Fill your calendar by scrolling down through all these upcoming events. Plan ahead but be mindful that any of the following events may be postponed or cancelled on very short notice as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic.
Watch this Events Page to learn when conditions allow our GCAS general meetings to resume in-person. In the meantime please enjoy our online meetings via Zoom.
Please join our current supporters and contribute to the GCAS's ongoing priority project, the Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center (MAREC) in the historic Wood House at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. The GCAS has completed our portion of the structure's rehabilitation and we are now working in our newly-furnished library and lab/workroom. We welcome donations in any amount so that we may continue expanding and improving our resource materials and educational programs. Learn about the beginnings of our project here, and make your donations either online or by standard mail here. [Photo: Mattocks Site/Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. Wood House, center. © Mitchell Clinton, Mitchell Clinton Photography. All Rights Reserved.]
2022 and continuing: Ron Barber, creator of the Stone Calendar Project, has been studying rock art sites throughout the Southwest and Northern Mexico identifying glyphs that mark specific times of the year using unique light and shadow interactions. He has some survey predictions for glyphs along the Gila Narrows and other southern sites and is looking for volunteers to help in further research. Anyone who is interested in spending time in the field recording/filming calendar sun light interactions in the region, please contact Ron directly at barbers6@aol.com . Click here for more of Ron's background.
From now until October 7, 2022: The 2022 Southwest Kiln Conference is coming to town from Friday, Oct. 7 thru Sunday, Oct. 9 at Silver City's own Western New Mexico University. The WNMU Museum and 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, but here's what SW Kiln needs right now:
"We are looking for folks who would like to present subjects on prehistoric pottery making on Friday and would welcome interested parties to send a note back on a subject you may want to present on."
For those unfamiliar, "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."
Anyone interested in giving a presentation in the format of their choice can contact SW Kiln directly via their website, at https://www.swkiln.com/contact/. Please share your knowledge!
Wednesday, July 20, 2022, 7:00PM: The GCAS monthly in-person general meeting congregates 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 the GCAS's friend Dr. Bob Stokes, chair of ENMU's Archaeology Department, who will present his team's Preliminary Results from ENMU's 2021 Summer Field School at the Mares Rockshelter, a Jornada Mogollon Site along the Lower Rio Grande near Radium Springs.
Watch this space in case of any adjustments of times, potluck procedures, etc. In order to offer our members a safe and comfortable experience the GCAS follows CDC and New Mexico Department of Health guidelines for indoor gatherings including masking, distancing, and vaccinations. We recommend all attendees follow the same.
Saturday, July 23, 2022, 11:00AM at downtown Silver City's Silco Theater, 311 Bullard Street - free to the public: it's The Meaning of Things, this month's installment of the Community Conversation program cosponsored by the Silver City Museum and the Western Institute for Lifelong Learning. Featured speaker Danni Romero, Director of the WNMU Museum, will describe the history of Mimbreño pottery and its cultural connotations to Southwest New Mexico. Afterwards audience members are invited to join a Community Conversation on how objects can be expressions of cultural identity. Attendees are encouraged to bring objects from home that have personal relevance to them and to share their stories in “The Meaning of Things.”
For registration, directions, and contact information please click on the Silver City Museum's page for this event. Although this lecture is free to the public a suggested $5 donation will help WILL and the Silver City Museum defray the expenses of continuing this program. We GCAS members hope to see all our friends and neighbors there!
Saturday, July 30, 2022 thru Sunday, July 31, 2022, 8:00AM-3:00PM both days: Set aside time for the annual Hummingbird Festival hosted by the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. The event is free and open to the public. Get there early to watch how - and learn why - ornithologists band the wee hummingbirds; or mosey around any time to browse the vendors and dine on all kinds of goodies. Directions, contact info and other details are here on the MCHS website. Bonus: the GCAS will have a variety of gently-used archaeology- and anthropology-related books and periodicals for sale in the GCAS library in the ground floor of the historic Wood House. All proceeds go toward replacing books that have been damaged or gone missing from the GCAS library in past years. Please come and help improve our research library while you enjoy the rest of the Festival!
Through August 4, 2022: "Woven Through Time: American Treasures of Native Basketry and Fiber Art" at the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson. Details here.
Thursday, August 11 through Sunday, August 14, 2022: Attend the Pecos Conference at Rowe Mesa, New Mexico. Registration opens in May, 2022, so watch their website for details.
Friday, October 7 through Sunday, October 9, 2022 - free: 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, save the dates and go to this one. 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 make a presentation up to one hour long on subjects relating to prehistoric pottery making on Friday, October 7. Interested parties should contact SW Kiln as soon as possible with a note on the subject they may want to present. Let's all go!
Friday, November 4, 2022, thru Saturday, November 5, 2022, the 21st Biennial Mogollon Conference will be held in the Student Union building on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. There will also be a reception (cost estimated at $50-$65) hosted by Archaeology Southwest on the evening of Thursday, November 3, 2022, which offers an excellent opportunity for students to mix with faculty and the rest of the professional community. Go here for details on registration, the Call for Papers, Conference Schedule, and more as they develop. Register before October 1, 2022, for a sweet early-bird discount.
There are even more online and in-person events happening all over the place. Make it a regular habit to check out what the following organizations offer the avocational archaeologist:
American Rock art Research Association (ARARA)
The Amerind Museum
Archaeological Society of New Mexico
Archaeology Southwest: Things To Do, and More Things To Do
The Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society produced a virtual field trip of the Mattocks Site and Mimbres Culture Heritage Site on February 5, 2022, which is now available via the AAHS's YouTube channel. Click here and enjoy as Marilyn Markel and Professor Emerita Pat Gilman, the supervising archaeologist for the 1970s Mattocks Site excavation, lead you through the site while discussing the future opportunities it offers for local educational programs and archaeological research.
As a member of the Council of Allied Societies, the GCAS receives the CoAS monthly newsletter. The most recent CoAS newsletters are available by scrolling down to the bottom-most right-hand sidebar entitled "Council of Allied Societies Newsletter Archives" on this page. For further CoAS doings, visit their Facebook page and check out their directory of links to member organizations' newsletters and publications.
Crow Canyon Archaeological Center: Programs, Research, and Education
El Paso Museum of Archaeology
Jornada Research Institute
Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project: Events, Mesa Talks Lecture Series, Chats with the Archaeologist, and Tours
Considering a visit to the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site? Check for events; to confirm tours and museum access telephone the MCHS directly at 575.536.3092 or 307.640.3012.
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center: Events and Programs
Southwest Kiln Conference
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