OAS | DECEMBER 2023

The Friends of Archaeology (FOA) is now accepting registrations for their annual online 'Archaeology as History in the Southwest' lecture series. The series will take place each Wednesday starting January 3, 2024 at 5:45 pm for eight consecutive weeks. Each lecture will be recorded for later viewing. The cost for FOA members is $180.00. Click here for more information.

This legislative session, the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) is requesting three new FTEs for the Office of Archeological Studies (OAS) – two archaeologists and one educator. Adding these three full-time staff would be an incredible asset to the OAS. We encourage you to provide in-person support during DCA finance hearings and to speak to legislators about why your think these positions are important.

In autumn, OAS welcomed three new staff members for the roles of Instructional Coordinator, Osteology Laboratory Supervisor, and Field Technician. An applicant has also accepted the Crew Chief position and will start in mid-November. Interviews to hire an Analyst for the Archaeomagnetic Laboratory are ongoing. Project Director and Faunal Analyst positions are currently posted on the State Personnel Office website. Richard (Rick) Montoya, field director, submitted his retirement letter on October 12, 2023. Rick’s last day will be December 29, 2023, when he achieves 25 years with the state of New Mexico.

Educational Activities Update from the OAS:
OAS Staff performed outreach activities throughout the state reaching 154 individuals between September 26 and October 11, 2023. Interim Director Barbour lectured on “An Archaeological Perspective on Hunting in New Mexico” at the OASIS Senior Learning Center in Albuquerque on September 26 and on “The Portuguese Empire, AD 1415 to 1668” for the Taos Archaeological Society in Taos on October 2.

Director of Business Operations Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers published the edited 22 Jornada Mogollon Conference Proceedings volume and will be presenting his research on late pre-Hispanic borderland development at the intersection of Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua at the 23 Jornada Mogollon Conference on October 20 in El Paso, Texas. He is also presenting at the Primera Mesa Redonda de Paquimé at the Museo de las Culturas del Norte in Casas Grandes, Chihuahua on October 26.

On September 27, the Taos Archaeological Society toured the Center for New Mexico Archaeology. Laboratory Supervisory Shelby Jones led the tour for OAS. In addition, she and Instructional Coordinator Chinara Lucero presented at Teachers Night Out at the Vladem Contemporary on October 5.

Two brown bag lectures were held on October 11 at OAS. Research Associate C. Dean Wilson presented “Blue Gray to Biscuit Ware: Trends and Connections” and Laboratory Supervisor Shelby Jones and Research Associate Marvin Rowe presented “American Chemical Society: Lecture and Tour.”
Upcoming events through the end of October include Nature Niños in Albuquerque, Wildlife Zone at Bosque del Apache, a brown bag lecture by Research Associate Sherrill Spaar, and the Governor’s Halloween celebration.

Keep an eye on your mailbox – a wonderful booklet overviewing OAS educational programming will be sent out soon!