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.

Mattocks Ruin - MCHS

HummerFest 2023 Is Here!

Hummerfest2023It's the time of year to visit the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site for their annual Hummingbird Festival, this coming weekend on Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30. It starts tomorrow, people, so get ready now! Gas up the car, load the family, and drive eastbound from Silver City out Highway 152 to the Mimbres Valley. Turn left (north) onto Highway 35 and continue past mile marker 3; a few yards past the defunct Mimbres Valley Cafe turn right where you see the brown sign pointing you to the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site. Join the action from 8AM to 3PM both days for all kinds of big fun as we all learn about archaeology, ornithology, and much, much more. The GCAS will have an educational booth on site, and our GCAS library will offer a used book sale with titles to suit all tastes. Check out the HummerFest flyer over here on the left. For details, click to enlarge!

/s/ webmaster


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!" »


Repost: Seeking Volunteers For Help With Local School Groups!

Throwing rabbit sticksThe GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, is in full swing with the annual archaeological workshops she offers for students from local schools. She needs the help of volunteers to guide students at various stations during these outdoor experiential workshops, all but the first of which are 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 "Repost: Seeking Volunteers For Help With Local School Groups!" »


Seeking Volunteers For Help With Local School Groups!

Drilling with a pump drillThe GCAS's education coordinator, Marilyn Markel, is in full swing with the annual archaeological workshops she offers for students from local schools. She needs the help of volunteers to guide students at various stations during these outdoor experiential workshops - all but the first of which are 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 "Seeking Volunteers For Help With Local School Groups!" »


Seeking Volunteers!

Kathy Hill, President of the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF), notified the GCAS on April 11 that they are hosting two groups of middle school students from Aldo Leopold Charter School tomorrow (Friday, April 14, 2023) and on the following Friday, April 21, 2023. IFWEF is seeking volunteers on both dates:

"This Friday the 14th and Friday the 21st, Aldo middle school students will be coming to the heritage site on field trips.  Marilyn [Markel] plans to have them pin flagging, visiting the museum and doctor's office.  I believe a trip to the river also.  Then at the end of their day they plan to do some work around the grounds for us.  We can use volunteers to help with supervision. They plan to arrive about 10 am and we are not sure when they will be leaving...."

Kathy further advises, "Bring a lunch and hope to see you Friday."

Contact either Marilyn Markel at 575-536-9337 or Kathy Hill at 307-640-3012 to volunteer for either or both dates, or for further details!

/s/ webmaster


Reposting: Special March Event with AAHS

Pat Gilman describes her excavationCurrent GCAS member and supporter, and past member of the Mimbres Foundation, archaeologist Pat Gilman announces that the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society is in the preliminary stages of planning a field trip to the Mimbres Valley from Friday, March 10, through Sunday, March 12, 2023. They've booked a room at the Little Toad Creek Brewery for Friday dinner (March 10), hoping that they can also use the room for a brief Powerpoint overview of Mimbres archaeology presented by Pat Gilman herself.

AAHS is inviting GCAS members to join them for the March 10 dinner - dutch treat - and then join them for any or all parts of the weekend tour they have in mind. Pat reminds us that the AAHS is still in the early planning stages for this field trip, but she asks GCAS members to “Please let me know if you can join us for dinner and the show*.  The Little Toad Creek Brewery would like to know about how many people will be at dinner.  I don’t need to know if you will join us for any parts of the field trip itself, but I hope you can.  I want to show off what you all have done, and I’d like you to talk about it. And I’d like our members to be able to chat with you all who know so much about the local archaeology and the valley.”

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Mark Your Calendars - Join the AAHS and Us for a Special March Event

Pony Hills panel 1Current GCAS member and supporter, and past member of the Mimbres Foundation, archaeologist Pat Gilman announces that the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society is in the preliminary stages of planning a field trip to the Mimbres Valley from Friday, March 10, through Sunday, March 12, 2023. They've booked a room at the Little Toad Creek Brewery for Friday dinner (March 10), hoping that they can also use the room for a brief Powerpoint overview of Mimbres archaeology presented by Pat Gilman herself.

AAHS is inviting GCAS members to join them for the March 10 dinner - dutch treat - and then join them for any or all parts of the weekend tour they have in mind. Pat reminds us that the AAHS is still in the early planning stages for this field trip, but she asks GCAS members to “Please let me know if you can join us for dinner and the show*.  The Little Toad Creek Brewery would like to know about how many people will be at dinner.  I don’t need to know if you will join us for any parts of the field trip itself, but I hope you can.  I want to show off what you all have done, and I’d like you to talk about it. And I’d like our members to be able to chat with you all who know so much about the local archaeology and the valley.”

This is an excellent opportunity to get acquainted with our neighbors in Arizona's AAHS so the GCAS is welcoming our members to this weekend event as both our monthly field trip AND our monthly meeting for March!

Continue reading "Mark Your Calendars - Join the AAHS and Us for a Special March Event" »