The 2022 Southwest Kiln Conference is coming to town from Friday, Oct. 7 thru Sunday, Oct. 9 at Silver City's own Western New Mexico University. The WNMU Museum and director Danni Romero are hosting a conference room in the museum for lectures, and WNMU is providing an open space for the firing of the kilns. However, here's what SW Kiln needs from pottery-oriented folks right now:

"We are looking for folks who would like to present subjects on prehistoric pottery making on Friday and would welcome interested parties to send a note back on a subject you may want to present on."

Wednesday, August 17, 2022, 7:00 PM online via Zoom: The GCAS welcomes West-Mexican archaeologist Manuel Dueñas Garcia as our Featured Speaker for our monthly general meeting. As usual for our Zoom meetings we invite everyone to hop online about 6:45 PM to get settled while we have a brief-to-nonexistent business meeting. Manuel will begin his presentation at 7PM sharp to share his perspectives on Aguascalientes Archaeology and the Northern Border of Mesoamerica during the Epiclassic (600-900 CE).

Manuel is a graduate student at the University of California at Merced where he focuses his research on the northern frontier of Mesoamerica including long distant trade, world systems theory, and 3D records for archaeological materials. See below for two examples of his 3D model reconstructions:

We are saddened to report that longtime GCAS member, Raymon McGee, passed away at age 91 on July 26, 2022, in his home town of Deming, New Mexico.

Ray was very active in our group, especially during the 1970s through 1990s, concentrating his explorations of archaeological and historic sites in southwestern New Mexico including the Bootheel. He became so knowledgeable of the area that he led many GCAS field trips to areas unknown to most other people, including to a petroglyph site in an unnamed canyon on BLM land near Deming. So significant was this petroglyph site to our group, that the GCAS nicknamed its location as "McGee Canyon" in Ray's honor.

Set aside time this weekend to visit the annual Hummingbird Festival hosted by the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. The event is free and open to the public from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM on both Saturday, July 30 and Sunday, July 31. Get there early to watch how - and why - ornithologists band the wee hummingbirds; or mosey in at any other time to browse the vendors, and dine on all kinds of goodies. Directions, contact info and other details are here on the MCHS website.

Bonus: the GCAS will have a variety of gently-used archaeology- and anthropology-related books and periodicals for sale in the GCAS library in the ground floor of the historic Wood House. All proceeds go toward replacing books that have been damaged or gone missing from the GCAS library in past years. Please come and help improve our research library while you enjoy the rest of the Festival!

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Saturday, July 23, 2022, 11:00AM at downtown Silver City's Silco Theater, 311 Bullard Street - free to the public: it's The Meaning of Things, this month's installment of the Community Conversation program cosponsored by the Silver City Museum and the Western Institute for Lifelong Learning. Featured speaker Dani Romero, Director of the WNMU Museum, will describe the history of Mimbreño pottery and its cultural connotations to Southwest New Mexico. Afterwards audience members are invited to join a Community Conversation on how objects can be expressions of cultural identity. Attendees are encouraged to bring objects from home that have personal relevance to them and to share their stories in “The Meaning of Things.”

Born and raised in Southern California, Danielle spent the last 11 years in Nevada managing archaeological collections and working for the State Historic Preservation Office. A PhD candidate at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas focusing on Mimbres pottery and how it informs prehistoric interaction, Dani spent most of her summers for the past 9 years in the Mimbres Valley/Silver City working on various field projects before accepting the directorship of Silver City's WNMU Museum. The WNMU Museum is home to the NAN Ranch Collection: the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials in existence from a single prehistoric Mimbres site, and the largest and most comprehensive permanent interpretative exhibition of Mimbres pottery and artifacts in the world.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022, 7:00PM: The GCAS monthly in-person general meeting congregates at the Roundup Lodge in San Lorenzo (Mimbres Valley). Start at 6PM with your own plates/utensils/beverage & a dish for yourself or to share. Brief general meeting at 6:45 PM. At 7:00 PM sharp we welcome the GCAS's friend Dr. Bob Stokes, chair of ENMU's Archaeology Department, who will present his team's Preliminary Results from ENMU's 2021 Summer Field School at the Mares Rockshelter, a Jornada Mogollon Site along the Lower Rio Grande near Radium Springs.

Big News! Friday, October 7 through Sunday, October 9, 2022, marks the 2022 Southwest Kiln Conference in Silver City, sponsored by the Western New Mexico University Museum under the leadership of museum director Danni Romero. The public is welcome and the conference is free. WNMU will provide outdoor space for firing up of the kilns and the museum will host conference room space for presentations. Attendees will also want to visit the WNMU museum itself, which includes the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials in existence from a single prehistoric Mimbres site, and the largest and most comprehensive permanent interpretative exhibition of Mimbres pottery and artifacts in the world. Read on for more details:

"The Southwest Kiln Conference attracts a diverse group of people with a shared interest in better understanding prehistoric southwestern pottery. Expect to meet potters who work in a variety of ceramic traditions, making replicas of Anasazi, Hohokam and Mogollon pottery. The conference will offer glimpses of the entire process from collecting raw clay, to forming pots and of course firing. All are welcome and the conference is free and open to the public."

Saturday, July 23, 2022, 11:00AM at downtown Silver City's Silco Theater, 311 Bullard Street - free to the public: it's The Meaning of Things, this month's installment of the Community Conversation program cosponsored by the Silver City Museum and the Western Institute for Lifelong Learning. Featured speaker Dani Romero, Director of the WNMU Museum, will describe the history of Mimbreño pottery and its cultural connotations to Southwest New Mexico. Afterwards audience members are invited to join a Community Conversation on how objects can be expressions of cultural identity. Attendees are encouraged to bring objects from home that have personal relevance to them and to share their stories in “The Meaning of Things.”

Monday, June 20, 2022, 6:30PM - free and open to the public: Ben Pelletier of Northern Arizona University closes out the 2022 lecture series offered by Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona Preservation Archaeology Field School with Migration, Exchange, and the Movement of Redware Technology. Ben's talk will be located at 8179 Highway 180 West in Cliff NM 80288. Look for the cream building with the orange portable toilets on the north side of Highway 180 just east of Shields Canyon Road and the highway yard. (This is 2.2 miles west of the 180-211 junction in Cliff.) Let's all attend to hear the latest field school research based on discoveries right in our own back yard!

/s/ webmaster

SBecause the first Sunday of July always collides with the July 4 holiday, the GCAS traditionally offers our "July" field trip at the end of June. So, let's all set aside time on Saturday, June 25, 2022, 10:00AM-12:00PM noon, to take our field trip to the 2022 Archaeology Fair hosted by Archaeology Southwest and the University of Arizona's Preservation Archaeology Field School at Gila River Farm in Cliff, New Mexico. The public is welcome and it's free of charge, so nothing could be better than joining GCAS members in learning about the project team's current discoveries through their informational exhibits, hands-on activities, and a brief site tour over easy terrain. General directions are: From the junction of Highways 180 and 211 in Cliff, drive 1 mile north, keep left (north) on Highway 293 and drive to Mile Marker 4. Just past MM 4, turn right into a driveway with a small sign that says, "Gila River Farm." Please use the parking area next to the large building down the driveway. Check their event flyer for more info: Download archaeology-fair-2022.pdf (455.6K). Learn more about the field school here, and here.

Safety measures will be in place so please be prepared to wear a mask and keep a safe distance. If you still have questions contact Archaeology Southwest. We'll see you at the Fair!

/s/ webmaster