Research
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The 2009 field school is part of the Mogollon Prehistoric Landscapes Project, a research program investigating 13th and 14th century occupations in southwest New Mexico. Villages from this period show a fascinating diversity in architecture and ceramics and, as a result, have been attributed to several different cultural traditions. We investigate the growth of these villages in terms of local reorganization after the Mimbres Classic Period (A.D. 1000-1130) and the variety of new pan-regional relationships that developed following the end of the Mimbres Mogollon tradition.
Earlier surveys in the study area located over 70 Classic and Postclassic Mimbres sites. While several 12th century sites have been excavated, little is known about later occupations in the area.
In summer 2009 we begin our third season of excavation at
Our research focuses on social and ecological aspects of settlement reorganization after the Classic Mimbres Period.
We will explore questions like:
- Does the diversity of ceramics and architecture in villages from this period represent local manifestations of distant traditions or close linkages to populations in surrounding regions?
- What are the impacts of human land use strategies on the local environment?
- What processes were involved in the reorganization of the large villages in our study area, and how did diversity emerge from earlier homogeneity? (In other areas of the Southwest, periods of social transformation were often linked to substantial and lasting regional depopulation, but in our study area large villages were established within 100 years of the depopulation of Classic Mimbres villages.)
