NEXT MEETING: Saturday, October 21, 2023, at 6:00PM: The GCAS’s general meeting IS RESCHEDULED from the usual third Wednesday of the month to the following Saturday, October 21, 2023, beginning at 6:00PM, for a special meeting and potluck dinner at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City to welcome visiting members of the GCAS's friends and generous supporters of our MAREC project, the Albuquerque Archaeological Society. GCAS members, please bring your finest potluck dishes to share with about 15 members of AAS who would love to meet you. As we get to know one another, there will be a slideshow presentation of either the Rock House Petroglyph Site, the Dragonfly Petroglyph Site, or both. Join us on Saturday! (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.

NEXT FIELD TRIP: Sunday, October 22, 2023, at 10:00 AM: Due to lack of a selected destination for the usual field trip on the first Sunday of the month, October's field trip is rescheduled to October 22 when members of the Albuquerque Archaeological Society visit our area. Destination will be either Rock House Petroglyph Site in lower Mimbres Valley (pending permit approval) or Dragonfly Petroglyph Site in Arenas Valley. Watch this space as details develop.

Get Involved

GCAS Fundraiser for WNMU Museum!

MA14The Grant County Archaeological Society’s regular monthly meeting on July 19, 2023, becomes a special fundraising event for the Western New Mexico University Museum at Fleming Hall, open to GCAS members &the general public in a hybrid in-person and Zoom event! Doors open at 5PM Mountain Daylight (Silver City) Time with a recommended $5.00 minimum donation to the WNMU Museum from in-person attendees and Zoom participants alike.

In-person attendees contribute at the door while Zoom attendees support the Museum via the GCAS's online PayPal payment portal. All donations go to the WNMU Museum.

Beginning at 5PM in-person attendees can view the Museum’s exhibits of Mimbres pottery & other artifacts. Light refreshments provided. Museum’s gift shop is open. At 6:00 PM Mountain Daylight (Silver City) Time, in-person and via Zoom, Featured Speaker USFS District Archaeologist Chris Adams introduces Mimbres Pottery - Feather Imagery. Talk will follow with in-person/online Q&A.

Museum space is limited so reserve an in-person seat or request our Zoom link by contacting the GCAS at [email protected] or by telephoning Marianne Smith at 772-529-2627. Join us in this special fundraising event for the WNMU Museum, and consider becoming a member of the GCAS yourself. The GCAS and the WNMU Museum are grateful for your support.


Seeking Volunteers For GCAS Booth at Harvest Festival!

Saturday, 10/7/2023, 10AM-4PM,  it's the Mimbres Valley Harvest Festival at San Lorenzo Elementary School, on Hwy 35 in San Lorenzo a short ways north of the junction with Hwy 152. We’re seeking 3 or 4 volunteers to help run the GCAS booth on Saturday & set up the booth on the Friday before. No experience necessary; we'll show you what to do! Please volunteer for a short time or for all day! Step up and email or telephone Marianne at [email protected] or 772-529-2627; or contact Marilyn Markel at [email protected] or 575-536-9337, with times that work best for you. Thank you for helping out!

/s/ webmaster


A Grant We Can Use

If any GCAS members can step up with ideas for good community projects for us to pursue? Tuesday, October 31, 2023,  is the DEADLINE for a special grant application the GCAS can use: The Site Steward Foundation is offering two $1,000 grant awards in 2023 to individuals and organizations for funding projects supporting the preservation, education, and research of archaeological and cultural resources in New Mexico. The purpose of the H. Wayne Nelson grant program is to encourage and support professionals, students, and volunteers in the fields of archaeology, anthropology, and cultural resource management. The grant application will be evaluated based on the project’s critical need and proposed outcome, including community impact, benefits, and feasibility. The H. Wayne Nelson grant application deadline is October 31, 2023, with the grant award date by December 31, 2023. Please let the GCAS know how you can help move our group forward, and  email Gary Newgent to request a grant application form.

