Cultural Landscapes and Site Location: An Application of Ethnographic Viewshed Analysis at the Old Town Mimbres Mogollon Site

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the American Southwest the natural landscape is ever-present. From striking mountains, arroyos, canyons, and mesas, the natural world is forever tied to its occupants. Within the Puebloan world, the natural and cultural landscape are inseparable. Strong social meanings are embedded within cultural landscapes as networks of natural and constructed places are perceived and made meaningful by communities. This research is focused on how the striking landscape of southern New Mexico influenced the location of one of the most important sites of the region, Old Town. LA 1113, Old Town, is one of the largest Mimbres Mogollon sites likely representing the center for Southern Mimbres culture. Here a large Mimbres phase masonry pueblo overlies a previous Pithouse component, with a later Black Mountain phase pueblo adjacent to the south. The site is undoubtedly important not only because of its size but also its length of occupation. Emphasis of this work is on ethnographic landscapes with information from ethnographic sources and modern consultation. The goal is to allow Native American populations to have a clear voice in the interpretation of ancestral sites tying the cultural landscape to the archaeology resulting in a better understanding of the past.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37567.0