Mark your calendars for Wednesday December 21, 2022, at 5:00 PM, because it's the GCAS's annual holiday gathering - this year falling upon the date of the winter solstice itself! This special GCAS monthly in-person general meeting returns to 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. about a block or two south of the intersection of Memory Lane and Hwy 180. Our get-together starts a bit earlier this month at 5PM with a holiday potluck - so bring your most festive dish for yourself or to share, along with your own plates/utensils/beverage. A short business meeting will begin at 6:00PM followed by a program of videos and photo albums of past GCAS field trips, and a small display of samples from recently donated artifacts. If you recognize a person or a place in a video or photo, please sing out! This is the time to tell us a story about what you've seen and who you know.

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.

Watch this space for more details as they develop but plan now to join us!

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Some GCAS members can only spare some random moments on a few occasions, so they assume they can't participate in many of our group's ongoing projects. However, we have activities suitable for anyone's time budget. This short list of GCAS opportunities can move along with as much - or as little - time as you have to spend:

1. Match the dates and sites on our list of past field trips to photos in our archives!
2. Check a former member's DVDs for the dates and the names of the archaeological sites he filmed, and match them to our list of “Specific Sites”!
3. Identify the dates and sites of our collection of slides and match them to our list of “Specific Sites” or to our list of past field trips!
4. Sort the potsherds and other artifacts in our lab’s artifact collections and add them to our inventory list!
5. Review and organize our small collection of topographic maps!
6. Help sell our inventory of used and duplicate publications at local events, or develop an online store for them on our website!

Which project do you prefer? Call Marianne at 772-529-2627 or email gcasnm.org@gmail.com with a good day and time for you!

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As we approach the end of the calendar year, several of our GCAS officers and trustees are facing term limits. This offers all GCAS members - whether brand-new or long-term - the opportunity to fill the vacancies and keep our group moving forward.  Scroll below for a menu of the kinds of activities where you are needed the most, with a general idea of the time required to fulfill our group's mission. No experience necessary for any area – our current GCAS officers and board members are here to show you all the ropes!

You coming to our big to-do?

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, starting 5:00PM: October's GCAS general meeting is an open house at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site! Come tour the Wood House and see the 5 fully rehabilitated rooms of the Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center (MAREC), a joint venture between the GCAS and the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF). This is a big deal that was for decades nothing more than a pipe dream. Now the dream's come true! The schedule:

5PM: Start with guide Marilyn Markel to tour the Mattocks archaeological site!
5:30PM: enjoy our customary summertime meeting's potluck meal!
6PM: follow your GCAS and IFWEF guides to view the MAREC facility our two groups offer to visiting archaeologists and students of all ages -- some of whom have already used our space to great success! (Plenty of fun projects for GCAS members*, too!)
                       * Sherds! Artifacts! Photos! Videos! And more!
6:30PM: check out the museum in the Gooch House!
7PM: settle in for a brief GCAS business meeting promptly followed by a feature presentation by John Welch of Southwest Archaeology!

Please note that 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.

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Please set aside time on Saturday, October 15, 2022 to help the GCAS host the annual Archaeology Day at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. This year's activities overlap with a special tour that MCHS volunteers are offering to attendees of the New Mexico Association of Museums during their annual conference, so we need plenty of GCAS members to assist folks at educational stations around the grounds. No experience necessary; we'll prep you on everything you need! Contact Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 for details. Thank you, and we'll see you there!

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The GCAS is always on the lookout for new places to visit, or to revisit places we've been in the past. Day trips are fun, but so are overnight adventures. We always welcome our members, from brand-new to our Grizzled Old Timers, to give our group your own ideas - where would YOU like to go for our November 6, 2022 field trip? Any other field trip? Archaeological sites and historic sites like forts, missions, & mines are all cool by us.

We've traveled as far afield as Paquime, Mexico; and as close to home as Gomez Peak. We've visited Three Rivers, and have recorded the rock art at the Dragonfly Petroglyph. Anything goes, near or far, with avocational archaeologists! Some of our members are willing to lead any field trips up their way -- but new leaders are welcome too! What do you know? What areas do you like the best? Please share with us - we want to keep exploring!

/s/ webmaster

Please set aside time on Saturday, October 15, 2022 to help the GCAS host the annual Archaeology Day at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. This year's activities overlap with a special tour that MCHS volunteers are offering to attendees of the New Mexico Association of Museums during their annual conference, so we need plenty of GCAS members to assist folks at educational stations around the grounds. No experience necessary; we'll prep you on everything you need! Contact Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 for details. Thank you!

/s/ webmaster

Set aside this date right now, people:

Wednesday, October 19, 2022, time TBD: the GCAS general meeting offers an open house at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site! Come tour the Wood House, now with 5 fully rehabilitated rooms for the Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center (MAREC), a joint venture between the GCAS and the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF). Come early to walk the trails of the Mattocks archaeological site and tour the museum located in the Gooch House, then follow your GCAS and IFWEF guides through the Wood House to inspect the latest action in the GCAS library and lab (plenty of fun projects for GCAS members*), and check out the rest of the MAREC facility our two groups offer to visiting archaeologists and students of all ages -- some of whom have already used our space to great success! If time allows, our monthly meeting will also have a Featured Speaker and/or a slide show. Stay tuned as time and other details coalesce.

* Sherds! Artifacts! Photos! Videos! And more!

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The 2022 Southwest Kiln Conference is coming to town from Thursday, Oct. 6 thru Sunday, Oct. 9 at Silver City's own Western New Mexico University. Everyone is welcome and the conference is free. Expect to meet potters who work in a variety of ceramic traditions, making replicas of Anasazi, Hohokam and Mogollon pottery, offering glimpses of the entire process from collecting raw clay to forming and firing pots.

WNMU and museum 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. WNMU will also provide overnight parking for conference attendees who intend to boondock; contact Southwest Kiln for parking location and other details.

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. However, here's what SW Kiln needs from pottery-oriented folks 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."