Programs and Field Trips
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Conference ID: 851442042#
** March 17, 2026 **
Taş Tepeler and the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
Presented by Jerry Rhodes
Taş Tepeler, the “Stone Hills,” consist of early Pre-Pottery Neolithic mound sites that span the 10th to early 7th millennia
BCE, located near the modern-day city of Şanlıurfa. Taş Tepeler includes many other sites of immense archaeological significance. Recent discoveries include monumental pillars, human and animal figures, stone vessels, and circular enclosures. The complexes collectively represent one of the most important regions for examining humanity’s transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to permanently settled communities with large-scale ritual architecture and communal spaces, and a new way of life during the Neolithic era. Since 2024, active excavations have been taking place at nine of these sites.
Jeremy ‘Jerry’ Rhodes is a former Air Force officer and Department of Defense contractor,
and has held numerous engineering positions throughout his career. Most recently, he served as the Joint Staff Liaison to the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command, and as a Ballistic Missile Defense Research and Development Laboratory Director for the Missile Defense Agency. Jerry is retired now and enjoys spending time on art and adventure. He is a noted ceramicist with many pieces in public and private collections internationally. Among his many movie-worthy travels, Jerry has climbed Kilimanjaro, survived the 2015 earthquake and avalanche en route to Everest Basecamp, and explored major International Archeological and World Heritage Sites, including Taş Tepeler. Jerry currently serves as the Vice President of the Pikes Peak Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society.
** June 16, 2026 **
What Were They Thinking? Reading the Writing on the Walls
Presented by Anne Whitfield
A SPECTACULAR rock art site on private land in eastern Colorado is in the final stage of site recording. Sponsored by the CAS Chapter, Pueblo Archaeological and Historical Society. This presentation about the site is one of the first given to the public. With 24 panels involved, the series is unusual in image concentration, complexity, 
time periods, and variability of contributors. Simply put, many Indigenous Peoples came to this spot. Site panels are introduced by their apparent themes, revealing an implied hierarchy of concerns, and suggesting what issues may have been most on the minds of the artists. It is hoped that this approach gives us a glimpse into their worldview, in other words, “What were they thinking?”
Gainfully employed as a full-time science teacher in Pueblo Co., most of her experience with rock writing has come from nearly 20 years of volunteering with the US Forest Service, BLM, and Parks Services. She has also done project/seasonal work for professional archaeologists. Anne is a University of North Carolina graduate with a BS in Secondary Education Science as well as an MA in Applied Natural Sciences.
The current president of the Colorado Rock Art Association, Anne has also been Vice President, Treasurer, Board Member, Fieldtrip Chair, Membership Chair, and CAS Representative. Primary Chapter involvements included coordinating rock art recordation and monitoring projects, many with Forest Service-supervised efforts in Picketwire Canyon. She played a similar role at Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site. She had the pleasure of recording “arborglyphs”(carvings on trees) at Bryce Canyon National Monument. Additional rock art recording work was done on private ranches. For nearly ten years, Anne has been a volunteer at the Colorado Rock Art Association Archive, preparing rock art photographs.
