We are excited to announce that our GCAS supporters have now contributed a total of over $7000 toward our project goal of $10,000. Such generosity has allowed us to continue through the typical fits and starts every rehabilitation project faces, and for that we thank all of our donors. We and IFWEF continue to coordinate the work of our two groups' volunteers with IFWEF's two professional contractors, while each group navigates the challenges of timing the purchase of construction materials subject to - shall we say - today's opportunity pricing.

As we move into April our project partner, the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF), is trading places with us to start work on some of their portions of the Wood House rehabilitation. This will allow the GCAS to rest and regroup for our next phase.

One of the GCAS's jobs during February and early March involved the Wood House's adobe fireplace. It had originally served the two downstairs rooms we are working on now, and the two rooms directly upstairs. This fireplace presented a dilemma for our volunteers: its chimney had disappeared decades ago, rendering it useless; but we determined that the surviving, out-of-plumb hearth and mantel downstairs were the central support for this four-room section of the Wood House. Removal was contraindicated.

We of the GCAS are thrilled to announce that the support from our members and friends continues as we forge ahead with our big rehabilitation project. We are deeply grateful to the following individuals and organizations, who our GCAS Treasurer reports have contributed a combined total of $6122.86 toward our goal of $10,000. They and a few anonymous donors have enabled our GCAS volunteers to keep pushing ahead, spending our donors' money on structural repairs, electrical upgrades including charging stations for small electronics, and more. The rooms are becoming visibly more functional and we are excited to be past the halfway point in construction. Please consider joining our friends in helping the GCAS move even closer toward our finish line:

A few spots of bad weather have periodically slowed down work in the two rooms the GCAS is rehabbing in the historic Wood House, but during the past several weeks one GCAS volunteer, working solo, has completed the floor repairs. Floor-leveling and plywood sheathing are done and the floor in both rooms awaits finishing with engineered hardwood flooring. The below-ground-level work is back-breaking.

As of this writing our GCAS members and friends have contributed a total of $5352.12 toward our MAREC project. The repairs to the rotted flooring and floor joists in 2 rooms are almost complete, and wiring upgrades are also underway. Up next: installing ceiling lights and encapsulating the unusable fireplace in the future library room. Follow along as we post progress photos here and on our GCAS Facebook page - and please help if you can by donating here or by emailing us to volunteer some of your time - there's a job suitable for every skill set.

Thank you, everyone!

/s/ webmaster

Phase I of our MAREC project is well underway. 

Our partner nonprofit, the Imogen F. Wilson Education Foundation (IFWEF), owns and maintains the historic buildings at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site, including the two rooms on the ground floor of the Wood House that is the focus of our GCAS rehabilitation project. In Phase I, our GCAS volunteers have joined forces with IFWEF volunteers to safely relocate the large number of educational and field school materials that had been stored throughout the Wood House. We have taken final measurements of the interior spaces allotted to each of our groups for rehab, and are prioritizing each group's rehab activities in project schedules.

The GCAS members and friends listed below have given us a very good start to 2021. As of this writing, together they have donated a total of $4827.12 toward our goal of raising $10,000 to develop two rooms of the historic Wood House at the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site into the Mimbres Archaeological Research and Education Center. We are so grateful for their support because they have enabled our volunteers to start work on rehabbing the Wood House while we continue to seek funding.

We are very excited to be making progress so quickly. Please join these generous folks in helping the GCAS accomplish our priority project:

The GCAS resumed monthly meetings online via Zoom with the idea that up to 3 or 4 GCAS members could take turns acting as hosts for these Zoom meetings. Unfortunately some of our volunteer hosts discovered that they do not have reliable enough equipment and/or connectivity to the internet to help out. How about you?

Even if you have no experience hosting a Zoom meeting yourself, our Zoom committee has already done the work for you. With just one or two short practice sessions online with us, you can get familiar with how to use the 2 or 3 controls you need to start a meeting, introduce the featured speaker using our handy introduction form, and close down the meeting after the lecture and a Q&A session.

Please help the GCAS keep these monthly meetings going. You (yes, you) can contact the right people right away by emailing us at either webmaster@gcasnm.org, or reaching out to President Kyle Meredith at kyyote@msn.com, telephone 575-538-5706.

/s/ webmaster

As our membership already knows, the GCAS has resumed monthly meetings online via Zoom. We assembled a Zoom committee with the idea that up to 3 or 4 GCAS members could take turns acting as hosts for these Zoom meetings. Unfortunately some of our volunteer hosts quickly discovered that they do not have reliable enough equipment and/or connectivity to the internet to help out.

How about you?

Even if you have no experience hosting a Zoom meeting yourself, our Zoom committee has already done the work for you. With just one or two short practice sessions online with us, you can get familiar with how to use the 2 or 3 controls you need to start a meeting, introduce the featured speaker using our handy introduction form, and close down the meeting after the lecture and a Q&A session.

Please help the GCAS keep these monthly meetings going. You (yes, you) can contact the right people right away by emailing us at either webmaster@gcasnm.org, or reaching out to President Kyle Meredith at kyyote@msn.com, telephone 575-538-5706.

/s/ webmaster

This link goes to an article profiling the ethnographic work of Allison Mickel, associate professor of anthropology in Lehigh University's Department of Department of Sociology & Anthropology. Mickel's current research is focused upon the Middle East but the principles she is examining can apply to any archaeological, cultural, or historic site. In short, she studies the role local communities play in archaeological work. She notes that during centuries of past archaeological investigations local community members, even those actively involved in excavations, have continued to be excluded from stewardship decisions. From the article: