Compositional Analysis of Ceramics from Cottonwood Spring Pueblo (LA 175): Negotiating Exchange Networks within the Vicinity of the San Andres Mountains during the El Paso Phase (AD 1275/1300–1450)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Exchange is a dynamic and fundamental practice that intersects social networks, identity, and physiographic boundaries. During the El Paso phase (AD 1275/1300 - 1450) Cottonwood Draw was an epicenter for aggregation and community coalescence. The Cottonwood Spring Pueblo complex (LA 175) is situated along this east-west trending drainage on the western flanks of the San Andres Mountains. Ceramic assemblages here reveal exchange to the north and east with peoples in the Sierra Blanca, to Chihuahua in the south, and the Mimbres and Gila valleys to the west. To explore these patterns more deeply, I conducted neutron activation analysis (NAA) on a sample of 200 sherds from two villages at the Cottonwood Spring Pueblo complex. These data shed light on the nuances of exchange practiced by these peoples.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 52743