On April 27, 2019, the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) formally presented four individuals, including the GCAS's favorite Field Trip Coordinator, Greg Conlin, with the Richard A. Bice Achievement Award. This annual award recognizes individuals who have made significant and sustained contributions to advance the purpose of their local archaeological society/organization and the ASNM's goals of documenting, preserving and protecting the archaeological heritage of New Mexico. Nominees do not have to be professional archaeologists, but their achievements and dedication certainly stand out.

In Greg's case, for many years he has been an active member, officer, and Board member of the GCAS. He currently plans and leads our monthly field trips; people may not realize that he actually takes two field trips for every one of ours. He performs reconnaissance of each site shortly before the field trip actually takes place, in order to confirm that our group receives accurate and current road and trail conditions. In addition to all those extra miles, Greg has devoted many years to the New Mexico SiteWatch program, monitoring multiple sites as a Site Steward. Greg joins at least nine other GCAS members who are past Bice Award recipients.

We are proud of you, Greg. Thank you for everything you've done for us!

/s/ webmaster [Photo courtesy of Marilyn Markel]

The Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) is set for Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 2019, right here in Silver City and hosted by our very selves, the GCAS.

We've posted this before and we're posting it again: the Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) is set for Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 2019, right here in Silver City and hosted by ourselves, the GCAS.

The Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) is set for Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 2019, right here in Silver City and hosted by ourselves, the GCAS.

The Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) is set for Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 2019, right here in Silver City and hosted by ourselves, the GCAS.

The Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico (ASNM) is set for Friday, April 26 through Sunday, April 28, 2019, right here in Silver City and hosted by ourselves, the GCAS.

The GCAS needs your help in fulfilling our mission of educational outreach. Please consider the following four opportunities occurring in late September and through October, three of which take place at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site.

Pick one! Pick them all! No experience necessary! Enjoy the fresh air and sunshine of Autumn in the Mimbres Valley!

The GCAS Library's Checkered Past:

The GCAS collects educational and research materials in addition to maintaining the records every nonprofit corporation is required to keep. During our group's 90-year life, we have gradually built our Library with specific purchases; past and current GCAS members and our supporters in the community have also generously donated their personal collections of relevant books and papers. We are grateful to have acquired a lot of fascinating archeological literature and related materials in this way. We welcome everyone's kind offers.

Our acquisitions have been complicated until recently by the lack of a permanent place to store them. Until just a few years ago our GCAS Library had led a nomadic existence, stored in boxes and bins in a succession of temporary locations. They were often separated and stored at the homes of various GCAS members who made room for them for as long as they could. It had been the library equivalent of couch-surfing. For most of our 90 years. That's a lot of couches. We all knew our group possessed many items worthy of safekeeping, but under the circumstances almost all of it was impossible to use except by a few long-term members who remembered what was stored in whose home.

President Kyle Meredith announced at last week's general meeting that the GCAS's very own Marilyn Markel is the 2018 recipient of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society's "Alexander J. Lindsay Jr. Unsung Hero Award."

Lex Lindsay passed away on January 14, 2017. In his memory an annual award was established that honors "...individuals whose work has often gone unacknowledged, but that is critical to the success of others’ archaeological, anthropological, or historical research." Certainly, our Marilyn fits the award's criteria, but her decades of tireless volunteerism encompass much more of what Lex valued most. Readers who know Marilyn will find much that is familiar to them in the following quote. Readers who do not know Marilyn personally may learn a lot about her from Lex's family's In Memoriam:

On May 16, 2018, one of our GCAS members, William Hudson, was recognized for his tireless and outstanding volunteer work on behalf of archaeology and education.

Here is how Bill described his award in his post on the GCAS Facebook page that evening: 

Everyone knows that modesty is a virtue, but there is much more to Bill's achievement than what he described as simply "contributions by an individual other than a professional archaeologist." Bill has most certainly contributed to the mission of the GCAS and to the greater mission of educating the public of the archaeological heritage we all share.