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.

Previous month:
May 2024
Next month:
July 2024

June 2024

Upcoming Free Lecture at WNMU Museum

WNMUMuseumWednesday, June 26, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the WNMU Museum - FREE and open to the public: Dr. Jeffrey Ferguson, University of Missouri Assistant Professor of Anthropology/Research Associate Professor, presents: The Next Stage of Archaeometry in Southwestern Archaeology: New Ways to Explore Old Data. Dr. Ferguson explains, "the application of analytical chemistry and other scientific techniques to Southwestern Archaeology can reveal detailed information about ancient behavior from trade and exchange to large-scale social interaction. I will present three main analytical techniques employed at the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center (MURR) with a focus on what we can learn about people in the past. These techniques have been in use for decades and we are looking at ways to synthesize the accumulated data at much larger scales. I will also present some new research on site identification using drone-based LiDAR in west-central New Mexico." Join Dr. Ferguson in the WNMU Museum's air-conditioned splendor for an informative discussion surrounded by Mimbres artifacts. Although this lecture is free, please consider making a cash donation in any amount to the WNMU Museum at the door to support their ongoing curation efforts.

/s/ webmaster

 


Next GCAS Meeting's Featured Speaker Is GCAS President Marianne Smith

GCAS members and non-members alike are welcome to attend our next monthly meeting on June 19, 2024, at the Roundup Lodge in San Lorenzo (Mimbres Valley). Doors open at 6PM with our monthly summertime potluck so bring your own plates & utensils, and a dish for yourself or to share with the group. At about 6:30PM (or a bit later) we will have a brief business meeting. Immediately thereafter GCAS president, Marianne Smith, will discuss Images in Mimbres Pottery - Plainware to Classic. Join us to explore some common assumptions people make in interpreting Mimbres images, and to consider similarities in ancient and modern ways of seeing.

/s/ webmaster


22d Mogollon Conference repost: mark your calendar

Thursday, October 3 through Saturday, October 5, 2024, Silver City NM: It's the 22d annual Mogollon Conference, hosted by WNMU and the Museum at Fleming Hall.

The Museum will host a complimentary reception for attendees on the evening of October 3 before the two-day conference gets underway on Friday and Saturday at the Bessie Forward GRC on the WNMU Campus. Registration for the conference sessions is $45/person until September 19; thereafter $55/person. BUT: special offer to GCAS members! The Museum needs 3-4 volunteers to help with registration at the conference and would waive the registration fee for those folks! Contact Museum Director Danni Romero to volunteer; check the Mogollon Conference website for all other developing info including fees for the October 4 banquet and the Sunday, October 6 Mimbres Foundation reunion:

Continue reading "22d Mogollon Conference repost: mark your calendar" »