Sand Dune Archaeology and the Lea County Archaeological Society
NOTE: Indian artifacts, grave sights on Federal, State, BLM or Forestry lands are protected under several laws.
When artifacts are removed from the specific areas where they are found, they can no longer be dated and associated with material in the area for the purpose of expanding the archaeological history of the area.
Archaeological sites are carefully documented, cataloged and photographed. This data combined with Carbon-14 dating and other information is used to date the sites and establish the identity of the people that lived there.
General information as to what has been found in the area will be posted. Specific locations of the sites will be removed to preserve the site.
The Lea County Archaeological Society, has been reformed and renamed the Southeastern New Mexico Archaeological Society " SENMAS ". Meetings are held on the on the 1st Thursday of each month at the Western Heritage Museum at NMJC in Hobbs, New Mexico starting at 7:00PM. Membership is open to all.
Should you have information on archaeological sites and would like the information posted on this site and passed along to SENMAS, please email Erny.
Early settlers to this area are said to have picked up arrowheads, flake knives, pots and a various other Native American artifacts by the buckets, thereby limiting the historical data that may have been used to document and date the earlier people of this land. Prior to the passing of the Native American Antiquities Act, that banned the removal of artifacts from public lands.
Mescal pits, fire places, burnt rocks, arrow heads and pottery, all indications of the people that were here prior to settlement of the Monument Springs area in the 1880's. The Lea County Archaeological Society founded in 1957, took the inititive in researching and documenting the various sites in Lea County.
As time permits, I will post their archaeological surveys.