Mimbres Influence on Iconographic Expression from the Mimbres Heartland to a Cultural Border Region

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Value of Rock Art: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Current Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis, Part I" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Our project conducts a comparative analysis of Mimbres-style petroglyphs located in the heartland of the Mimbres River Valley, NM to those found in a cultural border region of the Chiricahua and Pinaleño Mountains in southeastern Arizona. The Mimbres heartland petroglyphs are located on the NAN Ranch in SW New Mexico, a well-documented and prominent place of Mimbres habitation from 750-1130 CE. The Mimbres-style petroglyphs of the Chiricahua and Pinaleño Mountains are settled on the far western extent of the Mimbres cultural region and provide a useful comparison of how iconographic expression differs in cultural border areas. Our methods for comparison involve analysis of the design and stylistic elements of each region, determining landscape context, gathering an inventory of diagnostic motifs, assessing the physical accessibility of the petroglyph sites, and considering the relationship between additional associated archaeological sites. Evaluating differences in iconographic expression between the Mimbres heartland and a cultural border region is largely absent from the academic record, indicating a need for this type of research. Our research findings demonstrate the Mimbres influence on petroglyphs in the Mimbres Heartland and a cultural border region to the west.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• The Value of Rock Art: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Current Rock Art Documentation, Research, and Analysis, Part I

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52020