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Date/Time
Date(s) - 03/26/2021
6:30 pm - 9:00 pm

Categories


Title: The Local and the Distant in the Sapillo Valley: Results of Ceramic Analysis from two Mimbres Mogollon Sites – the Lake Roberts Site and the Hooker Site. 

When: March 26, 6:30PM

By Thatcher Rogers and Alexander Kurota 

Office of Contract Archeology, University of New Mexico 

Abstract: The Office of Contract Archeology recently undertook data recovery excavations at two archaeological sites at Lake Roberts in partnership with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish for dam rehabilitation and stabilization at Lake Roberts for the Gila National Forest. Excavations at the Lake Roberts (LA 47821) and Hooker (LA 127051) sites uncovered five pithouse structures with extramural spaces and resulted in the recovery of nearly 100,000 artifacts. Over 3,000 ceramic artifacts were analyzed with several surprising results given the site size and absence of cobble-masonry architecture. First, nearly 25 reconstructable vessels were recovered, including several Mimbres Black-on-white bowls, Mimbres Corrugated types, and some tradewares, and we were able to discern several important differences within the unpainted assemblage. As prior research on Mimbres pottery has focused on the elaborately decorated painted types, this project provided a key opportunity to explore variability in brownware and corrugated types. Second, while the presence of pithouse structures would suggest both sites dated to the Late Pithouse period, the ceramic assemblages support a middle to late Mimbres Classic occupation at the Lake Roberts site.  Lastly, the array of nonlocal ceramic types, as well as the identification of cacao residue on a sherd from Lake Roberts suggests the inhabitants had connections to far flung areas. This presentation contextualizes the results of these excavations in terms of broader trends in the Mimbres region.