Nevadans for Cultural Preservation

September 2019

NVFCP Executive Director, Rayette Martin provided an artifact identification and site recording workshop for Sierra Club volunteers. The information she provided in this abbreviated training was sufficient to ensure volunteers could make an educated guess whether or not an object was possibly an artifact or not and how to document the finding so it could be relocated. The group later did a pedestrian survey (walked and looked for evidence of endangered species and cultural sites) in the muddy mountains area. They found an artifact and an old historic building in their survey and sent in photos to be verified. 

We love working with our partners to help them better care for our cultural resources!  

September 2019

NVFCP supports the Nevada Site Stewardship Program. We hold an annual silent auction to raise funds for our insurance. Generous donors like Mutability (who provides Golden Knights Hockey Tickets), long supporting artists like Robin Stark (who provides original ceramics), and our friends and partners (who provide a variety of other items), get to support NVFCP and provide killer deals on some really great finds. In 2019 we were able to raise over $1,000.00.

Thanks to everyone who supports us!

April 2019

Katie Hoffman and assistants from Nevadans for Cultural Preservation provided a hands on workshop. Participants got to see natural locally sourced clay in it raw form, after it had been ground, and when it was ready for forming. They got to try their hand at creating a vessel with both traditional and modern commercial clay. Both can be quite difficult for beginners. Participants had a great time and learned a healthy respect and appreciation for prehistoric ceramics they find when they are out monitoring archaeological sites or when they are visiting a museum. 

June 2019

Caroline Kunioka, from the Nevada State Museum, joined Mary Beth Timm and Ginny Lucas, from the Lost City Museum, for a wonderful workshop on reconstructing pottery! Caroline, a skilled conservator, demonstrated and helped participants learn the materials and techniques for piecing ceramics back together.

“It was like rebuilding a 3D puzzle in a sandbox with glue. Totally fun!”

February 2019

Archaeologist, Spencer Lodge with the US Fish and Wildlife Service led a tour of the archaeology in and round the visitor's center at Desert National Wildlife Refuge. Participants braved the cold to see the sights and hear the stories Spencer had to share.

January 2019

This event was the kick off for NVFCP's workshop fair series on Containers. A presentation on organic containers like gourds and bladders was followed by coil basket instruction and practice. After we tried our hands at making coil baskets, Mary Beth Timm with the Lost City Museum provided a presentation on the basketry at the museum. 

October 2018

NVFCP in partnership with NSSP taught a class on archaeology and cultural resource preservation for the Nevada Naturalists. We processed plants with stone tools and created cordage from yucca leaves. Attendees left the 3 hour course with an appreciation for cultural resources and a better understanding of how they can help preserve them. 

September 2018

We ended up with three vehicle loads of used goods for our fundraiser. Thank you to all the people who gave us their used goods to drop off at Saver's. They paid us 20 cents per pound for soft goods and 10 cents per pound for hard goods. We made just under $90.00.

May 2018

A large group of Nevada Site Stewards, BLM Archaeologists, and NVFCP Volunteers had a two day adventure. The first day we divided into groups to explore a dense prehistoric site area to look for recent human visitation. After bumps, bruises, a few cuts and a lot of looking at petroglyphs, our field adventure ended with a taco dinner provided by NVFCP's Anne Carter Fund. On the second day, volunteers and site stewards were treated to a short talk about the Black Canyon area and a short binocular tour of the glyphs that will soon be available to be visited via hiking trails dotted with informative displays at Pahranagant National Wildlife Refuge. 

March 2018

A group of NVFCP folks met at Axe Monkeys in Las Vegas to try our skills at axe throwing and using an atlatl to throw darts. Everyone had a blast and were tired right when our hour ended. It was great to see everyone encourage one another, laughing, applauding, and having a great time.