Point Pueblo and Surrounding Middle San Juan River Valley Great House or Great Kiva Communities

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Social Interaction and Networks at the Intersection of Central Mesa Verde and Chaco/Cibola Culture Areas in the Middle San Juan River Valley" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Geographically, the Middle San Juan River Valley, a well-watered area of northwestern New Mexico, is situated between the more famous Ancestral Pueblo culture areas of Mesa Verde and Chaco. After a brief review of known Middle San Juan great house or great kiva communities, this paper will focus on Point Pueblo. Field school excavations have been held by San Juan College, located in Farmington, New Mexico, for the last 13 years at Point Pueblo. A great kiva was constructed with Type II Chacoan style masonry and two sections of great house rooms exhibit local Middle San Juan vernacular compound-veneer walls. At least four kivas were constructed within the eastern great house section, one immediately north of an arc of rooms, two adjacent kivas at the eastern edge, and one at the northern edge. Point Pueblo is in a dramatic location, overlooking the San Juan River Valley immediately to the north. Red Mesa ceramics indicate extensive social interaction and network connection with early Bonito phase Chaco/Cibola people and Mesa Verde ceramics indicate extensive social interaction and network connection with late Mesa Verde people. Additionally, White Mountain Red Ware ceramics indicate extensive social interaction and network connection with the Zuni people.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Social Interaction and Networks at the Intersection of Central Mesa Verde and Chaco/Cibola Culture Areas in the Middle San Juan River Valley   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25171