NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 6:00 PM at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. The GCAS's next monthly IN-PERSON ONLY meeting features our own Lee Brown, retired mining engineer and Chief Engineer for the Concentrator at the Chino Mine, who will discuss evidence of Prehistoric Mining in North America with highlights from our own region. Doors open at 6:00 PM with light refreshments provided with a brief socialization period and business meeting, to be immediately followed by Lee's presentation. See you there!

NEXT FIELD TRIP: Sunday, March 2, 2025: The next GCAS field trip will visit the Woodrow Site, one of the largest and best-protected sites in the area, led by its site steward, the GCAS's own Greg Conlin. Meet at 10:00 AM sharp at the Chuck's Folly gas station on the west side of Hwy 180 in Cliff, about a 35-minute drive westbound on Hwy 180 from Silver City and a short distance before the junction of Hwy 180 and Hwy 211. Wear sturdy shoes and weed proof clothes, and pack sun protection, water, and a sack lunch if desired. Before you go, read this Archaeology Southwest article to learn more about the significance of this site. As always, to protect sensitive sites like this one we limit this field trip to GCAS members and those guests who can accompany the GCAS member in their vehicle. Let's go!

Welcome Today's Guest Blogger, Kyle Meredith!
Papas Nativas: Native Potatoes

Re-Post: Marilyn Markel Earns Crabtree Award

IMG_0287 Marilyn Markel with Pat GilmanThe GCAS is very proud to announce to all of cyberspace that the Society for American Archaeology has awarded our very own Marilyn Markel their 2020 Crabtree Award for outstanding Avocational Archaeologist. The SAA will present the award to Marilyn at their annual meeting, to be held this year in Austin, Texas, from April 22 through April 26.

To be nominated for this honor, a person

"...should have made significant contributions to advance understandings of local, regional, or national archaeology through excavation, research, publication, site or collections preservation, collaboration with the professional community, and/or public outreach."

Marilyn Markel personifies all of the above, as the awards committee acknowledged:

"Marilyn Markel has a deep passion for archaeology and has spearheaded efforts in the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico, to preserve archaeological sites and educate young people of all ages on the value of the archaeological past. She has made significant contributions to our understanding and preservation of Mimbres sites in New Mexico, through over 20 years of volunteer work on university field school excavations, promotion of site protection through stewardship, transforming the local artifact-collecting community into an avocational/professional archaeological society, and educating schoolchildren about the value of archaeological heritage. Ms. Markel has assisted archaeological field schools, preserved sites, published children’s books on archaeology, and created a center devoted to the preservation and interpretation of Mimbres archaeology through educational outreach. Marilyn Markel is highly deserving of the Crabtree Award for her exemplary service to enhancing the preservation and public appreciation of New Mexico’s archaeological past."

M.Markel and Hurley 5th graders. Learning about flintknapping IMG_176204_07_2019 Old Town CO IMG_5402For the past 20 years Marilyn has devoted untold hours to develop regular open-air museum workshops for our area's grade-school and high-school students; trained and supervised youth and adults to become volunteer stewards of archaeological sites; and engaged in numerous archaeological excavations and scientific research. Marilyn acts as liaison between the GCAS, the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site, and the archaeologists and educators working in our region. She routinely offers tours to schools and the general public at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site, as well as leading field trips to other archaeological sites throughout our area. An accomplished writer and public speaker, she has promoted the message of archaeological preservation to the general public at local events and as a monthly contributing author for the Mimbres Messenger area newsletter.

Congratulations, Marilyn - the sound you will hear in Austin in April is all of us standing up and cheering for you.

/s/ webmaster

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