This course provides an introduction to the archaeology of the American Southwest and provides Anthropology majors with essential background knowledge of an important cultural region along with an opportunity to begin working with the professional literature.


 


Wall painting, Kiva 8, layer 20 Pottery
Mound, New Mexico (Brody 1991:pl.26) 

 

We will begin by examining the initial settlement of the Southwestern United States by Paleo-Indian hunter-gatherers nearly 12,000 years ago, as well as early cultural developments such pottery manufacture. We will then examine the unique cultural trajectories of specific areas, focusing on the Phoenix and Tucson basins, the Mimbres Valley, Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and the Little Colorado and Rio Grande valleys. As we discuss culture history, we will touch on topics that include settlement pattern, demography, aggregation, abandonment, subsistence, technology, and ritual.  Capitalizing on our detailed knowledge of the archaeological record, we will then consider each area in the broader context of contemporaneous developments in the Southwest and Mesoamerica, where we will devote attention to current research issues that require consideration of multiple regions through time.

 

Spruce Tree House (Muench and Pike 1974:30)