Education and Workshops

ANNOUNCING
4TH NMAC Field Conference
MIMBRES ARCHAEOLOGY: AFTER THE FIRE
June 23 to 25, 2011 in Silver City, NM

Thanks to the kindness of the Gila National Forest, the Bureau of Land
Management, and archaeologists from the universities of Nevada and
Colorado and the Center for Desert Archaeology, we can visit some of
the most famous sites in the region. And, don’t miss the October
Mimbres workshop rescheduled from the spring. It will start at the
Western Museum for lectures and ceramic labs and continue with site
visits up the Gila River and in the Mimbres Valley.

So, want to have a fun filled three days learning about Pithouse, Classic
Mimbres, and Post-Mimbres archaeology from the pros? Want to impress
your colleagues, clients, and regulators with your in-depth knowledge
of southwestern New Mexico ceramics and cultures? Need to earn a few
days to gain that BLM Southwest New Mexico permit or get the HPD
education credit? Then make a date for the Summer Mimbres
Archaeology Workshop. This adventure is brought to you by NMAC, the
Gila National Forest, the BLM, Western New Mexico University, and the
New Mexico Gas Company.

The workshop will be held in beautiful Silver City and the greater
Mimbres region from June 23 to 25. The field trip will take you to sites
you couldn’t get on by yourself. On the first day, Dr. Barbara Roth of the
University of Nevada Las Vegas will lead us on a tour of her excavations
at the Harris site, a pithouse village made famous by Dr. Haury and now
Dr. Roth. It will be followed by a visit to the Mule Creek Project where
Drs. Jeff Clark and Deb Huntley of the Center for Desert Archaeology
are conducting research on the Salado phenomenon. Although they are
working on pueblo habitations, you will probably see Mule Creek
obsidian while there.

Day two will begin with a tour of the Black Mountain site, the type site
for the Black Mountain phase (AD 1200-1300). Katy Putsavage, a NMAC
grant recipient from the University of Colorado, will show us her Black
Mountain phase excavations and discuss her research on the ceramics.
Later, Tom Holcomb, Las Cruces BLM archaeologist, will take us on an
exciting trip through Old Town Pueblo, a recently excavated Classic
Mimbres pueblo that also has a Black Mountain occupation.

On the third day, Bob Schiowitz, Gila National Forest archaeologist, will
guide us to Mimbres agricultural features and petroglyphs near Fort
Bayard and then if we are lucky, down to the famous Cameron Creek
Ruins excavated by Bradfield in the 1920s. You will get a chance to use
your newly gained ceramic knowledge and to see subtle pithouse
depressions, Classic Mimbres ruins, and some fantastic rock art.

Please remember that training courses sponsored by the BLM may be
credited towards the BLM permits. Two days of credit will be awarded
for every day of training. In the case of this workshop, six days may be
applied to the BLM experience requirement. The NM HPD will also offer
education credit. The BLM and NMAC will issue a certificate (suitable for
framing!) to each person who completes the workshop. This is an
excellent opportunity for companies to get low cost training for their
employees while individuals work towards those much sought after
Southwest New Mexico permits. The course is limited to 25 people so
don't put off registering.

The cost of this workshop is a bargain at only $30 (that’s an amazing
$10 per day) (plus a $25 NMAC 2011 membership fee for non-members:
see NMAC website for membership form). Money from the workshop will
go to the NMAC Grants Program. To register, first e-mail Chris Turnbow
at chris.turnbow@nmgco.com to confirm your reservation. Reservations
will be on a first come, first served basis and don’t delay, it books fast.
All participants must have paid by June 20 to The Mimbres Workshop,
NMAC, PO Box 25691, Albuquerque, NM 87125 or email Chris to make
special arrangements.

Stay tuned: The dates of the Fall Mimbres Workshop will be announced
very soon.