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Articles 1 - 15 of 15
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Book Review Of Early Farming And Warfare In Northwest Mexico (Robert Jarratt Hard And John R. Roney), Michael T. Searcy
Book Review Of Early Farming And Warfare In Northwest Mexico (Robert Jarratt Hard And John R. Roney), Michael T. Searcy
Faculty Publications
Like many archaeologists working in northern Mexico and the US Southwest, I have eagerly anticipated this volume and its reporting of the Early Agricultural (Middle-Late Archaic) occupation in northwestern Chihuahua. Primarily, it documents the research conducted by the coauthors over several years at sites known as cerros de trincheras, or terraced hills. These were massive construction projects resulting in habitational terraces built by early maize farmers who began to settle in the Casas Grandes River Valley and surrounding areas more than 3,000 years ago.
A Reanalysis Of Population Dynamics In The Casas Grandes Region Of Northern Mexico Using Mitochondrial Dna, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy
A Reanalysis Of Population Dynamics In The Casas Grandes Region Of Northern Mexico Using Mitochondrial Dna, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy
Faculty Publications
The Casas Grades region in northwest Chihuahua, Mexico, is ideally situated to explore the notion of contact between the Southwest/Northwest and Mesoamerica, as it lies geographically in the borderlands where traditions of both culture areas were practiced. In order to explain these ties, past researchers have suggested the flourishing Casas Grandes population in the thirteenth century AD was caused by migrants from Mesoamerica, as first suggested by Di Peso in his pochteca hypothesis. Others, such as Lekson and his Chaco Meridian hypothesis, suggest migration from the north. Mitochondrial genetic data from earlier and later time periods provides the ability to …
Redating Paquimé And The Convento Site Sixty Years After The Joint Casas Grandes Expedition In Northwestern Mexico, Samuel Jensen, Michael T. Searcy, Meradeth Snow
Redating Paquimé And The Convento Site Sixty Years After The Joint Casas Grandes Expedition In Northwestern Mexico, Samuel Jensen, Michael T. Searcy, Meradeth Snow
Faculty Publications
Debates continue regarding the rise of the Late Prehistoric (post-AD 1200) city of Paquimé in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Unfortunately, the established chronology of the site was flawed due to incorrect interpretations of dendrochronological samples that lacked cutting dates (i.e., outer rings). While Dean and Ravesloot (1993) were able to determine this mistake through a reanalysis of the original chronological sequence, no attempts have been made to revise the chronology using new dates. This poster reports the results of new radiocarbon dates analyzed from samples of human remains found at Paquimé during the Joint Casas Grandes Expedition from 1958 to 1961. …
Migrating Genes: Using Adna And Archaeological Data To Explain Migration In The Casas Grandes Region Of Northern Mexico, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy
Migrating Genes: Using Adna And Archaeological Data To Explain Migration In The Casas Grandes Region Of Northern Mexico, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy
Faculty Publications
Migration as an archaeological topic has addressed huge distances, such as the colonization of the Americas, as well as smaller regions, such as the peopling of specific sites. The use of genetics as a medium to enhance our understanding of population movement can be an asset. There are potential pitfalls, however, such as the misrepresentation of DNA ranging across the landscape without human vectors or motivations. Genetic data must be interpreted through the lens of all available data from the site and surrounding region in order to understand how it its into the potential for human migration. These ideas will …
Envisioning Natural And Built Environments As Sacred Landscapes In Prehistoric Casas Grandes, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel, Steve Swanson
Envisioning Natural And Built Environments As Sacred Landscapes In Prehistoric Casas Grandes, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel, Steve Swanson
Faculty Publications
We develop a hypothesized cosmography in an attempt to evaluate the sacred landscapes of the Casas Grandes cultural tradition of northern Mexico. This analysis includes attention to the relationships among archaeological features and aspects of natural geography in the Casas Grandes region. We draw on previous research regarding hilltop sites, architectural features, settlement patterns, and astronomical alignments noted at Paquimé, to envision how the Casas Grandes people mapped their landscape on both the built and unbuilt environments.
Mtdna Analysis Of The Paquimé (Casas Grandes), Mexico, Population Between The Viejo And Medio Periods, Rachel Summers-Wilson, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy
Mtdna Analysis Of The Paquimé (Casas Grandes), Mexico, Population Between The Viejo And Medio Periods, Rachel Summers-Wilson, Meradeth Snow, Michael T. Searcy
Faculty Publications
This research project investigates the population interred at the archaeological site known as Paquimé (Casas Grandes), Mexico between two time periods known as the Viejo Period (700 - 1200 A.D.) and the Medio Period (1200 - 1450 A.D.). There was a shift in culture during the latter period marked by changes in material culture and the bringing together of larger populations near and within the city center known as Paquimé. Several scholars have suggested that this extraordinary cultural shift is principally due to migrations from other regions (for example: Di Peso 1974; Lekson 1999; Laekson 2015). The research conducted at …
An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective On Ground Stone Production At The Santiago Quarry In The Casas Grandes Region Of Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
An Ethnoarchaeological Perspective On Ground Stone Production At The Santiago Quarry In The Casas Grandes Region Of Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Faculty Publications
Grinding stones, and more specifically manos and metates, are ubiquitous tools found at archaeological sites throughout the Americas. These tools were important, even to foragers, and grew in importance with the spread of agriculture, especially maize cultivation. Analyses of grinding stones recovered from archaeological sites are a common aspect of site reports, but these tend to generate data that emphasize the middle and end of the use-lives of these tools (Searcy 2011:8). The prehistoric manufacture of ground stone tools has received scant attention, and we suggest this may be due to two primary factors. First, the quarries where much of …
Sourcing Basalt From The Santiago Quarry In Chihuahua, Mexico Using Xrf, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel, Eric Christiansen
Sourcing Basalt From The Santiago Quarry In Chihuahua, Mexico Using Xrf, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel, Eric Christiansen
Faculty Publications
During survey in 2013, we identified the only known vesicular basalt quarry in the Casas Grandes region in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Using XRF, we analyzed basalt from the Santiago Quarry and compared the results to the chemical characterization of formal tools (mostly mano and metate fragments) recovered at the site of Paquimé in order to determine if this quarry was one of the sources exploited by prehistoric stoneworkers during the Medio period (AD 1200–1450).
