Tentative archaeology field trips and meeting dates for 2026 are listed below. Updates and changes are in RED.
As more activities and field trips are planned, updated information will be posted here and in the Moki Messenger. Please read General Information About Field Trips and check forthcoming issues of the Moki Messenger and monitor this webpage for updates. Field trip participants must be current SJBAS members. For information about these trips or to sign up, please contact the trip organizers directly.
This trip schedule is a “work in progress.” Although we hope to go on the outings as planned, these dates and destinations are subject to change due to adverse weather or road conditions, unanticipated scheduling conflicts, or changes made by the trip organizers. Updates and changes are in RED. Click on the hyperlinks for more information about trip destinations or meeting presentations. In addition to the following trips, there are several important conferences scheduled for this year, including the Pecos Conference. Check the Moki Messenger or our website, www.sjbas.org, for details.
Tentative Field Trip and Meeting Schedule – 2026
| January 14 | SJBAS Meeting – “The Ancient Maya from a Frontier Perspective: Southern Belize” presented by Mario Borrero, Ph.D. |
| January 21 | Backroom Tour at the Mesa Verde Research Center – Join Collections Manager, Gwen, for a backroom tour of selected artifacts. The 1.5-hour tour is scheduled at 2:00 p.m. Trip is full. Contact Lorie Hansen at lmhansen39@gmail.com. |
| February 11 | New Member Orientation – This is your chance to learn about the benefits of being a member and how your membership supports local archaeology education. Starts at 6:15 p.m. in the Lyceum at the Center of Southwest Studies, just before the monthly meeting. |
| February 11 | SJBAS Meeting – “New Data, Old Questions: Ancient DNA and the Archaeology of Northwest Mexico and the US Southwest” presented by Jakob Sedig, Ph.D. |
| Mid-February (date TBD) | Ohkay Owingeh Deer Dance – plus Jemez Pueblo, Coronado Historic Site and various Santa Fe sites. Contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com. |
| March 11 | SJBAS Meeting – “Hidden on the Surface: Preliminary Findings from an ongoing Review of Southwest LiDAR Data” presented by Daniel Hampson, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. |
| March 24 | Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum Tour – one-hour guided tour. Contact Tammie Barger at tab2105@comcast.net. |
| April 4 | PAAC Lithics Analysis Workshop – presented at the Center of Southwest Studies. Register here. |
| April 8 | SJBAS meeting – “The Hohokam Culture of Southern Arizona” presented by Angela Huster, Ph.D. |
| April 24 – 26 | Pueblo of Zuni Tour – This moderate level, 3-day trip will include tours guided by Zuni tribal members to places such as Badger Springs, Village of the Great Kivas, and more. Motel or camping. Limit 16. Trip is full, but you may contact Susan to be added to the wait list. Susan Hicks at sjbashicks@gmail.com |
| Early May (date TBD) | Champagne Spring dig (Dove Creek) – Contact Thom Polich at thomas.polich@gmail.com |
| May 13 | SJBAS Meeting – “Continental-scale faunal exchange event with Eurasia which happened between 20-25 million years ago that produced the African fauna we know today” presented by John Kappelman, Ph.D. |
| May (date TBD) | Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park Service Day and Tour – contact Thom Polich at thomas.polich@gmail.com. |
| June 10 | SJBAS Annual Picnic |
| June (date TBD) | Goodman Point Day Trip – Contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com. |
| June 23 – 25 | Ohkay Owingeh Feast Day – plus Rancho de las Golondrinas, Poushe Ohwinghe, and Puye Cliffs. Contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com. |
| July 8 | SJBAS Meeting– “Chaco and Beyond: Overall History of the People who created Chaco” presented by GB Cornucopia, former NPS ranger. |
| August 6 – 9 | Pecos Conference near Mancos – Contact Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com. |
| August 12 | SJBAS Meeting – “Archaeology of Andean South America” by James Davenport, Ph.D. |
| September (date TBD) | Nine Mile Canyon Tour – Contact Thom Polich at thomas.polich@gmail.com. |
| September 9 | SJBAS Meeting – “Organization of architectural labor at Betatakin and Keet Seel” presented by Katie Williams, Ph.D. |
| September (date TBD) | Aztec Ruins Cultural Day – Contact Susan Hicks at sjbashicks@gmail.com. |
| October 14 | SJBAS Meeting – ““Late Middle Archaic and Early Agricultural Period in Southern Arizona: Materials from McEuen Cave,” presented by Joseph Birkmann, Ph.D. |
| November 11 | SJBAS Meeting – “Tom Dalton Dillehay, an American Anthropologist” presented by Rebecca Webb Wilson, Ph.D. |
| December 5 | SJBAS Annual Meeting and Holiday Brunch |
SJBAS Field Trips – Safety and Responsibility
Participants in SJBAS field trips and activities are solely responsible for their own safety. SJBAS field trip organizers are untrained volunteers who plan, organize, and lead the trips, but have no special training or expertise in outdoor safety or hazards and are not responsible or liable for the personal welfare and safety of participants. Each participant is the only expert regarding his or her own abilities. Participants are solely responsible for choosing trips appropriate for their own physical and medical ability; for taking proper clothing, equipment, and provisions; for making appropriate decisions in response to terrain, elevation, and weather; and for understanding the inherent hazards of traveling in the outdoors (such as falls, lightning, hypothermia, heat stroke, dehydration, and injuries caused by others).
Field Trip Difficulty Ratings
Easygoing: Trip is suitable for members in reasonable health who have no problem walking on mostly smooth, relatively flat surfaces up to 1 mile. For example, touring a museum or pueblo, or participating in a walking tour in downtown Durango. Trips generally take place close to roads and support services.
Easy Active: Trip is suitable for active people in good health. Hikes are usually less than 3 miles on well-defined trails, with elevation gains and losses up to 250 feet. Trips generally take place within a few miles of roads, but not necessarily other support services.
Moderate: Trip is suitable for energetic, experienced hikers.Hikes may be up to 5 miles, mostly on established trails that can be rocky and steep in places, with elevation gains and losses up to 800 feet. Trips may take place in remote locations.
Hard: Trip is suitable only for physically fit, strong hikers. Hikes are generally strenuous, may be longer than 5 miles, may be on poorly defined trails or off-trail, with elevation gains and losses greater than 800 feet. Trips often take place in remote locations. Backpacking trips, by their very nature, would be considered “Hard.”
Length: Approximate total length of trip, whether out and back, loop, or through hike
Elevation: Approximate total elevation gain (in most cases there would be a corresponding elevation loss)