Metamorphosis of the Unique Pueblo III–IV Hokona Site in the El Morro Valley of New Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Byways to the Past: An American Highway Archaeology Symposium" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In 2007, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) sponsored full excavation of a small prehistoric archaeological site located on NMDOT and State land adjacent to Highway 53 a few miles east of El Morro National Monument in Cibola County. Earlier documentation suggested that the site comprised three basalt field houses and a surface artifact scatter. However, excavation revealed a complex sequence of 45 partly superimposed features that included a masonry roomblock, habitation pit structures, hearths, post holes, and human burials. Artifacts included stone pendants and blanks, curated projectile points, abundant and diverse ground stone and ceramics, and minimal floral and faunal remains. Hokona’s most intensive occupation dated to the late Pueblo III and early Pueblo IV periods, ca. A.D. 1275–1300, although the site was also used before and after that time. Hokona’s significance lies in its exhibition of qualities that are both typical and unique. The small site reflects a relationship with larger social and political trends in the El Morro Valley and beyond. Yet, it also exhibits uniquely frequent remodeling and diverse and far-ranging cultural connections. As such, Hokona expands our knowledge of the complexity of prehistoric life in the El Morro Valley.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Byways to the Past: An American Highway Archaeology Symposium   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25893