Gran Quivira Research Articles

‘Circling the wagons’ and community formation: interpreting circular villages in the archaeological record

In some respects, the circular village layout might appear to be the ultimate expression of an egalitarian and highly integrated communal society, one in which individual needs are clearly subsumed to the needs of the community as a whole. Cross-cultural studies in Amazonia and the eastern United States, however, suggest that this form of village organization may not be tied so closely to internal social organization as to regional context. The circular village layout may have been important in creating an uneasy but workable group identity vis-à-vis outsiders within a specific social context: that of regional demographic change, social uncertainty and violent inter-village conflict. Recent research in central New Mexico indicates that this regional context may also have been an important factor behind the construction of the little-known circular pueblo at Gran Quivira, Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument.

OBSIDIAN PROCUREMENT AMONG THE JUMANOS PUEBLOS, NEW MEXICO, A. D. 1300–1670S

In this article, I present (1) the results of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) sourcing analyses and (2) the relative frequencies of archaeological obsidian artifacts from three Late Prehispanic and Early Colonial period (A. D. 1300 to 1670s) Jumanos pueblos in central New Mexico: Gran Quivira, Pueblo Blanco, and Pueblo Colorado. The XRF data suggest that the villages were relatively independent from one another in terms of the nonlocal social and economic relationships through which obsidian was acquired. At the same time, the analysis of the relative frequencies of obsidian suggests that at first the residents of Gran Quivira, and then those of Pueblo Blanco, had greater access to obsidian than the inhabitants of the other two villages. Taken together, the results of these two analyses suggest that seemingly opposing relations of autonomy and differentiation may have characterized the long-distance social and economic activities of the residents of these pueblos and their relationships to each other.

Disability, compassion and the skeletal record: using musculoskeletal stress markers (MSM) to construct an osteobiography from early New Mexico

Activity patterns seen in the skeletal remains of an adult male (burial 391) from Gran Quivira Pueblo, New Mexico, suggest his complete dependence upon others during the progression of a debilitating disease that began in childhood and lasted until his death in middle adulthood. The combination of clinical disease progression data and joint mobility estimates provide a pattern to help interpret the potential range of his movements. The pattern can then be examined in relation to results obtained from musculoskeletal stress marker (MSM) data. The MSM data for Gran Quivira 391 contrasts sharply with the activity patterns commonly seen in MSM scores for other adult males also dating to the Late Period occupation (AD 1550–1672) at the site. All three of the above methods not only enable assessment of the extent of his impairment throughout life, but may also provide information concerning the degree of disability within the community. Although compassion cannot always be determined from the skeletal record alone, the severity of his condition suggests that he was wholly dependent on at least one other member of the group over a long period of time. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effects of Sedentism on the Processing of Hunted Carcasses in the Southwest: A Comparison of Two Pueblo IV Sites in Central New Mexico

ABSTRACTFaunal remains from the sites of Gran Quivira (LA 120) and Pueblo Colorado (LA 476) in central New Mexico provide important data concerning the significance of hunted resources to sedentary, agricultural communities. Faunal data from both sites suggest that continuous occupation depleted the large game resources of the local area. This paper examines the effect of this overhunting of the local environment on the processing of artiodactyl carcasses. The results of the analysis indicate that, through time, the skeletal remains of antelope (Antilocapra americana) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) were processed more intensively for marrow and grease at Pueblo Colorado than at Gran Quivira. It is suggested that this may have been due to Gran Quivira's better access to bison meat via exchange with Plains groups.

Polydactyly in the Southwest

ABSTRACTRecorded instances of human figures, hands and feet with extra digits occur in rock art in the Southwest, either as six fingers or six toes. This has raised the question of whether or not this was a deliberate exaggeration by the artists or actual representation of Polydactyly. Recent findings in skeletal material from Pueblo Bonito and Sand Canyon confirm that Polydactyly did exist among the Anasazi of the prehistoric Southwest, and findings from Las Humanas at Gran Quivira show that Polydactyly was also present in the early historic period.

Chupadero and Tabira Black-on-White: Continuum or Dichotomy?

