In Memoriam: LaVerne Herrington

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: Sunday, April 6, through Tuesday, April 8, 2025: Lyman Lake State Park/Springerville/Casa Malpais AZ. Sunday-Monday, explore Lyman Lake's petroglyphs & archaeological site on your own or with a group. On Tuesday 4/8, we have guided tour of Casa Malpais archaeological site. Reservations are required for ONLY the guided tour to the Casa Malpais site but we must give them a final tally no later than March 23, 2025, so please let trip co-leader Torie Grass ([email protected]) or Eduardo Argüello ([email protected]) know to put you on the list. More details available in newsletter and on Events page of this website, and in the blog posts below. As usual for any GCAS field trip, wear sturdy shoes and pack sun protection & water. See you there!

In Memoriam: John Fitch

Now's the Chance to Help Our Junior Site Stewards!

In Memoriam: LaVerne Herrington

09/05/2023

The GCAS reports with great sadness that Silver City native and professional archaeologist, LaVerne Herrington, passed away on Sunday, August 27, 2023. LaVerne was the first professional archaeologist to perform aerial surveys of the ancient irrigation systems of the Mimbres Valley. In 1967, Hattie Cosgrove sold LaVerne and her husband, Red, the Arenas Valley land that contains the Treasure Hill archaeological site. LaVerne ensured that Treasure Hill would be protected in perpetuity by transferring ownership from herself to the Archaeological Conservancy in 2020. LaVerne's funeral services were held on August 31, 2023, at Fort Bayard National Cemetery.

Read more about LaVerne here. With LaVerne's passing, priceless local knowledge has been lost forever. But thanks to her Treasure Hill survives.

/s/ webmaster

Posted at 06:00 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0)

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