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NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 6:00 PM New Mexico time - ONLINE VIA ZOOM: The GCAS kicks off 2025 with a brief business meeting to be immediately followed by our Featured Speaker, Rhianna Cooke, senior anthropology undergraduate at Indiana University/Bloomington. Rhianna will discuss Clay in the Kiva: Possible Uses for Natural Clay Beneath Twin Pines Village. Twin Pines Village is a site located in the upper Mimbres Valley area in the Gila National Forest. It has been the subject of years of study under the direction of Dr. Fumi Arakawa, and Rhianna performed fieldwork there during the summer of 2024. She will describe that during their 2024 excavation, Dr. Arakawa’s crew discovered a large natural deposit of clay beneath the site. Later, it became clear that the clay had been manipulated/used in some fashion in the great kiva at the site, although Dr. Arakawa, Rhianna, and other researchers are still questioning the exact purpose that this "clay pit" may have served. Join us on Zoom starting at about 5:45 to get situated and socialize before the official meeting begins at 6:00 PM sharp. A Q&A session will follow Rhianna’s talk. Members, check your email inbox for your Zoom invitation about one week before the presentation (roughly 1/8/2025). Nonmembers, email the GCAS for the Zoom link about a week prior (1/8/2025).

NEXT FIELD TRIP: TBA: watch this space.

2019 Archaeology Kid's Camp - Details

Archaeology Kid’s Camp 2019

MCHS Experiential Education Preservation Project

Conejo mimbreno 1

The Grant County Archaeological Society and the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation are partners in preservation education at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site (MCHS) and the Mattocks Ruin archaeological site.  GCAS and MCHS volunteers in believe that the only way to ensure archaeological sites like the Mattocks Ruin are preserved for future generations is to provide preservation education to the children of today and to encourage and promote a stewardship.

Children from southwest New Mexico are introduced to archaeology, history, and natural features of the Mimbres Valley by bringing students from area schools on field trips to MCHS. Students learn about conservation and preservation of cultural and natural heritage by experiencing the Mattocks Ruin, the historic Gooch and Wood Houses, and the natural features of the Mimbres river valley. Students visit on-site outdoor museum classrooms and participate in hands-on presentations. The interdisciplinary aspects of archaeology provide the opportunity for students to learn basic concepts of applied science and math such as measurement, distance, spatial relationships, diameter, circumference, climatic and environmental information, technology and tools, and natural resource use as well as learning about history, social studies and art.    

Drilling with a pump drillThis June, our goal is to expand opportunities for area school children by inviting them to participate in an Archaeology Kid’s Camp; a select group of students will be invited to camp at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site (MCHS) and participate in an archaeology fieldwork project directed by Dr. Barbara Roth from the University of Nevada Las Vegas. This will be a 2-day overnight archaeology experience.

IMG_0302 IMG_0489On day one, at MCHS, students will learn about the Mattocks Ruin and the historic houses, learn how to do a site survey, pin flag and document artifacts, spend time in the “lab”— learning about and sorting artifacts and more. A hike to the Mimbres River, just below the site, will provide another outdoor classroom experience; kids will learn about the riparian ecosystem and the endangered species that live in the river. The students will each have a field journal to record their experiences. That night, after eating dinner with the field crew and socializing on the veranda, the kids will sleep in tents.

Day two will begin by working in the “Three Sisters” (corn, beans, and squash) garden. Students will learn about farming and plants in the Mimbres Indian time period and today.

Then, it’s off to join the field crew at the Cottonwood Site. The kids will work alongside the archaeologists, looking for artifacts, and learning about how artifacts are discovered and analyzed. Next, it’s back to MCHS where the young archaeologists will write in their field journals about their field day experiences, using newly-gained knowledge for inspiration. The students will receive a certificate of Accomplishment from the Grant County Archaeological Society when parents arrive to take them home Tuesday afternoon.

These students will become “archaeology ambassadors” and teach others about stewardship and the importance of preserving our cultural heritage.  

Participating students will be recommended by area teachers and chosen by members of the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation Board of Directors at MCHS.

The date of the 2019 Archaeology Kid’s Camp: June 24-25.

Up to 10 students will participate in the Archaeology Kid’s Camp.

For info contact Marilyn Markel 575-536-9337  [email protected]

Cobre Schools, Silver Schools, nor any other schools are participants in the archaeology camp project. This is an MCHS/IFWEF project helped by volunteers from partnering community organizations and agencies.

The MCHS Experiential Preservation Project is funded by a Grant County Community Foundation grant and a donation from the Grant County Archaeological Society.

/s/ Marilyn Markel