Exploring Mimbres Social Memory through Burials and Architecture

Summary

Social memory has become a topic of increasing investigation in the field of archaeology. While social memory in archaeology can often be very theoretical and abstract, it can also be very tangible and concrete in its archaeological manifestations. In this poster, I illustrate various social memory practices with specific emphasis on the reference process, strengths of associations, and intimacy past peoples had with their history as observed in architecture and burials in the Mimbres region of southwestern New Mexico. I look diachronically at the superposition of structures over earlier structures, when and where intrusive burials placed into areas of earlier occupation occur, and how different roomblocks, corporate groups and site participants might have interpreted the past and referenced it for the present and perceived future. This approach observes the physical links that architectural superposition has with the past, and how Mimbres groups interacted with their deceased ancestors and places formerly occupied by the now dead. Through this lens, we gain a unique perspective concerning how a group’s perceptions and performances of the past are played out on the Mimbres landscape and over time. This research contributes to the discussion of both group and "place" formation, maintenance, and "abandonment."

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17056