“Is this what I think it is?” [Points to half-buried odd-shaped rock…]
“No. It’s just a half-buried odd-shaped rock.”
“What about this?”
“Well, now, that IS something!” [Group clusters together with excitement.]
Observe the photo over there on the right. You can always tell you’re in a group of amateur archaeologists when someone finds something interesting, and everyone gathers around to have a look…except for one person who will keep scanning the ground. Just in case.
Fourteen GCAS members and two canine mascots enjoyed a hot but rewarding hike on our August 5, 2018, field trip along the Big Tree Trail in the Fort Bayard trail complex. Led by Greg Conlin, President Kyle Meredith, and Josh Reeves, the group located a handful of known, small archaeological sites scattered among the gentle contours of the area along the trail to the Big Tree.
As we meandered off-trail, various members of the group spotted calcedony flakes, tiny quartz crystals, one or two grinding stones, a lightly-used metate, a few potsherds, and the occasional rusted metal can — aka “historic artifact.”
Looking up from the ground around our feet we encountered petroglyphs on a few boulders.
New members Wendy and Don, accompanied by Janet and Kevin, discovered a one-room pueblo structure with a few more sherds and another metate near the collapsed walls. After photos were taken, all objects were left exactly where we’d found them, in accordance with proper GCAS practice.
Thank you, Greg, Kyle, and Josh, for taking time to show us examples of how much human activity has been in this area from the times of the Mimbreños and Apaches, through the settlers in the 19th and 20th Centuries, up to today!