NEXT MEETING: the GCAS shifts the regular day, time, and location of October's usual Wednesday meeting to 4:00PM on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2024, to accommodate our featured speaker and National Archaeology Day. For those wishing to spend all day Saturday in the Mimbres Valley, the fun begins at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site where folks will celebrate National Archaeology Day from 10:00AM to 3:00PM with assorted activities. Immediately following, from 4:00PM to 5:00PM, the GCAS general membership is welcome to join the general public at the Roundup Lodge where Marilyn Markel will present Apaches on the Mimbres and the Story of the Captive Boy, Santiago McKinn. Promptly after Marilyn's talk concludes at about 5PM, the GCAS will have our typical brief business meeting and we expect to adjourn by about 5:30PM. Given the earliness of the hour, no potluck or refreshments will be provided so that GCAS members can all be safely back home in time for dinner. See you on Saturday the 19th!

NEXT FIELD TRIP: From Thursday, October 3 through Saturday, October 5, 2024, in lieu of the GCAS's typical monthly field trip we encourage GCAS members to attend the 22d annual Mogollon Conference in Silver City. The WNMU Museum at Fleming Hall 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 is $55/person. Check the Mogollon Conference website for all other info including fees for the Sunday, October 6 Mimbres Foundation reunion at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site in Mimbres NM from 10:00 AM-12:00PM noon. Join the alumni at the Mattocks Site where they spent four seasons of archaeological excavations in the mid-1970s. A tour of the archaeological site and the historic buildings is planned for the morning, with light refreshments on offer. Everyone is welcome to attend by reservation only with a contribution of $5 per person to offset expenses of refreshments and supplies. For preliminary details and to reserve a spot, Email the GCAS to sign up for the reunion only; or instead register for this reunion when signing up for the rest of the Mogollon Conference.

Lithics

GCAS General Meeting at MCHS!

Allen denoyerWednesday, September 15, 2021, 6:30 PM: GCAS general meeting at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site located at 12 Sage Drive in Mimbres, one block east of Highway 35 between Mile Markers 3 and 4 and just a bit north of the old Mimbres Valley Cafe.

We are thrilled to host Allen Denoyer of Archaeology Southwest who will offer us a 2 for 1 presentation. In the early part of the evening he will demonstrate flintknapping on the porch of the Gooch House. If you have never witnessed his skills, you will be amazed! Then, as it gets dark, he will present a slideshow on the Early Agricultural Time Period. Meet at 6:30 for snacks and chats, and we will briefly make any announcements that might arise before Allen's presentation starts at 7:00 PM sharp. Due to uncertain pandemic concerns, please have your masks handy, and we will see you there!

/s/ webmaster


New Studies in Archaeoacoustics

StonehengeRegular readers of this here site know that we generally prefer focusing our news on what's happening archaeologically in our own Southwest US/Northern Mexico region. However, we remain open-minded enough to occasionally publish news from further afield, especially when it contains implications for our own area. In this case, the article's headline is fully descriptive:

"A Remarkable New Study Suggests That Stonehenge Was Built to Amplify Sound During Ancient Ruling-Class Rituals - The stones also worked as a sound chamber, keeping outside noise out."

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Ever Heard of Lithophones?

image from encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.comSome time ago, and during a period of many years, a few archaeologists and various amateur collectors retrieved a number of oblong stone artifacts from the area around and including the Great Sand Dunes National Park in south-central Colorado. Eventually, many of the stones were given to the museum at Great Sand Dunes National Park where they remain stored today. [Photo of Great Sand Dunes artifacts via Archaeology Podcast Network.]

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