Mimbres: History and Politics, Then and Now
Channel: ArchaeologySouthwest
Date: 2018-01-03

On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, Dr. Steve Lekson visitedTucson to explore the roles modern history and politics have played in our understanding of the 11th century societies of southwestern New Mexico.

Lekson recently completed a study of Chaco archaeology framed by the history and politics of “Pueblo Space” – an idealized image of Pueblos, crafted in Santa Fe in the early 20th century and thereafter applied to archaeology. Mimbres – the 11th century societies of southwestern New Mexico – provides an interesting comparison. Archaeologists first declared Mimbres to be (Ancestral) Pueblo, then non-Pueblo, then Pueblo again … or maybe not. This matters very much in how Mimbres is understood archaeologically, and in how Mimbres is represented as Native heritage. Lekson will briefly illustrate the roles of modern history and politics at Chaco Canyon, and then turn those lenses on Mimbres – in particular, ancient Mimbres history and geopolitics. Mimbres clearly engaged both Hohokam and Ancestral Pueblo. Modern constructions of Mimbres color varying visions of how that ancient history played out. Lekson (of course) has constructions of Mimbres, based on almost 50 years of research in the Mimbres region – and his notions were also on the table for analysis at this café!

View upcoming Archaeology Café presentations at: https://www.archaeologysouthwest.org/things-to-do/cafe/