Our friends to the east at the Jornada Research Institute have sent us an update on their archaeological activities and invite interested folks to join in the fun. JRI president Dave Greenwald reports that their work continues at Creekside Village including in the great kiva area. During March into April, volunteers will help complete one 2 m by 5 m area within the great kiva. Dave describes JRI’s further investigations:

Saturday February 24, 2024, 8:00 AM-1:00PM in Tucson, AZ FREE (though all gifts are appreciated): It's Archaeology Day with activities and demonstrations at Mission Garden, 946 W. Mission Lane, Tucson. Representatives of Tucson's archaeology community come to Mission Garden to teach practical hands-on skills. Allen Denoyer will lead Archaeology Southwest’s Hands-on Archaeology program that allows kids of all ages to try out fascinating ancient technologies such as etching shell, painting with natural pigments, or throwing spears with atlatls. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center will also present interactive programs in which kids can make their own cordage, pinch pots, pendants, and petroglyphs. For more information visit www.tucsonsbirthplace.org or call 520-955-5200.

If you attend, please tell us about your visit and take pictures to share with the GCAS on this here website. Become a guest blogger!

/s/ webmaster

During 2024, the Jornada Research Institute is offering three separate archaeologically-flavored international tours. In February, it's an 11-day tour of Mayan sites of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. In late July, begin a tour of ancient sites in Scotland. In October, enjoy an 11-day tour of Greece and Ephesus, Turkey. Sign up early for one tour (or all three!) while space is still available.

OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO GCAS MEMBERS, JRI's President, Dave Greenwald, reports that JRI has developed a policy that allows them to donate to other nonprofit organizations whose member participates in one or more of their Overseas Journeys Programs. So, for example, JRI will donate $125.00 to the Grant County Archaeological Society for each tour participant who specifies that the GCAS should receive JRI's donation. Join a JRI tour, and you can support two nonprofits at once!

The JRI's President, Dave Greenwald, further describes the tours:

We're always happy to hear from our friends in the Jornada-Mogollon region, and the Jornada Research Institute's Dave Greenwald never disappoints. His latest update has a lot of exciting news for professionals and aspiring avocational volunteers alike. Dave reports:

In November, we returned to Creekside Village and continued excavations in one of the large pithouses, Feature 11. Typically, Mesilla phase pithouses used by the Jornada Mogollon had less than about 7 sq meters of floor area. This is not the case with either Feature 11 or 37 that we have opened so far. Feature 11 measures approximately 7.2 m across, or contains about 38 sq m of floor surface, with Feature 37 only slightly smaller, perhaps about 33 sq m. As we have continued excavation, both of these houses appear to possess a straight side on the SE side of the structure, making them more “D” shaped than circular, as we had originally thought. So, why are these structures so large in comparison to other Mesilla phase pithouses? A likely explanation is because Creekside Village was in fact a “true” village, occupied on a year-round basis (rather than seasonally), whose residents were full-time agriculturalists. The smaller pithouse likely reflected greater mobility of residents, moving as resources became available throughout the year. As agriculturalists, however, residents could remain in one location, raising crops to sustain them throughout the year. Botanical studies have shown that maize accounted for over 80% of the recovered economic plant remains recovered from domestic features and refuse deposits at Creekside compared to about 10% from other Mesilla phase sites with pithouses. With permanent residence and dependence on agriculture, family size or household populations could have been much larger than more mobile groups and as such larger families (whether represented by extended families or immediate family members) would have required greater living space. Based on the size of the houses at Creekside Village we are conservatively estimating a household population of about 10 people per house.

We plan to continue excavating at Creekside Village throughout the winter and spring months on weekends until it gets too hot in May....

GCAS members interested in this exciting news and wanting to participate in JRI's excavations at Creekside Village should contact Dave Greenwald directly about the possibilities. If participation is feasible JRI will verify your membership with the GCAS and give you answers to your questions, excavation dates, and details of the project. If any GCAS member participates in this rare opportunity with the JRI, please keep us informed of your findings and your progress!

