Archeology of New Mexico - Canada Alamosa Project

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Oregon Bill

This has re-whetted my appetite for archaeology.

As a young boy, the desert was my playground. While I would never pass up a chance to collect an arrowhead, pottery shards were so common that it wasn't worth bothering. Now it's nearly impossible to find shards on public lands. I know a couple of sites in my immediate area, but it takes a keen eye nowadays to pick out the remaining pieces. And in many cases it may be illegal.

Collecting historic and cultural relics from private lands is not illegal (however, disturbing human remains is forbidden). It is illegal, however, to collect artifacts from public and tribal lands.

Also, old adobe ruins that were still prominent in my youth are now dissolved away unless for some reason they were protected from the weather - like the remaining walls at Ft. Sheldon, just north of Las Cruces.

[Oregon Bill]

Joqua, I fear Fort Union is going the same way ...

[Cactus Hibs]

Originally Posted by Oregon Bill

This has re-whetted my appetite for archaeology. I have volunteered on supervised digs in the past and helped with archaeological field survey work. It is very rewarding. Might have to start looking for volunteer opportunities again.
On a tangent, I am a member of the World Atlatl Association. If anyone is interested, here are two fine sites:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/pale...n-forums-f156/

http://basketmakeratlatl.com/

There are many volunteer opportunities in New Mexico for people with an interest in archaeology. In fact, the Canada Alamosa Project itself has made frequent use of volunteers through the Earthwatch program. Human Systems Research, the non-profit that runs the Canada Alamosa Project, is based in Tularosa and Las Cruces and has many Alamogordo ties as well. Pete Eidenbach, who teaches archaeology and anthropology at the NMSU Alamogordo campus, is a long-time HSR collaborator. If you have an interest, they would be good people to get in touch with. Based on their web page, your atlatl skills might even come in handy!

:: Human Systems Research :: Education ::

Another good archaeological organization with many Alamo ties is the Jornada Research Institute, a relatively new non-profit foundation that supports several archaeological projects across central and southern New Mexico. President Dave Greenwald lives in Alamo and has decades of experience throughout New Mexico and the greater southwest. JRI also relies heavily on volunteers: Dr. Michael Bletzer's exciting work at Tzelaqui, an abandoned pueblo village near Socorro that was apparently the site of a Spanish mission prior to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, is one current JRI project that frequently has volunteer opportunities.

Jornada Research Institute | Integrative Studies of the Greater American Southwest

[Oregon Bill]

Cactus, muchas gracias for that information.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Cactus Hibs

Dr. Michael Bletzer's exciting work at Tzelaqui, an abandoned pueblo village near Socorro that was apparently the site of a Spanish mission prior to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680...

Within a days "loop" trip from Alamogordo, there are three pueblo/mission ruins collectively known as the Salinas Group National Monument. There are un-excavated mounds covering ruins at all three sites, with the largest area being at Gran Quivara. Last I heard, further exploration at these ruins was challenged by various Indian tribes and is now forbidden by federal law. But volunteers are employed to help with preservation efforts.

https://www.nps.gov/sapu/learn/historyculture/index.htm

All three sites have visitor centers with interpretive displays describing the known history at each site. I've driven friends to all three sites in a long days trip, but it's hard to do each site justice in a single trip. Each site has its own unique setting.

Gran Guivara, the largest site, is in a stark setting today making it hard to imagine how anyone could have chosen to live there, much less the large population that did so.

Abo is set alongside a wide arroyo that shows signs of frequent flash flooding that likely obliterated some of the ruins over the centuries.

Quari is set in a forested area in the Manzano Mountain foothills that is today the most livable site of the three, with ample water flow even during recent drought years.

The latter two sites are just a few minutes from the town of Mountainaire, the headquarters for the Nat. Monument. All three are accessible by paved highways.