COLORADO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY (CAS) ANNUAL ENCAMPMENT

Over forty people from all over Colorado attended the annual CAS Encampment in the San Luis Valley over the July 4th holiday. The group, which camped at the Juniper Group Campground on the Conejos River to the west of Antonito, was very busy with trips to SLV cultural sites and with presentations about local and regional archaeology. Ken Frye and Vince Spero served as tour guides. Several SLV Archaeological Network members attended and helped make the weekend a success. The first field excursion was to the "Big Bird" petroglyph near Del Norte followed by a trip to the Dry Creek petroglyphs where one member of the group found a previously unknown rock carving. That evening Lee Coats of San Luis presented a fascinating slide presentation, outdoors in the cool mountain air, titled "Southwestern Rock Art; A Four State Overview" about major rock art sites of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. Lee has done extensive research pertaining to a number of sites and their relationships to the sun and stars. We also viewed the historic San Rafael Presbyterian Church in Mogote, built in 1895. Margie Garcia gave us a tour of the church and informed US about restoration plans to be conducted with help from a Colorado Historic Fund grant. Following this visit we visited the beautiful Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Conejos. After lunch in the campground Encampment goers helped in the archaeological inventory of a low open ridge above Rito Hondo near Big Horn Peak. The several hour exercise resulted in finding projectile points of basalt and obsidian, several bifacial scrapers, a few grinding stones and numerous flakes of the variety of material indicative of the area.

That evening the infamous "Chili Cookoff" was held with extensive tasting of a wide variety of chili, some green, some great, and some not so great! It was quite entertaining, especially with MaryJo Kraus as the contest announcer. On Tuesday we toured the McIntire Mansion, former home of Albert W. McIntire, Colorado Governor from 1895 to 1896. His Grandson Albert McIntire Mortenson of Sanford met us at the remains of the adobe house and told us stories of his childhood experiences at the ranch. He related that each room of the house had a fireplace and that the house was very attractive. The Catholic Church in Lasauces, where restoration is nearly complete, was visited with a tour of the work provided by the enthusiastic flooring contractor. A trip to various rock art sites on the Valley's lower Rio Grande ended the day and the 2001 CAS Encampment. As you can see we had a busy and varied three days viewing intriguing cultural sites of the SLV, discovering previously unknown sites, and meeting people who are doing a lot of work in preserving important SLV cultural sites. It was exciting to see so many CAS members visit the SLV, many for the first time.

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JOINING THE COLORADO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Members of the San Luis Valley Archaeological Network are strongly encouraged to join the Colorado Archaeological Society as an "Unaffiliated Member" since the SLV Network is not a CAS chapter. Membership benefits include the quarterly CAS publication "Southwestern Lore" containing valuable research reports on Colorado archaeology. A newsletter detailing statewide activities is also included. The CAS Code of Ethics is the same that the SLV Archaeological subscribes to in order to assure the protection and responsible treatment of Colorado's important cultural resources. Please complete the following application and become an unaffiliated member of CAS. We would like to see many of our members support the Colorado Archaeological Society by becoming members of this truly great organization.

CAS OBJECTIVES AND CODE OF ETHICS. As Members of the Colorado Archaeological Society We Pledge:
• To uphold State and Federal Antiquities Laws.
• To support policies and educational programs designed to protect our cultural heritage and our State's antiquities.
• To encourage protection and discourage exploitation of archaeological resources.
• To encourage the study and recording of Colorado's archaeology and cultural history. To take an active part by participating in field and laboratory work for the purpose of developing new and significant information about the past.
• To respect the property rights of landowners.
• To assist whenever possible, in locating, mapping and recording archaeological sites within Colorado using State Site Survey forms.
• To respect the dignity of peoples whose cultural histories and spiritual practices are the subject of any investigation.
• To support only scientifically conducted activities, and never participate in conduct involving dishonesty, deceit or misrepresentation about archaeological matters. To report vandalism.
• To remember that cultural resources are non-renewable, and do not belong to you or me, but are ours to respect, study and enjoy!

COLORADO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND RENEWAL FORM
STATE MEMBERSHIP (UNAFFILIATED) ONLY

Date____ __New _ Renewal Membership Type: _ Individual $12.50 _ Family $15.00
*Please note that payment of dues is considered affirmation of consent to abide by the above CAS Code of Ethics. *Please print names after signatures. ___________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________________________________________
City _________________________ State ________Zip ____________ Phone _________________________

Make checks Payable to: Colorado Archeological Society and mail to: Audrey Marlar, 4215 Balsam St. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. * NOTE: The above person is a member of the San Luis Valley Archaeological Network.

The COLORADO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION AND RENEWAL FORM is available in Word format: CASMemberApp.doc

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UPDATE OF THE SLV ARCHAEOLOGICAL NETWORK 2001 ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

August 7 to 16: Great Sand Dunes National Monument (GSDNM) Archaeological Inventory and Site Testing. The GSDNM and Reserve will be conducting archaeological investigations, including the test excavation of prehistoric sites, during this time period. Volunteers from the SLV Archaeological Network are encouraged to sign up to help. Please call Fred Bunch at 719-378-2312 Extension 202 for details.

August 24 and 25: Continuation of Test Excavations at the Torrez Trading Post near La Garita. Last years testing, revealed historic artifacts dating mainly to the 1920s and 1930s. Continued excavation of the-same units to lower levels is expected to unearth artifacts from the older occupation of the adobe ruin. Volunteers are needed and tours will be done. Note the change o)' dates to not conflict with other activities. Please call Vince Spero at 719-852-6242 (work) or 873-5916 (home) for details. E-Mail address is vspero@peoplepc.com.

September 1, 2, and 3: Excavation of a Late Paleoindian site. Pegi Jodry, Smithsonian Institution Archaeologist, will conduct an excavation of a Late Paleoindian site near the Sand Dunes National Monument. Several volunteers are needed for this project over the Labor Day weekend. In addition a site visit may be possible. Please call Fred Bunch at 719-378-2312 Extension 202 or Vince Spero at 719-852-6242 (work) or 873-5916 (home) or call for details. E-Mail vspero@peoplepc.com.

Saturday, September 29: Rock Art Recording Workshop. Lee Coats, of San Luis, will conduct an all day workshop on the recording of rock art sites. Lee, who has recorded many rock art sites in New Mexico and other locations, is very interested in the further recordation of rock art sites in the San Luis Valley. The workshop will be followed the next week by a field session. For more information please call Lee Coats at 719-672-4010.

Saturday, October 6: Rock Art Recording Field Session. The field portion of the above Recording of Rock Art Sites Workshop will be held during this session. For more information please call Lee Coats at 719-672-4010.

San Luis Valley Archaeo-Update
Vince Spero, Editor
28 Wendar Drive
South Fork CO 81154

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