The 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."