The GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, is in full swing with the annual archaeological workshops she offers for students from local schools. She needs the help of volunteers to guide students at various stations during these outdoor experiential workshops located at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. No experience is necessary at all; just an enthusiasm to work with young students, many of whom have never before experienced hands-on archaeological activities.

Please mark your calendar for one or more of the following dates to help these kids have a great day in the Mimbres Valley! Telephone Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 ASAP for all details and to sign up, or email [email protected]!

Gila National Forest Supervisor, Camille Howes, reports that her agency is working to find and hire additional staff. She explains,

The National Forests are suffering from the same ‘great resignation’ as other local businesses and government agencies over the past several years. We are looking to fill vacancies with local talent. If you or someone you know is looking for work and loves public land, reach out to learn about opportunities to make a difference in your community and enjoy a lifelong career with the Gila National Forest.

If you or someone you know loves our outdoors and wants to preserve and protect them, please contact the Gila National Forest. Start by calling or visiting the Silver City Ranger District at 575-388-8201, located at 3005 Camino del Bosque in Silver City, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information contact Maribeth Pecotte at 575-388-8211 or via email; or go directly to the Forest Service's Careers web page.

Our public lands need you!

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The GCAS is launching a new pilot project to support local high school students interested in learning how to protect archaeological and historical sites. We are offering two summer internships to local high school students ages 14 to 16, to be based at the GCAS's MAREC headquarters at the Mattocks archaeological site, located at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site in the Mimbres Valley.

Join our monthly GCAS meeting at the Mimbres Valley's Roundup Lodge, 91 Acklin Hill Road in San Lorenzo, New Mexico, near the junction of Highways 152 and 35, when we welcome our Featured Speaker, Katie Baustian - Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Doors open at 5:00 PM for a potluck dinner so bring a dish for yourself or to share. Brief GCAS business meeting begins at 5:30 PM followed immediately by Katie's presentation that will guide us to: Understanding the Mimbres Through Bioarchaeology.

Using bioarchaeological and archaeological methods, Katie Baustian's work explores the use of violence, adaptations to stress, and social relationships among the Mimbres and Mogollon of the prehistoric American Southwest. She excavated for seven seasons at the Harris and Elk Ridge sites in the Mimbres Valley but has more recently been conducting research at museum repositories to understand how teeth can show evidence of relatedness and kinship in the region.

In order to offer our members a safe and comfortable experience at our in-person meetings 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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The GCAS operated their customary educational booth in Gough Park for Earth Day, April 22, 2023, thanks to members Marty Eberhart, Marilyn Markel, Kathryn McCarroll, and Marianne Smith. The typically breezy April day attracted 67 vendors to Gough Park - 15 more than had attended in 2022! The visiting crowds, estimated by a local newspaper at about 4000, included local residents, out of town visitors, and a healthy number of through-hikers on the Continental Divide Trail. The GCAS earned a prime spot in the park where our volunteers worked three separate tables with hands-on educational activities for all ages, as well as offering plenty of literature for the more intellectually inclined. Our booth displayed wrapped rocks as an eye-catcher and even sold a few to support our GCAS library and general fund. Many more passers-by grabbed our brochures so if you see new faces at future meetings, please make them all feel welcome!

/s/ webmaster [Photos by M.Smith]

Thursdays, 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM, from March 23, 2023, and continuing each following Thursday at WNMU's Museum in Fleming Hall: the public is invited to see the Archaeologist in Action in the museum's second floor exhibit room, currently featuring the Elk Ridge Open House. Visit WNMU Museum director Danni Romero and a group of the museum's volunteer explainers as they process and prepare a new museum collection for future exhibit. Repeat visitors welcome!

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The GCAS always looks for new places to visit or old places to revisit. Day trips and overnight adventures are in the mix. We welcome every one of our members, from brand-new to our Grizzled Old Timers, to give our group your own ideas - where would YOU like to go for our next field trip? Archaeological sites and historic sites like forts, missions, & mines are all cool by us.

We've traveled as far afield as Paquime, Mexico; and as close to home as Gomez Peak. We've visited Three Rivers, and have recorded the rock art at the Dragonfly Petroglyph. Anything goes, near or far! Some of our members are willing to lead any field trips up their way -- but new leaders are welcome too! What do you know? What areas do you like the best? Please share with us - we want to keep exploring!

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Kathy Hill, President of the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF), notified the GCAS that they are hosting a second group of middle school students from Aldo Leopold Charter School on Friday, April 21, 2023. Kathy describes:

"This...Friday the 21st, Aldo middle school students will be coming to the heritage site on [a] field trip.  Marilyn [Markel] plans to have them pin flagging, visiting the museum and doctor's office.  I believe a trip to the river also.  Then at the end of their day they plan to do some work around the grounds for us.  We can use volunteers to help with supervision. They plan to arrive about 10 am and we are not sure when they will be leaving...."

Kathy further advises, "Bring a lunch and hope to see you Friday."

Contact either Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 or Kathy Hill at 307-640-3012 to volunteer or for further details!

/s/ webmaster

Saturday, April 22, 2023, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM: The annual Earth Day/Continental Divide Trail Days celebration in Gough Park, Silver City, brought to you by the Gila Resources Information Project (GRIP), happens next Saturday! The GCAS has typically had a booth at this event, with educational materials of all kinds and a variety of fundraising/sales items; please email Marianne or telephone her at 772-529-2627 to volunteer some time to help us set up, run, and break down our booth on Saturday.

For further information on the additional events are happening all weekend including a Talks of the Trail speaker series, a community celebration, and CDT hikes, contact GRIP directly.

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Kathy Hill, President of the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF), notified the GCAS on April 11 that they are hosting two groups of middle school students from Aldo Leopold Charter School tomorrow (Friday, April 14, 2023) and on the following Friday, April 21, 2023. IFWEF is seeking volunteers on both dates:

"This Friday the 14th and Friday the 21st, Aldo middle school students will be coming to the heritage site on field trips.  Marilyn [Markel] plans to have them pin flagging, visiting the museum and doctor's office.  I believe a trip to the river also.  Then at the end of their day they plan to do some work around the grounds for us.  We can use volunteers to help with supervision. They plan to arrive about 10 am and we are not sure when they will be leaving...."

Kathy further advises, "Bring a lunch and hope to see you Friday."

Contact either Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 or Kathy Hill at 307-640-3012 to volunteer for either or both dates, or for further details!

/s/ webmaster