Thank you for helping!

/s/ webmaster


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

IMG_0299People, here's an opportunity to help our local grade school students do something important. Marilyn Markel needs GCAS volunteers to help at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site on Wednesday, 9/13/2023, as 16 students from San Lorenzo’s third grade class train to be Junior Site Stewards. No experience necessary; Marilyn will show you the ropes. Contact Marilyn directly at 575-536-9337 to represent the GCAS in the Junior Site Steward program. The third graders will appreciate your help!

/s/ webmaster [photo is of past Junior Site Stewards - good kids, all of them]


Save These Dates!

People, archaeologically-flavored events are being scheduled all over the place. In our corner of the Southwest, the action is ramping up during September and gets fast and furious during October. Set aside the following dates and check back to our Events page and to this here blog for details as they develop:

Continue reading "Save These Dates!" »


Well, That Was Fun

Wnmu-fndrsr-07192023-i Wnmu-fndrsr-07192023-iiOur July 19, 2023, general meeting and fundraiser for the WNMU Museum featured US Forest Service archaeologist Chris Adams who presented Mimbres Pottery - Feather Imagery." An in-person audience of 48 enjoyed Chris's presentation in air-conditioned splendor, surrounded by the Museum's exhibits of Mimbres artifacts.  Over 36 others had signed up online via Zoom. We were thrilled with the crowd's enthusiasm for Chris's talk and their generous support of the Museum during this fundraiser. The Museum wrote:

Continue reading "Well, That Was Fun" »


Last Call For June Volunteers

Josh and Kyle leading yucca trainingThe GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, closes out her intensive June schedule with an archaeological workshop for the Silver City Watershed Keepers that she is offering on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. She needs the help of volunteers to make this workshop, you know, work. Please sign up to help her guide young students at various workshop stations, no experience necessary, just the desire to have fun and to work with young students, many of whom have never before experienced hands-on archaeological activities.

Please to help these kids. Telephone Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 ASAP for details and to sign up, or email [email protected]!

Thank you for your help in supporting our community's young people!

/s/ webmaster


Two Volunteer Opportunities Left in June!

Hurley kids at riverThe GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, maintains her typical action-packed schedule of the archaeological workshops she offers each year to students from local schools. And this is just what's happening in June! She needs the help of volunteers to make these programs work. Please help her guide students at various stations during these outdoor experiential workshops located at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. No experience is necessary, just the desire to have fun and to work with young students, many of whom have never before experienced hands-on archaeological activities.

Please mark your calendar for one or both of the following June dates to help these kids have a good experience. Telephone Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 ASAP for all details and to sign up, or email [email protected]!

Continue reading "Two Volunteer Opportunities Left in June!" »


More Volunteers, Please!

ALCS Archaeolgy Crew students and Hurley 5th gradersThe GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, maintains her typical action-packed schedule of the archaeological workshops she offers each year to students from local schools. She needs the help of volunteers to make the programs perfect. Please help her guide students at various stations during these outdoor experiential workshops located at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. No experience is necessary, just the desire to have fun and to work with young students, many of whom have never before experienced hands-on archaeological activities.

Please mark your calendar for one or more of the following dates to help these kids have a great day in the Mimbres Valley! Telephone Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 ASAP for all details and to sign up, or email [email protected]!

Continue reading "More Volunteers, Please!" »


Volunteers Still Needed For Help With Local School Groups!

ALCS  student demonstrating the atlatlThe GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, is continuing with an action-packed schedule of the archaeological workshops she offers each year to students from local schools. She needs the help of volunteers to guide students at various stations during these outdoor experiential workshops located at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. No experience is necessary at all; just an enthusiasm to work with young students, many of whom have never before experienced hands-on archaeological activities.

Please mark your calendar for one or more of the following dates to help these kids have a great day in the Mimbres Valley! Telephone Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 ASAP for all details and to sign up, or email [email protected]!

Continue reading "Volunteers Still Needed For Help With Local School Groups!" »