Some avocational archaeologists have already learned of the fascinating technology of D-Stretch, aka decorrelation stretch, a digital imaging tool that was originally developed to enhance (i.e., "stretch") the color differences in aerial photographs. Today, this technology has become more widely used and user-friendly to boot. It is now an essential tool to analyze rock art images, especially ones too faint for the naked eye to see.

Earlier this month NASA reported some very uplifting news about their Perseverance Rover Team's research on Mars. Via Forbes, because "...a big contingent of Perseverance science is centered in universities and national labs in New Mexico and Arizona, which include traditional Navajo land...", the team is naming a number of Martian geological features with words from the Navajo language.

We of the GCAS are thrilled to announce that the support from our members and friends continues as we forge ahead with our big rehabilitation project. We are deeply grateful to the following individuals and organizations, who our GCAS Treasurer reports have contributed a combined total of $6122.86 toward our goal of $10,000. They and a few anonymous donors have enabled our GCAS volunteers to keep pushing ahead, spending our donors' money on structural repairs, electrical upgrades including charging stations for small electronics, and more. The rooms are becoming visibly more functional and we are excited to be past the halfway point in construction. Please consider joining our friends in helping the GCAS move even closer toward our finish line:

Please set aside time on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, at 7:00 PM to meet our Featured Speaker, Chris Euler, South Zone Archaeologist for the USFS in the Gila National Forest. Chris will discuss how LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, a remote sensing method using a pulsed laser) is applied to archaeological surveys and will describe how he has used it to identify archaeological features during several years of investigations in Ohio and New Mexico.

Chris worked for the Wayne National Forest in Ohio for 13 years before moving to the Gila National Forest in 2019. During his time in Ohio, and now on the Gila, Chris worked with LiDAR technology to assess cultural resource concerns in the Forest. Chris applied and tested several techniques and methods for analyzing the landscape for potential cultural resources, as well as using LiDAR for site definition, project impacts to resources, and various Fire needs related to cultural resources. Please join us for his presentation!

/s/ webmaster

This following announcement of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center regarding one of their regularly scheduled "Third Thursday Food for Thought" programs bears special interest for the GCAS and others in our area. Consider saving the date: Thursday, March 18, 2021.

Old Pueblo describes: “Third Thursday Food for Thought” Zoom online dinnertime program featuring "Mimbres in Context: Hohokam, Chaco, Casas Grandes" presented by archaeologist Stephen H. Lekson, sponsored by Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, Tucson, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Mountain Standard Time. Free.