ABSTRACTAlden C. Hayes and A. H. Warren, in recent publications on excavations at Gran Quivira in the Medano region of New Mexico, suggest that Tabira Black-on-white pottery represents a break from the earlier Chupadero Black-on-white tradition. They further suggest, on the basis of ceramic, architectural, and burial data, that a migration of new peoples, possibly from the Zuni-White Mountains-Hopi region, was responsible for the inception of Tabira. New data and a reassessment of old data are used to question the validity of the Hayes-Warren interpretation.

Log‐linear analysis of dental caries occurrence in four skeletal series

Four skeletal series (Corinth, Greece; Gran Quivira, New Mexico; Semna South, Sudanese Nubia, and a large group from scattered sites in England) were coded for sex, jaw, tooth group, dental attrition, dental caries, site and time period. Through thec concepts of a basal level of caries and a cariosity gradient, a single model was found which best described the occurrence of this disease in these samples. All factors were found to contribute significantly to the model. Within the possible subsamples the general characteristics are that the profiles of males, of the mandibulae and of those with light attrition are more likely to have lower overall dental caries levels and to be relatively more carious in the back of the mouth than the front when compared to the pooled sample of all teeth and caries. The opposite is also found to be generally true; the teeth of females, maxillae and heavy attrition are associated with more caries, especially toward the front of the mouth. These results imply that samples appearing otherwise homogeneous display much variation. They also reveal distinct regularities in the reactions of diverse human groups to dental caries.

: The Excavation of Mound 7 - Gran Quivira . Tom Gray, National Park Service.

American AnthropologistVolume 77, Issue 4 p. 909-910 Free Access FIELD METHODS AND LABORATORY TECHNIQUES: The Excavation of Mound 7—Gran Quivira. Filmed by TOM GRAY CHARLES C. DI PESO, CHARLES C. DI PESO The Amerind Foundation, Inc.Search for more papers by this author CHARLES C. DI PESO, CHARLES C. DI PESO The Amerind Foundation, Inc.Search for more papers by this author First published: December 1975 https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1975.77.4.02a00360AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume77, Issue4December 1975Pages 909-910 RelatedInformation

Excavations in a I7th-Century Jumano Pueblo Gran Quivira.Gordon Vivian; with a Chapter on Artifacts from Gran Quivira, by Sallie Van Valkenburgh. Archaeological Research Series Number 8, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington,1964. xi + 168 pp., 49 figs., 3 tables. (Purchases should be from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402. $1.25, paper cover.)

Excavations in a I7th-Century Jumano Pueblo Gran Quivira.Gordon Vivian; with a Chapter on Artifacts from Gran Quivira, by Sallie Van Valkenburgh. Archaeological Research Series Number 8, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington,1964. xi + 168 pp., 49 figs., 3 tables. (Purchases should be from Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 20402. $1.25, paper cover.)

Early Water Systems at Gran Quivira National Monument

From the time early in the nineteenth century when the ruins now known as Gran Quivira National Monument were rediscovered, speculation as to the source of the water supply has been rife. Many are the theories to account for the presence of this pueblo ruin in the midst of an expansive waterless region. These theories range from an assumption of the former existence of springs, now long dried up, to tales of marvelous aqueducts which brought water from a spring in the Gallinas Mountains to the east, a distance of fifteen miles. Recently, researches have brought to light new data in explanation of this apparent condition. It is, therefore, the purpose of this paper to assemble all of the available evidence, to evaluate and present it.

Cremation among the Indians of New Mexico

The discovery of cremations at the ruin of Pueblo Pardo in central New Mexico has added yet another to the multitude of problems concerning the Chupadera Mesa country to be answered by archaeology. Heretofore, most of the data available for this region have been based upon surface survey, and suffer from the inexactitude of that approach; some of the data, also, are based upon the incompletely published excavations at Abó, Quaraí and Gran Quivira National Monument. In the sites of Abó and Quaraí, which consist of important Mission ruins beside ruins of the Indian pueblos, attention has been concentrated upon the former structures almost to the exclusion of the latter. However, some work has been carried on in the pueblo ruins at both Quaraí and Gran Quivira, although, unfortunately, there appears to be little hope for the publication of any reports upon these excavations. The historian's analysis of the area has been ably handled by Scholes.