If you're curious about archaeological sites and research along the Gila River, there are two upcoming online lectures sure to suit you. Get your calendar ready for:

The Jornada Research Institute (JRI), headquartered in Tularosa, New Mexico, is dedicated to the study, preservation, and protection of the archaeological, ethnohistoric, historic and natural resources of the northern Chihuahuan Desert of Arizona, New Mexico, West Texas and adjacent regions. Following is one of their special upcoming events as well as a short list of other items of interest to avocational archaeologists of the Southwest:

On September 14th, 2021, Jeff Hanson will be conducting a one-day ZOOM class on The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act for continuing education credits towards New Mexico state permitting (overseen by the Historic Preservation Division). Registration fee is $80.00 (discounted to $70.00 for students and JRI members). Please contact Jeff for more information or to sign up: jefferyhanson64@gmail.com or 817-658-5544; or visit the Events page of JRI's website for more information.

A mere 2 days from now, on Tuesday August 31, 2021, at 7 PM Central Daylight Time, and free online via Zoom, Dr. Michael Ruggeri, Professor Emeritus from the City Colleges of Chicago, presents “Mesoamerica/Ancient Southwest Chocolate Trade,” sponsored by the Aztlan Listserv. He will explain that although trade between Mesoamerica and the ancient Southwest in macaws, parrot feathers, copper bells, turquoise, turkeys, and pottery has been well known to archaeologists, they have only recently become aware of the large chocolate trade that began in about the 9th century.

Until you can schedule a trip to the Santa Fe/Espanola area to see the Mesa Prieta petroglyphs for yourself, please enjoy a virtual tour courtesy of the Archaeological Conservancy's Virtual Tour Series. To date the Archaeological Conservancy has released four episodes showcasing some of the sites they have acquired for preservation and protection. They are all worth your time.

Scroll down at this link to check out Episodes 1 through 3, but Episode 4 is the one that is all about petroglyphs the like you have never seen before. It features their Wells Petroglyph Preserve narrated by their archaeologist, Chester Liwosz, and former owner/donor/founder of the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project, Katherine Wells. If time permits you can watch the full hour-long virtual tour here, or see the same episode in four shorter segments by clicking here.

Of course, the Archaeological Conservancy also has an ongoing Virtual Lecture Series to keep you apprised of the latest in research. Get busy!

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If you plan to travel to the Blanding, Utah area in late September, you may want to join a special one-day ceramics event on Thursday, September 23, 2021, to precede this year's Southwest Kiln Conference. It's a one-afternoon workshop in ancient ceramics painting techniques hosted by Cherylene Caver and Tori Hoopes, both accomplished ceramics replicators. Their announcement for "Painting Pottery the Ancient Way" describes,

The Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project in Velarde, New Mexico, recently added to their website two short virtual tours of some select petroglyphs under their protection. If you cannot travel to tour Mesa Prieta in person, these virtual tours give you a taste of how unique the site with its 100,000+ petroglyphs truly is. Descriptive text accompanies these virtual images, which can be rotated in 3D for enhanced viewing pleasure. Check out their Heraldic Lions Tour or their Shields and Shield Bearers Tour, then follow the link to their Sketchfab page to have fun with even more 3D petroglyph images!

/s/ webmaster [photo via Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project]

The El Paso Museum of Archaeology reopens on June 24, 2021, with a new schedule. Anyone can visit from Thursdays through Saturdays, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and admission is free.

The Museum announces that their regular galleries will be open as well as their special exhibition, “From the Edge of Center: The Chacoan Outliers.” Visitors to the special exhibit will enjoy artifacts from the Museum's permanent collection as well as items from the Salmon Ruins near Farmington, New Mexico, on loan from the San Juan County Museum Association.

For more information contact Jeff Romney at 915-755-4332 or romneyjk@elpasotexas.gov.

Perhaps a GCAS field trip to El Paso is in order?

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Earlier this month NASA reported some very uplifting news about their Perseverance Rover Team's research on Mars. Via Forbes, because "...a big contingent of Perseverance science is centered in universities and national labs in New Mexico and Arizona, which include traditional Navajo land...", the team is naming a number of Martian geological features with words from the Navajo language.

Join us Wednesday, February 17, 2021, at 7:00 PM on Zoom to hear our Featured Speaker, Lawrence (Larry) Loendorf of Sacred Sites Research, Inc. explain the relationships he and other anthropologists, archaeologists, and ethnobotanists have studied between "Medicinal Plants and Rock Art Sites in Southern New Mexico."

Larry was born and raised in Montana. His BA and MA degrees are in anthropology and archaeology from the University of Montana and his PhD is from the University of Missouri-Columbia. After receiving his PhD, he taught at the University of North Dakota for 22 years and then moved to undertake research and teaching at the University of Arizona and New Mexico State University. He currently manages Sacred Sites Research, Inc., a non-profit company that is dedicated to protecting ancient pictograph and petroglyph sites.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021, 7:00 PM via Zoom: 2021's first GCAS general meeting features speaker David Greenwald of the nonprofit Jornada Research Institute. Dave describes that he:

"...will be discussing the high points of the archaeological resources in Tularosa Canyon that date to the Mesilla phase (specifically between AD 600 and 900) focusing on Creekside Village, but also bringing the Twin Kivas Site and the Great, Great Kiva Site into the discussion. His presentation is titled EARLY JORNADA MOGOLLON SUBSISTENCE, SOCIO-POLITICAL, AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION IN TULAROSA CANYON, OTERO COUNTY, NEW MEXICO. Thus far, the Jornada Research Institute has published the first volume on the research at Creekside Village, a preliminary report, research design and plan for expanded investigations. Ongoing studies include a focus on the reservoir and irrigation systems, terraced agricultural features, and pit houses at Creekside Village, and the great kivas, canals, and field systems in Tularosa Canyon."

Watch your email for our Zoom invite. There will be no business meeting so join us at about 6:45 PM to get settled,  and enjoy Dave's presentation when it begins at 7:00 PM sharp!

Learn more about Dave's extensive background in his own words: