Lead Isotope Analysis Providing Insights Regarding Pecos Pueblo's Role in Spanish Colonial New Mexico

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Geological and Technological Contributions to the Interpretation of Radiogenic Isotope Data" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Pecos was one of the major Puebloan communities in New Mexico from circa AD 1450 until the 1790s. As the nexus of an interregional-intercultural network, this pueblo became a dominant economic force in Pueblo-Plains-Hispanic interactions throughout most of the Spanish colonial period. A metal detection sample survey within the pueblo’s midden area produced iron arrow points and lead musket balls, reflecting multiple Comanche and Apache attacks during the eighteenth century. Numerous copper sheet scraps, the detritus from fabricating varieties of objects for both trade and personal use, were also recovered. Lead isotope analysis was conducted on one lead ball and one copper sheet scrap to determine the likely ore body source(s) of these two metals. Resultant information underscores the socioeconomic and geopolitical complexities that defined Pecos Pueblo during New Mexico’s Spanish colonial period.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Geological and Technological Contributions to the Interpretation of Radiogenic Isotope Data   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38828.0