APRIL 2020
Hello!

We hope you've been pleasantly diverted by our communications and social media updates during these difficult times. We've continued to share everybody's favorite "Motif Monday’s" and other Shumla news on Facebook and Instagram .

We hope we are capturing your imagination by sharing the art of people who, just like us, experienced times of fear and uncertainty. Their survival through creativity and community is inspiring to us and we hope it inspires you as well. The Shumla family is well and working hard, though we sure can't wait to get back into the field and the lab.

Wishing you health and safety,




Jessica Lee Hamlin
Executive Director
Save the Date for Giving Tuesday
“North Texas Giving Tuesday Now” is an emergency fundraising campaign sponsored by Communities Foundation of Texas on May 5th to help non-profit organizations like ours through these difficult times.

Shumla’s Administrative HQ is in Dallas, so we are fortunate to be included. Early giving has already begun and anyone from anywhere can give!

Your gift via "North Texas Giving Tuesday Now" applies to our Match Challenge and will have double the impact in supporting Shumla and our incredible staff. Click below to visit our giving page and to learn more about how you can support Shumla.
Throughout the next few weeks until May 5th, we’ll be sharing some fun facts about each member of our talented Shumla staff. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about each of us!
Some Good News
We are happy to share that we were approved for the Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loan and have received funding to help continue our mission by funding our payroll for April and May. We are so grateful to the Bank & Trust for quickly and kindly walking us through the process and paving the way for these relief funds for the next eight weeks.

Rock art preservation looks a little different right now, but we are still able to fulfill our mission. This is a great time to reflect on how our ancestors lived, faced challenges, came together as a community and supported one another. There is so much to learn about how they survived and thrived. We've only scratched the surface!
Archaeology from Home
We're making the best of our new normal and getting a lot done! Here are a few highlights of our latest accomplishments.

  • The archaeology team is continuing to complete Alexandria Project reports and site narratives. They've fine-tuned a new report format and protocol that will better capture and communicate the data we collect in the field.

  • Karen, Vicky, and Jerod collaborated in 2017 and 2018 with Texas archaeologist, Mike Quigg, to document and radiocarbon date paintings on the Twistflower Ranch in nearby Crockett County. The fine line paintings of an unknown style returned radiocarbon dates of right around 2000 years old! The team just approved the galley proofs of an article about this work to be included in the 2020 Bulletin of the Texas Archaeological Society, but you can read the preliminary reports and see more pictures at http://twistflowerranch.com/activities/archaeology/.
  • Karen, Vicky, and Carolyn just completed a book chapter titled “Discovering Hidden Layers with X-ray Vision: New Applications of Portable X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy to Rock Art Studies”. Karen presented this research at the 2019 Archaeological Chemistry symposium in Orlando, FL last March. The book is expected out next year, but you can watch a the Speaking of Chemistry video on the now.

  • Check out a recently published article by the Shumla team on “Portable X-ray fluorescence analysis of Red Linear Style Figures at 41VV1000” in the 2019 Bulletin of the Texas Archeological Society. Go to www.shumla.org/research/publications.

  • We're also making plans for website updates and bringing more interactive content to you through the web. Stay tuned for that!
As a team, we are using Microsoft Teams to live stream report editing and document our observations using digital imagery we've captured in the field. It's almost like being in the office where we are able to interact with each other. We've also kept up with our weekly Monday morning All-Staff Meetings and Thursday evening virtual happy hours to keep us connected while still maintaining a safe distance!
Stronger together
In these challenging times, we’re incredibly moved by the community surrounding and supporting us. Together, we know we can accomplish anything. COVID-19 won’t stop our rescue mission of preserving the ancient rock art of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Southwest Texas.

If you'd like to help, you can "like" and "share" our social media posts to bring Shumla to more people. You can make us your " Amazon Smile " beneficiary. (We're listed under Shumla School, Inc. and our Dallas Admin HQ). Best of all, any gift you make to Shumla will be matched by our Summerlee Foundation $100,000 Match Grant. We're 18% of the way to our goal! There are lots of ways you can help. Thank you from all of us at Shumla!
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Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center 
P.O. Box 627, Comstock, TX 78837 USA
[email protected]    432-292-4848     www.shumla.org  
 
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