Society Activities

Annual Meeting

Annual Meeting 2009

Welcome to Del Rio for the
80th Texas Archeological Society Annual Meeting
October 23-25, 2009

The 80th Annual Texas Archeological Society Meeting was held October 23-25 in Del Rio, TX

Del Rio City Limits – you'll see this sign on the way to Annual Meeting 2009

The Texas Archeological Society’s 80th Annual Meeting will be held on October 23-25, 2009 for the first time in Del Rio, Texas.  All TAS members are invited to attend the meetings, and, for the third year, non-TAS members can attend the sessions and/or the banquet at a slightly higher fee than members.  This is an opportunity for the Society to encourage new membership in a region that has spectacular archeological sites but few TAS members!  SHUMLA is your host, and we are planning a number of tours to sites such as Panther Cave, Satan Canyon, Fate Bell Shelter, and White Shaman Shelter, not to mention self-guided tours of historic Del Rio and opportunities to visit many local attractions such as the Whitehead Museum, Val Verde winery, Amistad Dam and Lake, Fate Bell Shelter in Seminole Canyon State Historical Park, and the Judge Roy Bean Visitors Center in Langtry.  A schedule of regular hours/tours for these destinations will be included in your registration materials.

The conference hotel is the Ramada Inn located conveniently along US Highway 90 (Veterans Boulevard) in Del Rio, Texas.  Contact the hotel early to reserve a room at a flat rate of $85.00 per night plus tax for single king bedded rooms for 1 or 2 guests or a room with 2 queen sized beds for 2 to 4 guests. Please note that the hotel is two stories high but has no elevator; those needing to be on the first floor must so indicate when the reservations are made.  A small block of student rooms has been reserved at the Days Inn of Del Rio for $65 per night plus tax for a single room suite.  A valid student ID is required to obtain this special rate.  The Ramada Inn will have a fast full breakfast buffet available Saturday morning until 11:00 a.m.

Thursday Afternoon – SPECIAL TOURS
The weekend will informally begin on Thursday afternoon with two special two-hour tours to Panther Cave at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.  TAS members will board a National Park Service vessel provided by SHUMLA partner Amistad National Recreation Area.  At the same time, a really special tour of two rock shelters (VV39 and VV40) in Satan Canyon courtesy of Indianhead Ranch will begin at 2:00 p.m. Pre-registration is necessary for all special tours and space is limited to 25 people per tour for Panther Cave, and 18 people for the Satan Canyon tour.  To ensure a spot, early registration is highly encouraged.  For those planning on signing up for the Satan Canyon tour, participants must be in top physical condition in order to hike the 100 meters straight up to access these two shelters.

Friday Morning/Afternoon
On Friday morning, the Council of Texas Archeologist’s will hold their fall meeting from 9:00 a.m. to noon.  The Book Room and Silent Auction will also be open for exhibitors to set up from 8:00a.m. to 5:00 p.m.  TAS committees may also hold meetings prior to the full board meeting.

Friday Afternoon
After lunch, the Texas Historical Commission’s Archeological Stewardship Network’s meeting will be held from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. TAS committees may meet prior to the regular board meeting at 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Response to the Call for Papers has been almost overwhelming!  In order to accommodate the 74 abstracts submitted, papers will begin right after lunch Friday (2:00 PM) with two concurrent sessions that will run until 5:20 PM.  Three concurrent sessions will be held from 8:00 a.m. through 5:20 p.m. Saturday. Come early, stay late, and plan for a great time in Del Rio!

Careers in Archeology Social (2005) Photo Jonelle Miller-Chapman Elton Prewitt and Chris Lintz at work at the artifact ID table following the Public Forum (2008).

Friday Evening
You will not want to miss this year’s Friday night Public Forum featuring SHUMLA’s Executive Director Dr. Carolyn Boyd and world renowned rock art researcher Dr. Jean Clottes from France.  The forum will be held at the Del Rio Civic Center in the Red Oak Room from 7:00pm.-8:45p.m.  Dr. Boyd will be discussing recent advances in rock art research of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands followed by Dr. Clottes who be talking about the rock art of the Lower Pecos and its place on the stage of world rock art.  Following the forum, the Council of Texas Archeologists will host their annual Careers in Archeology social and the annual artifact identification will take place beginning at 9:00 p.m..  As always, the social will have snacks and a cash bar.

