February 2025

Hello Friends,

Marveling at exquisite ancient paintings is, fortunately, an occupational requirement for me. You won't find me complaining.

I love to watch this awe I feel sink into another person's mind when I tell them about these paintings--their antiquity, their complexity, their purpose.

I think perhaps the thing that strikes the deepest chord with people is just how much effort went into creating these murals. The fact that the fat that they used as the binder in their paint was fat that might have been their family's precious nutritious meal.

Consider Rattlesnake Canyon Mural. 150 meters wide. Painted as a single composition. It's difficult to fathom just how much mineral pigment, fat, water and sotol sap was harvested to make enough paint to create such a monumental work of art. There was no paint store. No water tap. Every ingredient was gathered or hunted by hand. Every paintbrush was hand made. Every brush stroke was sacred with no room for practice or error. No waste. Just people working together to document in this vibrant way the truths of their existence and the beliefs of their hearts. I find it so moving.

I'm excited to be sharing my second presentation in our January/February Lunch & Learn intro duo on February 19th. If you'd like to learn more about these sites and share an hour of wonder with me, please join me!

Wishing you all the best,

Jessica

Image: Amistad National Recreation Area Archaeologist Jack Johnson is pictured above taking a close look at the art and checking the most recent waterline.

At the Heart of Curation

Pop Quiz!

Do you know the 10 agents of deterioration for archival materials?

Two important ones are incorrect temperature and incorrect relative humidity (RH).

A recent grant from the Texas Historical Foundation helped us purchase this data logger to track the environmental conditions in our space, shown mounted at the top left of our new shelving unit.

This display shows a particularly humid day in Central Texas (over 85% RH outdoors)! This data will help us determine what improvements we can make. We are aiming for temperatures between 60-70 degrees and RH around 50%, so a dehumidifier is likely in our future!

Thankfully, the archival boxes pictured here create a microclimate for the materials inside, helping to buffer them from environmental fluctuations. Bonus: they also protect materials from two other agents of deterioration - light and pollutants.

Memphis and the Archive

Welcome our new intern for Spring 2025, Memphis Mallory!

Memphis began working with Shumla last fall as a volunteer, and we are so happy to have him back as an intern. Memphis shared, “I am so excited to work with Shumla again! I am a junior at Texas State, double-majoring in anthropology and German. I hope to use what I am learning at Shumla during my field school in Greece and study-abroad program in Austria over the summer. My goal is to become a professor of archaeology one day!”

Memphis will be working under Kelsie Hart, Shumla’s Curator and Data Manager, on archival projects in our San Marcos office. With grant funding from the Texas Historical Foundation, Memphis and Kelsie will be setting up a new collections storage space and rehousing our archival collections using museum-grade materials. 

Memphis will also continue to digitize our legacy photo collections of color slides and negatives. These images from the 1980s and 1990s help Shumla archaeologists monitor the condition of rock art sites over time.

On the left are binders full of legacy slides of key rock art sites. On the right you can see them properly organized and protected in archival boxes.

Good work, Memphis!

January Fieldwork

During the last week of January, the Shumla Team braved the cold to conduct baseline documentation on a private ranch north of Comstock. We were spoiled with delicious dinners and good conversation with the landowners at night, while the Team worked diligently during the day. 

Shumla’s archaeologists took thousands of photographs, creating 3D digital models and high-resolution gigapanoramas of rock art panels. We filled out archaeology and rock art site forms, describing the pictograph imagery and the condition of the archaeological site. We also photographed the surrounding archaeological site that had wikiup rings, burned rock from earth ovens, and significant lithic surface finds. 

This is how we preserve and protect the cultural heritage of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands. We are so honored to do the work that we do! Thank you for supporting these efforts!

Saturday with a Scientist

Shumla archaeologist David Keim had a great time at The Witte Museum doing one of his favorite things, talking about the rock art of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands!

Last weekend, visitors of all ages learned how Shumla documents and studies the rock art of the Lower Pecos Canyonlands.

Thank you to the Witte for inviting us to participate in their "Saturday with a Scientist" program!

Guest Lecture

Shumla Science Director, Dr. Karen Steelman, was a guest lecturer for the Oregon Archaeological Society on February 4th. She shared a presentation entitled “Radiocarbon Dating Pictographs: Field & Laboratory Research” with an audience of approximately 70 people over zoom and at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. 

Recordings of talks are available to the general public on the OAS YouTube channel.

Free! Virtual!

Lunch & Learn Series

February's Lunch and Learn is a primer for anyone who would like to go back to the basics of the ancient paintings of the Lower Pecos and how Shumla preserves and shares them. Invite friends and family to learn about the rock art! This will be a fun one!

FEBRUARY

Topic: Preserving the oldest known "books" in North America

Presenter: Jessica Hamlin

Day: Wednesday

Date: February 19, 2025

Time: 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Central Time

Platform: Zoom

What's Up Next?

The March Lunch and Learn will be presented by Karen Steelman. On March 19, Karen will start by describing the work that Shumla conducted at Rattlesnake Canyon Mural in 2014 and 2015. Then she will talk about Shumla's Level 2 and 3 method and what we plan to do to fully preserve this significant painted mural. Join us!

Will you support us?

Your gift will fund the preservation of the oldest "books" in North America. Any amount supports our skilled team, vast archive, archaeological projects and educational programming.

Another way to give to Shumla is through our Amazon Wishlist.

Shumla on YouTube

Our YouTube channel houses our Lunch & Learn presentations as well as other presentations Shumla has done online and in person. Get caught up! And share them!

Shumla Archaeological Research & Education Center 

P.O. Box 627, Comstock, TX 78837

info@shumla.org | shumla.org 

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