NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, April 16, 2025, 6:00 PM at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. The GCAS's next monthly IN-PERSON ONLY meeting features speaker geoarchaeologist Dave Rachal PhD of Tierra Vieja Consulting in Las Cruces NM. Doors open at 6:00 PM with light refreshments on offer. Socializing and a brief-to-nonexistent business meeting will immediately precede Dave's presentation of: How Did The Seeds Get There? Ruppia cirrhosa Ecology, Depositional Context and Accurate Radiocarbon Dating at White Sands: "The stratigraphic and geomorphic contexts, and ultimately the chronometric determinations, at White Sands Locality-2 (WHSA-2) are topics of controversy that stem from conflicting interpretations of the processes that deposited the Ruppia cirrhosa (Ruppia) seeds within the paleo-Lake Otero footprint site....[O]ur interpretation depicts the shoreline as an unstable, dynamic lake margin to which Ruppia seeds...were transported from deep-water, offshore growth beds during storm events and deposited on the lake shore in seed balls. These unusual aggregates, known to mix seeds of wide-ranging ages, were gradually broken apart by several cycles of wave action and erosion and redeposited in layers....[W]e will delve into both the ecology and the depositional context of Ruppia and discuss why the Ruppia seeds at paleo-Lake Otero are problematic materials for radiocarbon dating." Check out Dave's and Tierra Vieja Consulting's YouTube videos (links are on our Events page) and bring your questions for him!

NEXT FIELD TRIP: TBA - watch this space and your newsletters for details as they develop.

Save the Date: It's the 2022 Archaeology Fair!
June 15, 2022: GCAS Monthly Meeting In Person With Our Featured Speaker: Amanda Semanko

Southwest Kiln Conference Comes to Silver City!

Swkiln2021-2Save these dates, people: Friday, October 7 through Sunday, October 9, 2022: The annual Southwest Kiln Conference comes to Silver City, sponsored by the Western New Mexico University Museum under the leadership of museum director Danni Romero. The museum will host a conference room space for lectures, and WNMU will provide outdoor space for firing up of the kilns.

If you have never before attended a Southwest Kiln Conference, this is the one for you. Avocational archaeologists, ceramicists of all skill levels, and students of all ages are welcome to this free event. Southwest Kiln explains,

"The Southwest Kiln Conference attracts a diverse group of people with a shared interest in better understanding prehistoric southwestern pottery. Expect to meet potters who work in a variety of ceramic traditions, making replicas of Anasazi, Hohokam and Mogollon pottery. The conference will offer glimpses of the entire process from collecting raw clay, to forming pots and of course firing. All are welcome and the conference is free and open to the public."

SW Kiln will develop a full agenda and other details soon, but in the meantime they are seeking folks who would like to present subjects on Friday, October 7, related to prehistoric pottery making. Interested parties should contact SW Kiln as soon as possible with a note on the subject they may want to present.

Check out photos from the 2021 SW Kiln Conference, and learn about the pottery workshops they offer here. Of course attendees will also want to visit the WNMU museum itself, which includes the largest and most complete collection of Mimbres materials in existence from a single prehistoric Mimbres site, and the largest and most comprehensive permanent interpretative exhibition of Mimbres pottery and artifacts in the world.

Let's all go!

/s/ webmaster

Comments

Feed You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

Verify your Comment

Previewing your Comment

This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.

Working...
Your comment could not be posted. Error type:
Your comment has been posted. Post another comment

The letters and numbers you entered did not match the image. Please try again.

As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.

Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.

Working...

Post a comment

Your Information

(Name and email address are required. Email address will not be displayed with the comment.)