The Archaeological Society of New Mexico is seeking nominations for an honoree to be named in the 2020 edition of the ASNM's Annual Volume. As Hayward Franklin's message below explains, the ASNM encourages GCAS members to nominate a deserving individual to our GCAS President, Kyle Meredith, so that in turn Kyle can contact the ASNM with a nomination on behalf of our group before the end of 2018.

You can learn more about the past honorees of the ASNM's Annual Volume here. Fewer than five weeks remain to nominate someone, so please read further and consider making it a priority to contact Kyle at [email protected] as soon as possible with your nomination!

The deadline for the GCAS to receive applications for a GCAS/Nancy Coinman Grant Award is December 1, 2018 - six days from today - so urge your favorite graduate student to apply immediately.

For the second half of the 2018-2019 academic year, the GCAS is providing two awards in the amount of $750 each to PhD candidate(s) and/or Master’s-level student(s). All applications will be considered although the GCAS encourages applications by anthropology or archaeology students (Master’s degree students and PhD candidates) enrolled at an accredited university; upon projects related to topics unique to the Mimbres-Mogollon region or the greater Southwest region (the US Southwest and Northwest Mexico); and which indicate financial need or in-kind support.

Learn more about our GCAS/Nancy Coinman Grant Awards, and start the application process, here.

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As the traditional US Thanksgiving feast is hard upon us and one's thoughts turn to a roast bird with all the trimmin's, one might pause to reflect on the turkeys of yore.

Archaeogenetecists have been hard at work collecting and analyzing the DNA of the remains of several dozen turkeys recovered from archaeological sites throughout Mexico and the US Southwest. The remains have been dated within ranges from 300 BCE to 1500 CE and they showed that several distinct species were raised in different regions of the Americas. These birds included the South Mexican wild turkey, the Rio Grande wild turkey (left photo), Gould's wild turkey (center), and the Yucatan's ocellated turkey (right).

A total of 15 GCAS members, a few of the membership-curious, and three canine companions gathered for the GCAS’s November 4, 2018, field trip to examine the petroglyphs in Frying Pan Canyon and Pony Hills near Deming. We enjoyed stellar weather: sunny to partly-cloudy, a high temp of about 75F, with just enough of a breeze to keep the dust down.

Everyone calls him Fumi.

He earned his PhD in Anthropology from Washington State University in 2006, with an emphasis in geology and lithics (the scientific analysis of stone tools, chipped stone artifacts, and their debris).  He has regularly spoken at conferences and written articles in professional publications regarding lithic and pottery analysis, but from the beginning his research expanded to include topics such as the migration and settlement patterns of ancient societies based on the lithic and pottery material they left behind, and the cultural implications of that activity. All of which Fumi delivers to his audiences with his characteristic dry wit.

The application deadline for the GCAS/Nancy Coinman Grant Awards is just 20 days away. To be clear:

The deadline for the GCAS to receive applications for a GCAS/Nancy Coinman Grant Award is December 1, 2018, so please pass this on to your favorite graduate student immediately.

For the second half of the 2018-2019 academic year, the GCAS is providing two awards in the amount of $750 each to PhD candidate(s) and/or Master’s-level student(s). All applications will be considered although the GCAS encourages applications by anthropology or archaeology students (Master’s degree students and PhD candidates) enrolled at an accredited university; upon projects related to topics unique to the Mimbres-Mogollon region or the greater Southwest region (the US Southwest and Northwest Mexico); and which indicate financial need or in-kind support.

Learn more about Nancy Ruth Coinman and our GCAS/Nancy Coinman Grant Awards, and start the application process, here.

/s/ webmaster

Your Faithful Webmaster is embarking upon a recurring series of blog posts featuring anthropologists, ethnologists,  and archaeologists whose work focuses on the GCAS’s special area of interest:  Mimbres-Mogollon culture and how it relates to the world as a whole. We plan to feature a different anthro/ethno/archaeologist in a short blog post about once every two months. We want to introduce their background and work to a (hopefully) broader readership than is found in the scholarly community; and to encourage the reader to learn more. We believe the more lightly educated among us should have the opportunity to appreciate the dedication and perseverance of this particular group of scientists. None of them became multimillionaires by doing dirt work. They’re in it for the love of the game.

The University of Arizona Press has published an enticing new volume of the latest in Mimbres area archaeology. Avocational archaeologists as well as professionals will recognize some or all of the 30 contributing authors whose experience in the Mimbres region reflects many decades of dedicated field work and research. Edited by Drs. Barbara Roth, Patricia Gilman, and Roger Anyon, this 288-page book is available in both hard-copy and electronic editions.

List price is $65 but scroll down in the flyer below to find a sweet 30% discount coupon for hip people like you who are In The Know: