAS's annual holiday gathering - this year falling upon the date of the winter solstice itself! This special GCAS monthly in-person general meeting returns to 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. about a block or two south of the intersection of Memory Lane and Hwy 180. Our get-together starts a bit earlier this month at 5PM with a holiday potluck - so bring your most festive dish for yourself or to share, along with your own plates/utensils/beverage. A short business meeting will begin at 6:00PM followed by a program of videos and photo albums of past GCAS field trips, and a small display of samples from recently donated artifacts. If you recognize a person or a place in a video or photo, please sing out! This is the time to tell us a story about what you've seen and who you know.

In order to offer our members a safe and comfortable experience the GCAS follows CDC and New Mexico Department of Health guidelines for indoor gatherings including masking, distancing, and vaccinations. We recommend all attendees follow the same.

Watch this space for more details as they develop but plan now to join us!

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This morning we received unfortunate news from William Little, of one of our sister organizations, the Doña Ana Archaeological Society:

Excerpt from the next DAAS Newsletter.

Membership notes.

This meeting will mark the end of the Society’s active existence. After over seventy years, it is time to fold our tents, put away our trowels and screens, and leave the field to the young. For the time being, we will maintain our Facebook page and the DAAS mailing list. No dues of any sort will be collected. Any funds remaining at the end of the year will be forwarded to the ASNM Scholarship Fund.

We urge all of you to continue your support of avocational archaeology. Two organizations are highly recommended: The Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM), https://archaeologicalsocietynm.org, and the Grant County Archaeological Society (GCAS), https://www.gcasnm.org/. GCAS holds monthly meetings in the Silver City area, has active projects, and publishes a dandy newsletter – well worth our participation.

William Little

Set aside time on Sunday, December 4, 2022, at 10:00AM - when the GCAS meets for this month's field trip at WNMU's Museum at Fleming Hall for a guided tour by museum director Danielle Romero. Come to view the new and innovative exhibits that Danni and her staff have already put on display, and hear about the museum's work in curating their vast collections. Ask about the museum's plans for future exhibits and how you can become involved in the process!

(For those unfamiliar, the entrance to the museum is across a small parking lot adjacent to the Aldo Leopold Charter School. From downtown Silver City, drive westbound along W 10th Street until it curves uphill and becomes N Louisiana Street right where the school and the museum are located, on the north side of the street. For more details, visit the museum's web page.) We'll see you there!

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Wednesday, November 16, 2022, 7:00PM via Zoom: Let's get together online for our monthly meeting. As usual we'll start with a brief-if-any business meeting to be immediately followed by our Featured Speaker and longtime GCAS friend and supporter, Margaret "Peggy" Nelson PhD. Peggy will share with us NEWS FROM THE EAST: Contributions to Understanding Mimbres Lives and Landscapes.

Join us on Zoom starting at 6:45 to get situated before Peggy begins her presentation at 7:00 PM sharp. A Q&A session will follow her talk. Check your email inbox for your Zoom invitation about one week beforehand, and join us to hear about Peggy's insights. Meanwhile, learn more about her and her archaeological career:

Some GCAS members can only spare some random moments on a few occasions, so they assume they can't participate in many of our group's ongoing projects. However, we have activities suitable for anyone's time budget. This short list of GCAS opportunities can move along with as much - or as little - time as you have to spend:

1. Match the dates and sites on our list of past field trips to photos in our archives!
2. Check a former member's DVDs for the dates and the names of the archaeological sites he filmed, and match them to our list of “Specific Sites”!
3. Identify the dates and sites of our collection of slides and match them to our list of “Specific Sites” or to our list of past field trips!
4. Sort the potsherds and other artifacts in our lab’s artifact collections and add them to our inventory list!
5. Review and organize our small collection of topographic maps!
6. Help sell our inventory of used and duplicate publications at local events, or develop an online store for them on our website!

Which project do you prefer? Call Marianne at 772-529-2627 or email gcasnm.org@gmail.com with a good day and time for you!

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On October 7, 2022, the Southwest Kiln Conference's own Jeff Cooper kicked off their event at WNMU in Silver City with a presentation titled Mysteries of Mimbres Mineral Painted Pottery. Jeff described his own research and experiments in replicating Mimbres painted pottery, and he shared his insights with a very attentive audience. Whether you are a ceramicist yourself or simply curious about how the ancient Mimbres pottery was made, you may find the YouTube video of Jeff's presentation just right for you. Please enjoy: https://youtu.be/70CPfsCI7ho

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As we approach the end of the calendar year, several of our GCAS officers and trustees are facing term limits. This offers all GCAS members - whether brand-new or long-term - the opportunity to fill the vacancies and keep our group moving forward.  Scroll below for a menu of the kinds of activities where you are needed the most, with a general idea of the time required to fulfill our group's mission. No experience necessary for any area – our current GCAS officers and board members are here to show you all the ropes!

You coming to our big to-do?

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, starting 5:00PM: October's GCAS general meeting is an open house at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site! Come tour the Wood House and see the 5 fully rehabilitated rooms of the Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center (MAREC), a joint venture between the GCAS and the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF). This is a big deal that was for decades nothing more than a pipe dream. Now the dream's come true! The schedule:

5PM: Start with guide Marilyn Markel to tour the Mattocks archaeological site!
5:30PM: enjoy our customary summertime meeting's potluck meal!
6PM: follow your GCAS and IFWEF guides to view the MAREC facility our two groups offer to visiting archaeologists and students of all ages -- some of whom have already used our space to great success! (Plenty of fun projects for GCAS members*, too!)
                       * Sherds! Artifacts! Photos! Videos! And more!
6:30PM: check out the museum in the Gooch House!
7PM: settle in for a brief GCAS business meeting promptly followed by a feature presentation by John Welch of Southwest Archaeology!

Please note that in order to offer our members a safe and comfortable experience the GCAS follows CDC and New Mexico Department of Health guidelines for indoor gatherings including masking, distancing, and vaccinations. We recommend all attendees follow the same.

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Please set aside time on Saturday, October 15, 2022 to help the GCAS host the annual Archaeology Day at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. This year's activities overlap with a special tour that MCHS volunteers are offering to attendees of the New Mexico Association of Museums during their annual conference, so we need plenty of GCAS members to assist folks at educational stations around the grounds. No experience necessary; we'll prep you on everything you need! Contact Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 for details. Thank you, and we'll see you there!

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Register now! The 21st Biennial Mogollon Conference is happening early next month on Friday, November 4, 2022, thru Saturday, November 5, 2022, in the Student Union building on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. A reception, free of charge to all attendees, hosted by Archaeology Southwest on the evening of Thursday, November 3, 2022, kicks off the weekend and offers an excellent opportunity for students to mix with faculty and the rest of the professional community. Click here for registration info and more details, and revisit the Conference website for any updates. We'll see you in Tucson!

/s/ webmaster [photo by M.Smith]