Historical Information ...

Books

Archaeology of Bandelier National Monument: Village Formation on the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico

Edited by Timothy A. Kohler. UNM Press, 2004

This volume summarizes the results of new excavation and survey research in Bandelier, with special attention to determining why larger sites appeared when and where they do, and how life in these later villages and towns differed from the experiences of colonists in small hamlets braving the Pajarito wilderness in the mid-A.D. 1100s. Drawing on sources that include archaeology, zooarchaeology, paleoethnobotany, geology, climate history, rock art, and oral history, the authors weave together the famous early history of archaeology on the Pajarito Plateau, and the natural and cultural history of its Puebloan peoples for the four centuries of its prehispanic occupation.

Contributors include Craig D. Allen, Sarah Herr, Timothy A. Kohler, F. Joan Mathien, Matthew J. Root, Nancy H. Olsen, Janet D. Orcutt, and Robert P. Powers.

"…an essential resource for investigators working in the northern Rio Grande region" (Kurt F. Anschuetz in Kiva [2004]).

Canyon Spirits: Beauty and Power in the Ancestral Puebloan World

Steve Lekson and J. McKim Malville. UNM Press, 2005

The beauty of the canyons and mesas of the Colorado Plateau and the lives of the resourceful people that once occupied these now nearly empty places are the subject of the eighty-five black-and-white photographs and accompanying essays in Canyon Spirits. John Ninnemann's photographs of Chaco, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, Cedar Mesa, Grand Gulch, and the San Juan River provide the visual context for Stephen Lekson's descriptions of the early Puebloan cultures of the Southwest and J. McKim Malville's consideration of the power of celestial events in the lives of these people. Together they provide a non-traditional, provocative, and visually exciting approach to Southwest archaeology.

Chimney Rock: The Ultimate Outlier

Edited by J. McKim Malville. Lexington Books, 2004

This volume sheds new light on the geography and the history of the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area in southwestern Colorado. Home until the mid-twelfth century to the ancestral Pueblo peoples, the Chaco Canyon and Chimney Rock area holds a wealth of information for present-day archaeologists to uncover. This collection investigates the architecture, location, and alignment of Pueblo great houses and the significant features of designed clay feather holders. The contributors suggest varied pre-historical uses for the towering double spires of Chimney Rock: as a logging camp, military garrison, home of Chacoan priests, astronomical observatory, and/or ceremonial-pilgrimage center. Chimney Rock: The Ultimate Outlier is a model of multi-faceted inquiry into a physically intriguing and certainly symbol-laden ancient North American residential site.

From Above: Images of a Storied Land

Adriel Heisey. The Albuquerque Museum, 2004

Full-color catalogue published by The Albuquerque Museum to accompany the exhibition of the same name. The exhibit, conceived and co-sponsored by the Center for Desert Archaeology of Tucson, features Adriel's aerial landscape archaeology photography. The catalogue has a beautiful plate section in which all the images of the exhibition are presented in concert with thought-provoking excerpts from interviews with a wide spectrum of stakeholders in the greater Southwest landscape, as well as essays by Center President William H. Doelle, Preservation Fellow Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, and the photographer. Also included: extensive caption information and original oral narrative material collected by Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh for this exhibition.

In Search of Chaco: New Approaches to an Archaeological Enigma

Edited by David Grant Noble. School of American Research Press, 2004

Startling discoveries and impassioned debates have emerged from the "Chaco Phenomenon" since the publication of New Light on Chaco Canyon twenty years ago. This completely updated edition features seventeen original essays, scores of photographs, maps, and site plans, and the perspectives of archaeologists, historians, and Native American thinkers. Key topics include the rise of early greathouses; the structure of agricultural life among the people of Chaco Canyon; their use of sacred geography and astronomy in organizing their spiritual cosmology; indigenous knowledge about Chaco from the perspective of Hopi, Tewa, and Navajo peoples; and the place of Chaco in the wider world of archaeology.

The Late Archaic across the Borderlands: From Foraging to Farming

Edited by Bradley J. Vierra. University of Texas Press, 2005

The twelve papers in this volume synthesize previous and ongoing research and offer new theoretical models to provide the most up-to-date picture of life during the late Archaic (from 3,000 to 1,500 years ago) across the entire North American Borderlands. Some of the papers focus on specific research topics such as stone tool technology and mobility patterns. Others study the development of agriculture across whole regions within the Borderlands. The two concluding papers trace pan-regional patterns in the adaptations of farming and also link them to the growth of agriculture in other parts of the world.

