In 1794 a small group of Santa Feans were rewarded with a large land grant along the Pecos River south of the dying Pueblo of Pecos. This movement was the initial thrust of a 100-year Hispanic expansion from the Rio Grande Valley. Two initial villages were settled, San Jose and San Miguel (three miles downstream), which became the focal points for the next half century of exchange and conflict with Plains Indian tribes and the beginnings of commerce and conflict with the Anglo-American expansion west. While there has been little notice of the history of the estern third of northern New Mexico, events and activities taking place along the Upper Pecos River rival any of the more well-know chapters of New Mexican history for the 1800s in other >areas. This presentation supplements the written history of the settlement of these two villages with an independent study of dendrochronology and architectural wood use sampled from the earliest remaining village and church buildings.

Thomas C. Windes is a retired National Park Service archaeologist who spent most of his career working on the Chaco Project. During those years he became a leading expert in dating techniques, especially archaeometry, dendrochronology, and ceramics. He has spent many years sampling tree-rings from sites throughout the Southwest and is a recognized leader in tree-ring research. Currently he is a Research Associate with the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico and still volunteers with the NPS Chaco Culture NHP Museum Collections.

This talk relates the story of how Old World cultivated plants and foods made their way from pre-Columbian Spain to the colonial frontier of New Mexico and the greater Southwest. It focuses on thepositive contributions of the Spanish colonizers and missionaries and tells of how Puebloans and other native peoples in New Mexico integrated some of the crops and foods into their own cultures.

With degrees in wildlife management and zoology from the University of California, Berkeley, Bill Dunmire enjoyed a 28 year career with theNational Park Service. He served as Chief of Interpretation for the NPS in the mid-1970s. He also served as Superintendent of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks in 1985, then spent seven years as a field biologist for the Nature Conservancy. Now he is a writer, lecturer, and photographer travelling widely to research his material.
2:00 pm
Petroglyph National Monument’s visitor center located at the intersection of Unser Blvd. NW at Western Trail. The visitor center is wheelchair accessible. This lecture is free, open to the public and made possible by the New Mexico Humanities Council and the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. Audience size is limited to 24 and is first-come, first-seated. Call (505) 899-0205 ext. 332 for more information.

July 26 - Book Sale: Albuquerque Archaeology Society, Book Sale Continuation.

On Sunday, July 26, Karen Armstrong will be at the Archaeology Society library, at the Horn gas station at the corner of Walter and Coal, from so that Archaeology Society members can shop for a second time at the Book Sale.
10AM to 2PM
All are welcome.