Departmental News

Posted:  Aug 20, 2025 - 12:00pm

UNM students Tara Smith (Undergraduate, Anthropology) and Kendal Jacobsen (Graduate, Linguistics) worked with Angelyn Bass this summer on her National Parks Service (NPS) funded project: Cavate Conservation Treatment Assessment and Recommendations for the Archeological Management Plan Preservation Guide for Frijoles Canyon Cavates, Bandelier National Monument.  Ongoing through 2027, this project documents the features in a group of interconnected cavates that were carved into the volcanic tuff cliffs and used from the 14^th-17^th centuries by generations of Ancestral Pueblo people. The interiors are finished with earthen plaster and embellishments, and contain well-preserved, built-in features for heating and ventilation, weaving fabric and producing food.

Since joining the department in 2013 as Research Assistant Professor, Bass has provided many fieldwork opportunities for UNM students through her externally funded research projects. Most recently, she was awarded a grant through the Cooperative Research and Training Programs of the National Park System for her project Abo Painted Rocks Graffiti Treatment Project at SAPU.

Her current ongoing grant projects include:

2024-2027 Cavate Conservation Treatment Assessment and Recommendations for the Archeological Management Plan Preservation Guide for Frijoles Canyon Cavates, Bandelier National Monument; National Park Service/Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit

2023-2028 Prepare Climate Change Vulnerability Assessments and Implementable Adaptation Plans at Mission Parks; National Park Service/Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit

2022-2027 Preliminary Evaluation of Structural Condition and Survey of Earthen Architecture and Plasters at Mummy Cave, Canyon de Chelly National Monument; National Park Service/Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit

2020-2025 Stabilize and Preserve the Historic Walls of Officers’ Quarters HB-15, and the Historic Plaster in HB10-14 and HB-18, Fort Davis National Historical Park, Fort Davis, TX. University of New Mexico: National Park Service/Colorado Plateau Cooperative Ecosystems Study Unit

Visit her Research Field Project page to learn more about current and previous research