Ed Chamberlin
2026
Memorial Lecture Series
Lectures are held at the Martha Liebert Public Library,
126 Calle Malinche, Bernalillo, NM
Refreshments are served afterwards. Masks are optional.
All lectures are free to the Public.
Conserving Ancient Earthen Architecture
and
Wall Paintings in the
Southwest
Angelyn Bass & Douglas Porter
Architectural Conservators
Sunday - May 17th - 2:00pm
In the ancient Southwest, earth was the primary raw material used for constructing buildings. In addition to it forming walls, it was molded into built-in features, applied as plaster to walls, floors and roofs, and used as paints and washes for wall paintings and to convey overall color and sheen to architectural surfaces. But earthen materials are extremely fragile and prone to weathering and erosion. This talk will cover how these raw materials are analyzed and along with architectural and structural examination, help guide value-based preservation strategies that respect materiality and authenticity.
Angelyn Bass is a Research Assistant Professor of Anthropology at UNM who focuses on analysis of earthen plaster and building materials. She was the conservator of Maya wall paintings in Guatemala from 2002 – 2024.
Douglas Porter holds a research faculty position in the School of Engineering at the University of Vermont. His research focuses on the stabilization and repair of precontact structures.
Obsidian Tools
Indio Amigos
and the Coronado Expedition
Dr. Sean Dolan
Archaeologist
Sunday - June 28th - 2:00pm
Obsidian – volcanic glass. Mined, traded and used to produce projectile points and scrapers along with deadly weapons long before the arrival of the Europeans reveal much. For one, obsidian stone tool production and exchange exposes long-distance interactions. This presentation examines New Mexican and Arizonan obsidian artifacts using geochemical analysis that prove the obsidian came from Mesoamerica. Using lithic analysis and historical evidence, these artifacts were likely brought by Coronado’s Indios Amigos.
Sean Dolan, a professional archaeologist, has managed cultural resources at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 2014. He has a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma with research focused on the archaeology of the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest with particular emphasis on the Mimbres Valley. He has published in Kiva, Journal of Archaeological Science Reports and American Antiquity among others.
