Staff
Gavin Bird
Gavin Bird
Assistant Archaeologist
505-827-6414
gavinb.bird@state.nm.us
My interest in archaeology began when my dad got a job with the Lab and we moved to Los Alamos. We hiked all over the Pajarito Plateau. One of our favorite places was Bandelier National Monument, where my love for archaeology really began. At summer camp I learned more about the people who lived on the plateau and the plants and animals in the area. As I grew older I spent my summers hiking around the edge of and into White Rock Canyon. It was always a treat to stumble on a group of petroglyphs that I had never seen before, which made me feel like I had made some great discovery.
Archaeology was just a hobby until my first year of college at New Mexico State University. There I took an introduction to archaeology and physical anthropology and was hooked immediately. I spent a year at NMSU before transferring to UNM to continue my education. At this time I was put in contact with the OAS. My first job was washing artifacts from the Pojoaque Corridor and the Palace of the Governors. After my first experience on a dig with the Santa Fe Railyard project, I began working on the Civic Center. Thereafter I began working on the analysis of lithic artifacts under Jim Moore—the very same artifacts from the Pojoaque Corridor that I washed when I first started working. I have since analyzed artifacts from the Civic Center, Jemez Monument, and Loving Lakes.
I am presently taking classes at UNM for a B.A. in anthropology.