/s/ webmaster

Beginning November 25-26, 2023, and continuing into Spring 2024: David Greenwald of the Jornada Research Institute has announced that JRI's excavations will resume at Creekside Village in the Tularosa NM area. Contact Dave Greenwald beforehand to secure his approval to participate, then meet at the wye in Tularosa (junction of US 54/70: the abandoned gas station) at 9:00 AM on November 25 and/or November 26 to carpool to the site. The group plans to focus on the pithouse they have been working on to perhaps remove the last of the fill from the NE quarter of it during these two days in November.  They plan to continue work at Creekside Village until late April ’24 or early May ’24 over most weekends (Greenwald's schedule and weather permitting). Once you are properly vetted, bring a lunch, water layered clothing, gloves, hat, and dust cover. For more details, email Dave Greenwald directly.

Any GCAS members who participate in this opportunity, please let us know so we can follow your progress!

/s/ webmaster

Archaeologist Dave Greenwald of the Jornada Research Institute checks in with the latest action in the Jornada-Mogollon region. He reports that:

weekend excavations at Cornelius Locus are suspended until next Spring. In November, the JRI will organize excavations at Creekside Village, scheduling TBA. Expect some lab days when the JRI volunteers (like you!) will process (wash, sort re-bag) artifacts from Cornelius Locus and select samples for radiocarbon dating. Dave will provide specifics on these activities (where and when) in a future email to participants as well as to this here website.

Dave also sends updates on JRI's upcoming international tours*:

During 2024, the Jornada Research Institute is offering three separate archaeologically-flavored international tours. In February, it's an 11-day tour of Mayan sites of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. In late July, begin a tour of ancient sites in Scotland. In October, enjoy an 11-day tour of Greece and Ephesus, Turkey. Sign up early for one tour (or all three!) while space is still available.

OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO GCAS MEMBERS, JRI's President, Dave Greenwald, reports that JRI has developed a policy that allows them to donate to other nonprofit organizations whose member participates in one or more of their Overseas Journeys Programs. So, for example, JRI will donate $125.00 to the Grant County Archaeological Society for each tour participant who specifies that the GCAS should receive JRI's donation. Join a JRI tour, and you can support two nonprofits at once!

Dave further describes the tours:

Plan now for the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM)'s annual meeting at the Ruidoso Convention Center from Friday, May 5 through Sunday, May 7, 2023. The Jornada Research Institute, one of ASNM's affiliate organizations, is planning and organizing this year's meeting. Tentative theme is “By Leaps and Bounds: Recent Advances in Archaeological Inquiry across Southeastern New Mexico,” which explores a number of contributing discoveries that have expanded archaeological interpretations across this vast region of the State.

Friday through Sunday, May 5 through 7, 2023: The Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM)'s annual meeting is scheduled for the Ruidoso Convention Center. ASNM affiliate organization, planned and organized this year by the Jornada Research Institute. Tentative theme for this meeting is “By Leaps and Bounds: Recent Advances in Archaeological Inquiry across Southeastern New Mexico,” which explores a number of contributing discoveries that have expanded archaeological interpretations across this vast region of the State. The 2023 meeting launches on the afternoon of May 5 with ASNM's board meeting, a rock art meeting, and certification meeting followed by a “meet and greet” cash bar, buffet dinner, and presentation on The Archaeology of Tularosa Canyon. The day of May 6 will consist of the presentation of papers by various speakers, an evening social hour, dinner, and awards. Myles Miller will present the evening's Bandelier Lecture, summarizing the advances that have been made and interpretations generated through archaeological survey, excavations, rock art studies, ethnohistory, and archaeoastronomy; and describing the increasingly greater precision of various remote sensing techniques, artifact analyses, and chronometric dates. Expect a variety of tours (still TBD) to local sites on May 7.

Save the dates and watch JRI's announcement page for registration information and updates as they develop. We'll see you there!

/s/ webmaster

The Society for American Archaeology (SAA)'s 88th annual meeting will be held this year in Portland, Oregon from Wednesday, March 29, 2023, through Sunday, April 2, 2023! Any GCAS members planning to attend? Please contact the GCAS by email or telephone (772-529-2627) to let us know and we'll send a little bit of swag to SAA along with you. Further meeting details, the meeting schedule, and contact info are all available on the SAA's Annual Meeting page. Plan now!

/s/ webmaster