Pueblo Archaeology of the Greater Taos Region: We've Got a Lot to Learn

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)

Archaeological research in the Greater Taos region has a long and illustrious history. The Northern Rio Grande and Chama valleys of New Mexico have seen extensive research for more than 140 years and much has been learned. Despite this long record of research, numerous gaps remain in archaeologists’ understanding of important events and processes in the region. For example, how early was the region settled by Puebloan people? Was the huge expansion in regional population in the late 1200s a result of migration or local demography? In this symposium, we explore these gaps and offer suggestions into how they might be filled. Our main goal in this symposium is to provide a roadmap for archaeological inquiry in the Northern Rio Grande and Chama valleys for the next 10 years.

Other Keywords
Pithouse • Taos • Pueblo Prehistory • Pueblo • Southwestern US • New Mexico • Northern Rio Grande • Food Toxins

Geographic Keywords
North America - Southwest • New Mexico (State / Territory) • United States of America (Country) • North America (Continent) • North America - Southeast • USA (Country)

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-3 of 3)

  • Documents (3)
Documents
  • Destruction of Stored Food in Pre-Contact Northern Rio Grande Pueblo Communities: Food for Thought (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Michael Adler.

    Past archaeological interpretations of site destruction and the elimination of associated food resources, namely through burning, focus largely on conflict-based models of village warfare. This paper considers the role that food-related issues, particularly food-related toxins, might also have played in the destruction of food resources and relocation of village populations during the late pre-contact (AD 1200-1540) period in the Northern Rio Grande region.

  • Pithouses in the Taos Valley: What Don't We Know? (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Lauren OBrien.

    Pithouse occupations in the Northern Rio Grande, specifically the Taos Valley, occurred late in time and at high elevations. There is little evidence of a transitional period from a mobile to sedentary lifeway in this area. Pithouse occupations also occurred during a time when, as little as 30 miles away, multistory pueblo communities were thriving. This change has raised questions and sparked many archaeological investigations over the years. Why do we see this transition from hunter-gatherer...

  • Reassessing Taos Area Archaeology: What We Still Don’t Understand in 2015 (2016)
    DOCUMENT Citation Only Kit Nelson. Paul Reed.

    Like many areas of the American Southwest, the Greater Taos region has a long history of research, spanning over 100 years. The majority of investigations have focused on either end of the research spectrum. Some being very narrowly centered on specific issues or sites usually resulting from the particular interests of a researcher, while others are very generally focused on data collection resulting from CRM research. This dichotomy of data collection/research has resulted in a highly variable...