Plant Microfossils Recovered From Dental Calculus At Casas Grandes, Mexico, Daniel King, Michael T. Searcy, Kyle Waller
Plant Microfossils Recovered From Dental Calculus At Casas Grandes, Mexico, Daniel King, Michael T. Searcy, Kyle Waller
Faculty Publications
Microfossil analysis is a technique used to better understand prehistoric diets. As part of a larger multinational project, we gathered and analyzed 112 samples of dental calculus (fossilized plaque) from human remains discovered at Paquimé and other sites in the Casas Grandes river valley to identify various microfossils still present in the silica matrix. With this information, we are able to better understand the flora present during ancient times and how it was used (food, processing, etc.).
Excavations At Vista Del Valle, A Viejo Period Site Of The Casas Grandes Cultural Tradition In Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Excavations At Vista Del Valle, A Viejo Period Site Of The Casas Grandes Cultural Tradition In Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Faculty Publications
In the summer of 2015 we conducted excavations at a site located along the Palanganas River, just south of the Casas Grandes River Valley in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. This represents the first excavation of a Viejo Period site (A.D. 700–1200) in this vicinity since the 1960s. We discovered remnants of at least five structures, and fully excavated three. This paper reports our findings and compares them to previous work carried out in the region.
Explorations In Viejo Period Archaeology At The Vista Del Valle Site In Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Explorations In Viejo Period Archaeology At The Vista Del Valle Site In Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Faculty Publications
Since Charles Di Peso’s excavations from 1958 to 1961, there has been little research on the Viejo period (700–1200 A.D.) in the northern Casas Grandes area. As director of the Proyecto Arqueológico Chihuahua, Jane Kelley and her colleagues have added significantly to our knowledge of this time period in the southern area where this cultural tradition also flourished. Following her lead, we recently embarked to better understand the Viejo period in the north by excavating at a site along the Palanganas River, just south of the Casas Grandes River valley. This paper reports the initial results of our 2015 excavations …
Recent Explorations For Casas Grandes Viejo Period Settlement, Todd Pitezel, Michael T. Searcy
Recent Explorations For Casas Grandes Viejo Period Settlement, Todd Pitezel, Michael T. Searcy
Faculty Publications
Much is known about political, social, economic, and ritual organization during the Casas Grandes Medio period (ca. A.D. 1200-1450). A looming question is, What are the roots of the Medio period? The preceding Viejo period, assumed to begin around A.D. 500, is poorly understood because so little work has been conducted at Viejo sites, and few sites from this time period are known. We recently conducted reconnaissance and systematic survey north and south of the Medio capital settlement of Paquimé and identified six previously unrecorded sites. We present the characteristics of each site, including a ground stone quarry, and how …
Exploring The First Ground Stone Quarry Discovered In The Casas Grandes Region Using Ethnoarchaeology, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Exploring The First Ground Stone Quarry Discovered In The Casas Grandes Region Using Ethnoarchaeology, Michael T. Searcy, Todd Pitezel
Faculty Publications
Several researchers have noted and studied the exquisitely formed manos and metates of the Casas Grandes region of northern Mexico. During a survey project in 2013, we located the first quarry ever discovered where these tools were manufactured of vesicular basalt using a suite of stone tools. This paper explores the morphology of the site, the toolkit of the metateros (metate makers), and ethnoarchaeological implications resulting from the study of modern metateros.
Astronomical Implications For The Mound Of The Cross At Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, David Derrick
Astronomical Implications For The Mound Of The Cross At Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico, Michael T. Searcy, David Derrick
Faculty Publications
The fourteenth-century site of Paquimé represents the apogee of the Casas Grandes cultural tradition. Monumental architecture such as effigy mounds and ball courts contrast sharply with other sites in the U.S. Southwest/Northwest Mexico. In particular, the Mound of the Cross, a cardinally aligned mound structure, suggests that those at Paquimé were aware of and may have tracked celestial bodies as part of a seasonal round. Findings also suggest that the alignment of the cross can be attributed to solar patterns that are different than today’s due to earth’s precessional cycle.
Cultural And Contextual Differentiation Of Mesoamerican Iconography In The Southwest/Northwest, Michael T. Searcy
Cultural And Contextual Differentiation Of Mesoamerican Iconography In The Southwest/Northwest, Michael T. Searcy
Faculty Publications
Ample research has documented the long-term interaction between Mesoamerica and the U.S. Southwest/Northwest Mexico (SW/NW). Nelson (2006:345) has used the phrase "Mesoamerican interaction markers" as a way to describe evidence of this contact in the SW/NW. He further defines these as "a variety of archaeological patterns that are reminiscent of Mesoamerican counterparts" including "objects, practices, and styles." Some of the interaction markers that have been studied at length are trade goods such as copper bells, macaws, shell, and iron pyrite mirrors (Bayman 2002; Bradley 1993; Ericson and Baugh 1993; Kelley 1966, 1995; Mathien 1993; McGuire 1993b; Nelson 2000; Riley 2005). …