Rehab work continues in IFWEF's two upstairs rooms; the walls have been painted and the floors refinished, with final touches underway. Downstairs, the GCAS library's built-in bookshelves are in place and awaiting their final finish coats. (See volunteer Steve Collie at work in the first two photos over there on the left.)

Meanwhile, our GCAS volunteers spent an exciting morning assembling the furniture for the MAREC lab in the adjacent room. Our lab's two-station work bench sports a tabletop ledge shelf and an electrical power strip for small power tools. Two rolling trolleys stowed underneath this work station offer additional storage opportunities for all participants. A freestanding locking cabinet will keep researchers' work product secure. Our refinished hutch provides an extra work surface as well as space for educational materials.

(Scroll down for more photos!)

Dr. Cynthia Bettison has announced her retirement as Director of the Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Museum effective January 1, 2022. During her 30+-year tenure the WNMU Museum, located in WNMU’s historic Fleming Hall, became a major repository of Mimbres Pottery including the Museum’s acquisition of the NAN Ranch collection (the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials from a single prehistoric Mimbres site). Dr. Bettison also launched the ongoing renovation of Fleming Hall itself.

Following are the position summary, application link, and contact information Dr. Bettison provided with her announcement. Please do not contact Dr. Bettison regarding this position. All interested candidates should apply via the link provided below, and direct any further inquiries to the WNMU Human Resources office email at [email protected] or call 575-538-6328:

There are two remaining presentations in Archaeology Southwest's monthly series on the significance of turkeys in the ancient US Southwest. Set these dates:

Our GCAS library and archives are fully inventoried and as cross-referenced as can be, so now we have a good idea where certain gaps appear in our collections. We aim to fill those gaps and that's where our GCAS members come in. Don't wait! Act now!

Our faithful GCAS librarian, Marianne The Librarianne, would be happy to accept any past GCAS newsletters that come her way from anyone in a decluttering mood. A full and complete set of newsletters is especially important to the GCAS for tracking the history of where our group has gone each month on field trips. Marianne is open to taking any GCAS materials off your hands at any time, but for this project she says she is especially interested in receiving newsletters for any one of the dates in the following list. If you have a little something on this list, or for any other reason at all, you are welcome to contact her via email at [email protected], or by telephone at 772-529-2627 to see how smooth and easy letting go of old newsletters can be:

Our GCAS monthly meeting in October will be a Zoom function offered by our Featured Speaker, GCAS member and Jornada Research Institute Research Associate, Thatcher Rogers. He will present "Becoming a 'Pueblo': Late Prehispanic Shifts in the Sierra Blanca as Viewed from Robinson Pueblo" - reflecting his investigations in the Northern Jornada Mogollon (Lincoln) area. As usual, expect your Zoom link via email about a week prior to the meeting, then hop online about 6:45 PM on October 20 to get settled. Thatcher will begin his talk at 7PM sharp, describing:

Our friends at Archaeology Southwest continue with their lineup of FREE online Zoom presentations for their Avian Archaeology season. Set some dates and register soon for one or more of the following:

November 2, 2021, 6:00PM MST: “Turkeys in the Mimbres Valley” presented by Sean Dolan (N3B Los Alamos). More info and registration here.

Set aside the following dates in your calendar to enjoy Archaeology Southwest's upcoming series of three monthly presentations on the significance of turkeys in the US Southwest's archaeological record. Any one of these lectures would be well worth your while, and attending all three would be just grand: