The GCAS is always on the lookout for new places to visit, or to revisit places we've been in the past. Day trips are fun, but so are overnight adventures. We always welcome our members, from brand-new to our Grizzled Old Timers, to give our group your own ideas - where would YOU like to go for our November 6, 2022 field trip? Any other field trip? Archaeological sites and historic sites like forts, missions, & mines are all cool by us.

We've traveled as far afield as Paquime, Mexico; and as close to home as Gomez Peak. We've visited Three Rivers, and have recorded the rock art at the Dragonfly Petroglyph. Anything goes, near or far, with avocational archaeologists! Some of our members are willing to lead any field trips up their way -- but new leaders are welcome too! What do you know? What areas do you like the best? Please share with us - we want to keep exploring!

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Please set aside time on Saturday, October 15, 2022 to help the GCAS host the annual Archaeology Day at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. This year's activities overlap with a special tour that MCHS volunteers are offering to attendees of the New Mexico Association of Museums during their annual conference, so we need plenty of GCAS members to assist folks at educational stations around the grounds. No experience necessary; we'll prep you on everything you need! Contact Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 for details. Thank you!

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Set aside this date right now, people:

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, time TBD: the GCAS general meeting offers an open house at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site! Come tour the Wood House, now with 5 fully rehabilitated rooms for the Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center (MAREC), a joint venture between the GCAS and the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF). Come early to walk the trails of the Mattocks archaeological site and tour the museum located in the Gooch House, then follow your GCAS and IFWEF guides through the Wood House to inspect the latest action in the GCAS library and lab (plenty of fun projects for GCAS members*), and check out the rest of the MAREC facility our two groups offer to visiting archaeologists and students of all ages -- some of whom have already used our space to great success! If time allows, our monthly meeting will also have a Featured Speaker and/or a slide show. Stay tuned as time and other details coalesce.

* Sherds! Artifacts! Photos! Videos! And more!

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September 21, 2022, 7:00PM - This month's GCAS meeting is in person at the Roundup Lodge in San Lorenzo (Mimbres Valley). Start at 6PM with your own plates/utensils/beverage & a dish for yourself or to share. Brief general meeting at 6:45 PM. At 7:00 PM sharp we welcome our Featured Speaker, Silver City archaeologist Neal Ackerly, who will speak about the mines of Lake Valley including the Bridal Chamber Mine which contained one of the richest silver veins ever discovered. Join us as Neal explains:

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology on Transmountain Road has announced a new exhibit in their North Gallery that features casts of the animal and human fossil tracks found in White Sands National Park and the surrounding White Sands Missile Range, that have recently been dated to be about 23,000 to 21,000 years old. The findings have caused anthropologists and archaeologists to reconsider their assumptions of early human occupation of the Western Hemisphere.

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology's exhibit is planned to continue only through February 8, 2023, so plan your visit soon. The Museum describes their temporary display, titled White Sands Fossil Tracks, as showcasing:

The 2022 Southwest Kiln Conference is coming to town from Thursday, Oct. 6 thru Sunday, Oct. 9 at Silver City's own Western New Mexico University. Everyone is welcome and the conference is free. Expect to meet potters who work in a variety of ceramic traditions, making replicas of Anasazi, Hohokam and Mogollon pottery, offering glimpses of the entire process from collecting raw clay to forming and firing pots.

WNMU and museum director Danni Romero are hosting a conference room in the museum for lectures, and WNMU is providing an open space for the firing of the kilns. WNMU will also provide overnight parking for conference attendees who intend to boondock; contact Southwest Kiln for parking location and other details.