THE RIO ARRIBA

Abstract

The northern Rio Grande Valley has a long and rich history of anthropological research (Cordell 1979; Kohler 2004; Martorano et al. 1999; Powers 2005; Riley 1995; Schlanger 2002). From the initial work of Edgar Lee Hewett to recent survey and excavation projects on the Pajarito Plateau, the region has contributed to our understanding of research issues ranging from early agriculture to the process of site aggregation. This volume continues this long-term research tradition by presenting an array of papers that discuss current perspectives on the archaeology of the northern Rio Grande. Together they offer new insights and productive directions for future research in the northern Southwest. The northern Rio Grande Valley is part of the Rio Grande rift, which consists of a series of north-south trending fault troughs that extend from southern Colorado into New Mexico. The valley consists of an area of subsidence bounded by highlands that are the result of both tectonic and volcanic activity. From north to south, this area of subsidence includes the San Luis Basin, the Espafiola Basin, and the Albuquerque Basin, which is bounded by the Jemez Mountains on the west and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east (Kelley 1978). The area referred to as the northern Rio Grande Valley consists of the Espafiola (or Tewa) Basin and the San Luis Basin. This area is drained by both the Chama River and the Rio Grande, which merge together near Espafiola. From tundra and high mountain meadows in the San Juan and Jemez Mountains to the Rio Grande Valley to the pifion-juniper-covered mesa tops, the region contains a diverse array of resources across elevations ranging from about 1,600 to 4,260 m (5,200-14,000 ft). Lithic raw materials abound in the area and include obsidian, fine-grained dacite, Pedernal chert, and quartzite. The Rio Grande Valley provides a natural corridor from the Rocky Mountains in the north to the Chihuahua Desert in the south. This corridor was seasonally