Saturday Morning and Afternoon
The Book Room will reopen from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and the Silent Auction from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The Silent Auction Room will close at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon to give volunteers a chance to tally the winning bids.  The room will reopen at 4:30pm so everyone has time to collect and pay for their winning bids before the evening’s festivities.

There will be concurrent sessions for papers on Saturday starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m. and poster presentations all day.  The general sessions will feature recent research by both professional and avocational archeologists.

A box lunch, included in the registration fees, will precede the Annual Business Meeting at noon on Saturday. All members are encouraged to attend. The agenda for the meeting will include the election of new officers, voting on any submissions for changing Bylaws, and adopting a budget for next year.

Be sure to indicate your preference for lunch on your registration form.  The Ramada Inn of Del Rio and the Local Arrangements Committee have selected the following options for you to choose from:

• Sliced turkey breast meat on a Kaiser bun:
  Lettuce/tomato/pickle chips/brownie/assorted veggie sticks & macaroni salad
• Classic Club on a Kaiser bun:
  Chips/brownie/assorted veggie sticks & macaroni salad
• Portobello mushrooms :
  Chips/brownie/assorted veggie sticks

Saturday Evening
The highlight of the meeting will be the Saturday evening Social and Banquet.  Things will kick off with a cash bar at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Banquet at 7:00 p.m.  This year’s speaker is world renowned rock art researcher Dr. Jean Clottes from France who will discuss his research on Cosquer Cave.

Dinner choices for the banquet include:

• Chicken Cordon Bleu with wild rice pilaf
• Bacon Wrapped Ground Sirloin with a rich, brown Burgundy wine sauce with onions & mushrooms-twice baked potato
• Vegetarian Lasagna broiled tomato with peas topped with parmesan-plus green bean almandine
• All choices come with dinner salad- choice of dressings- plus green bean almandine, dinner roll, margarine, cake dessert and choice of coffee or iced tea.

The pair of Mexican (golden) and American (bald) eagles atop the crown of the Amistad Dam, sculpted by El Paso artist Bill Kolliker in the early 1960s before the dam was completed. Visitors can drive out on the dam where there's parking to stop and take in the views of the lake and the downstream canyon.

Everyone is encouraged to register by October 7, 2009 to take advantage of lower advanced-registration fees and ensure a spot on tours!  Be sure to contact the Ramada Inn of Del Rio early for reservations to receive the flat rate.  After October 7, 2009, any remaining TAS rooms will be released, so be sure to plan ahead.

Sunday Morning – MORE SPECIAL TOURS
Remember, the TAS Executive Committee will meet prior to the regular board meeting at 8:00 a.m. Sunday.  The weekend will draw to a close with another round of special tours to Panther Cave at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., and another tour to Satan Canyon on Indianhead Ranch at 9:00 a.m.  In addition, SHUMLA's friend, the Rock Art Foundation, is offering two special tours of White Shaman Shelter at 9:00 a.m. and 12 noon, limited to 15 persons for each tour.  The same conditions apply for the Panther Cave and Satan Canyon tours as was noted for Thursday afternoon, and White Shaman requires a moderately strenuous hike.

Reminders
Things you should know about visiting our border: First, if you intend to visit Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, BRING YOUR PASSPORT because it will be REQUIRED for you to re-enter the United States. If you do not have a passport, APPLY NOW if you intend to visit Mexico. Second, be courteous at the Border Patrol checkpoints; these folks are performing their jobs professionally, and helping keep our border safe – they are our friends, and have volunteered many hours for SHUMLA activities. Third, OBEY THE POSTED SPEED LIMITS; there are extra Texas Highway Patrolmen assigned on a rotating basis to the Del Rio sector. If you drive GREATER THAN 1 MILE PER HOUR over the posted speed limit, you WILL BE TICKETED. We want you to have a good time, and keeping these three things in mind will help you enjoy your visit to our beautiful corner of Texas! Welcome, TAS, to Del Rio!