The Peopling of Bandelier: New Insights from the Archeology of the Pajarito Plateau

Edited by Robert P. Powers. School of American Research Press, 2005

Few visitors to the stunning Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier National Monument realize that its depths embrace but a small part of the archaeological richness of the vast Pajarito Plateau west of Santa Fe, New Mexico. In this extensively illustrated book, nineteen archaeologists, historians, ecologists and Pueblo contributors tell a deep and sweeping story of the region. Beginning with its first Paleo-Indian residents, through its Ancestral Pueblo fluorescence in the 14th and 15th centuries, to its role in the birth of American archaeology and the nuclear age, and concluding with its enduring centrality in the lives of Keresan and Tewa Indian peoples today, the plateau remains a place where the mysterious interplay of human culture and magnificent landscapes is written in its mesas and canyons. A must read for anyone interested in Southwestern archeology and Native peoples.

Contributors include: Craig D. Allen, Rory Gauthier, Cynthia Herhahn, Timothy Kohler, Robert P. Powers, Robert Preucel, Julian Martinez, Meredith Matthews, Marit K. Munson, Angelyn Bass Rivera, Kari M. Schmidt, Monica L. Smith, James E. Snead, Joseph H. Suina, Tineke Van Zandt, Bradley J. Vierra, James Vint, Michael R. Walsh.

The Puebloan Society of Chaco Canyon

Paul F. Reed. Greenwood Press, 2004

Unlike the history of other continents, in the Americas, the absence of written aboriginal languages means that written chronologies of the events, processes, and lives of people do not exist. This simple fact makes reconstruction and understanding of America's pre-European past very challenging. The archaeological record does speak to us. Thematic chapters guide readers to the emergence of Chacoan society, its cultural and environmental settings, and the Pueblo people. Other chapters detail what is known of Chacoan society c. 1100, how it was settled, and where its people probably dispersed to. Also, given the nature of the topic, information about the discovery and investigations of Chacoan society by Europeans and Americans is provided. An annotated timeline provides easy reference to key dates and events. Biographical sketches offer a look at the people who have formed our thoughts about and approaches to Chacoan society, and twenty annotated excerpted primary and secondary documents walk readers through Canyon related material. A glossary of terms is provided, as are illustrations and maps. The work concludes with recommended sources for further inquiry, websites, video, and print.

Reports

Fire in the Hole: The Effects of Fire on Subsurface Archeological Materials

By Samantha Ruscavage-Barz and Elizabeth Oster. National Park Service and New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

This volume reports the archeological fieldwork conducted in the wake of the Dome Fire of 1996, which burned approximately 4,000 acres at Bandelier National Monument. The Subsurface Heating Effects (SHE) study is a significant departure from previous subsurface fire studies, which were not able to take burn severity into account. Data from the post-fire assessment that began immediately following the Dome Fire allowed for the classification of burned sites into light, moderate, and heavy categories. For the SHE study, these burn severity classifications were used to select sites for testing which included two lightly burned sites, one moderately burned site, and two heavily burned sites. One Pueblo site was also selected for testing because it had been through a recent prescribed fire as well as several wildland fires. The study synthesizes previous unpublished research about fire effects on cultural resources and present specific information about fire effects on different artifact types (lithic, ceramic, organic, etc.) and other data types (pollen and macro-botanical) and dating techniques. The volume also presents excavation data from four field house sites and two pueblo sites.

The Dome Fire Archeology Project of 1996-1997: Cultural Resources Damage Assessment and Treatment

Michael Elliott, Michelle Ensey, Elizabeth Oster, Samantha Ruscavage-Barz and Lisa Schub. National Park Service and New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

This volume describes archeological site damage assessment and treatment conducted following the Dome Fire of 1996 which burned approximately 4,000 acres at Bandelier National Monument and affected 515 archeological sites. This study incorporated an innovative methodology that measured fire severity on cultural sites using the ecosystem variables employed by the fire community and linked severity measurements to observed damage to site features and artifacts. Following site assessments, treatments were developed, applied and monitored for one year following the fire. The study offers the methodology used to assess 515 archeological sites and describes treatment of 56 damaged archeological sites. The authors also present the results of monitoring and subsequent evaluation of erosion control treatments.

On-Line Reference Materials