NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, January 15, 2024, 6:00 PM New Mexico time - ONLINE VIA ZOOM: The GCAS kicks off 2025 with a brief business meeting to be immediately followed by our Featured Speaker, Rhianna Cooke, senior anthropology undergraduate at Indiana University/Bloomington. Rhianna will discuss Clay in the Kiva: Possible Uses for Natural Clay Beneath Twin Pines Village. Twin Pines Village is a site located in the upper Mimbres Valley area in the Gila National Forest. It has been the subject of years of study under the direction of Dr. Fumi Arakawa, and Rhianna performed fieldwork there during the summer of 2024. She will describe that during their 2024 excavation, Dr. Arakawa’s crew discovered a large natural deposit of clay beneath the site. Later, it became clear that the clay had been manipulated/used in some fashion in the great kiva at the site, although Dr. Arakawa, Rhianna, and other researchers are still questioning the exact purpose that this "clay pit" may have served. Join us on Zoom starting at about 5:45 to get situated and socialize before the official meeting begins at 6:00 PM sharp. A Q&A session will follow Rhianna’s talk. Members, check your email inbox for your Zoom invitation about one week before the presentation (roughly 1/8/2025). Nonmembers, email the GCAS for the Zoom link about a week prior (1/8/2025).

NEXT FIELD TRIP: TBA: watch this space.

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August 2024
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October 2024

September 2024

Upcoming Events

The next several weeks are chock-full of archaeologically flavored events and activities, and one of them offers an opportunity for you (yes, you!) to help introduce local schoolchildren to experience hands-on education in ancient pottery techniques:

Friday, September 27, 2024, 9:30AM to 12:00PM Noon at the WNMU Museum in Silver City: the San Lorenzo Elementary School's 4th and 5th grade classes, guided by the GCAS's own Marilyn Markel, visit the WNMU Museum for a morning or education and activities, immediately followed by a pizza lunch for the kids and all other participants in a nearby outdoor area. Marilyn Markel is seeking two volunteers to help at the Museum and to enjoy a slice of pizza afterwards. Please telephone Marilyn directly at 575-536-9337 to help out and for extra details.

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Three Upcoming Events

The next several weeks are chock-full of archaeologically flavored events and activities on two different days offer an opportunity for you (yes, you!) to help introduce local schoolchildren to experience hands-on education in ancient pottery techniques:

Wednesday, September 25, 2024, 2 sessions at 12:15PM and again at 2:00PM, at San Lorenzo Elementary School in San Lorenzo: Marilyn Markel is seeking volunteers to help San Lo's 3d through 5th grade classes in a fun and educational pottery program. Please telephone Marilyn directly at 575-536-9337 with the time you can help the school and for program details.

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Next GCAS Meeting's Featured Speaker: Welcome, Allen Denoyer!

ADenoyer1Wednesday, September 18, 2024, 6:00PM: the GCAS in-person monthly meeting begins with the last potluck of the summer at the Roundup Lodge in San Lorenzo (Mimbres Valley). As usual bring your own plates & utensils, and a dish for yourself or to share. A brief business meeting follows at about 6:45PM, after which we will welcome our Featured Speaker, Allen Denoyer, preservation archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest in Tucson, Arizona. Allen will use examples from his years of experimental archaeology projects to introduce us to the wonderful world of MUD, ranging from how mud is utilized in pithouse construction, to excavations of mud-built agricultural fields, to the amazing impressions that archaeologists can find in prehistoric mud. Join us!

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22d Mogollon Conference repost: register soon!

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:

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