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NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, April 19, 2023: the GCAS meets at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. Light refreshments provided; OK to bring your own light snacks or handy meal (burrito, etc.) & beverage if desired. Doors open at 5 PM for socializing. Meeting starts at 5:30 PM sharp with a short business meeting followed at 5:45 PM by featured speaker and GCAS member Carolyn O’Bagy Davis, who will discuss Bert and Hattie Cosgrove, avocational archaeologists who were instrumental in documenting and preserving a number of local sites including Arenas Valley's Treasure Hill. Meeting to adjourn about 7:00 PM. In order to offer our members a safe and comfortable experience the GCAS follows CDC and New Mexico Department of Health guidelines for indoor gatherings including masking, distancing, and vaccinations. We recommend all attendees follow the same.

NEXT FIELD TRIP: Sunday, April 2, 2023, beginning 9:00 AM: Regular GCAS field trip to City of Rocks State Park - view remnants of Apache shelters along the Cienega Trail, plus features in other easy-access locations like a rock shelter, Apache petroglyph, kiva, and multiple mortar holes. City of Rocks is about a 1-hour drive one-way from Silver City. At 9:00 AM meet at the Cienega Trail trailhead parking (a few hundred yards from the Highway 61 turnoff to the City of Rocks - look on the left side of the road for a parking area with a Port-o-Let). Walk the 1-mile easy Cienega Trail loop to inspect some off-trail features. About 11:00 AM, non-hikers can join the rest of the group to learn about the kiva site a few yards from the Visitor Center. About 11:15 AM, drive round the park’s perimeter road to the north side to view the rock shelter, Apache petroglyph, and mortar holes (short but moderately steep walk uphill from area near campsite #35). Picnic lunch follows at any convenient unoccupied campsite.

PSA: Southwest Kiln Conference Postponed
Hanging Canals of Southeastern Arizona

Ancient Irrigation Techniques in the US Southwest

07/30/2020

Hohokam canal mapMonsoon season has arrived in the US Southwest, a good time to ponder the logistical achievements of Native tribes of the past. During the period from 600 CE - 1450 CE the Hohokam established a complex canal system that reliably harnessed scarce water sources, enabling their communities to thrive for centuries. It encompassed an area of roughly 100,000 acres within the Salt River basin in what is now the greater metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona. It is North America's largest prehistoric irrigation canal system.

To learn more about this vast array of archaeological features, enjoy some short videos (less than 2 minutes each) presented by the City of Phoenix in their "Ancient Waterways" series and featuring local archaeologists:

September 21, 2018 - ANCIENT WATERWAYS | Masters of Water in the Desert

October 8, 2018 - ANCIENT WATERWAYS | Humans Haven't Changed Much

June 25, 2019 - ANCIENT WATERWAYS | The Importance of Irrigation to the Hohokam

June 25, 2019 - ANCIENT WATERWAYS | Hohokam Engineers

October 8, 2019 - The Largest Prehistoric Canal System is in Arizona | Ancient Waterways

/s/ webmaster

Posted at 06:00 AM in Archaeology, Puebloan Culture, US Southwest | | Comments (0)

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