‘Pueblo Peoples on the Pajarito Plateau: Archaeology and Efficiency’

Event Description

Friends of Coronado State Monument

What:  Friends of Coronado Lecture Series

Who:  Dr. David E. Stuart is a professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico and award-winning author and lecturer. His publications include: "Prehistoric New Mexico" (1981), "The Magic of Bandelier National Monument" (1989), "Anasazi America" (2000), and "The Ancient Southwest" (2008).

 Synopsys:  Dr. Stuart's talk, "Pueblo Peoples on the Pajarito Plateau: Archaeology and Efficiency," will be about the people who lived in Chaco Canyon.

The society that existed in Chaco Canyon was both vibrant and sophisticated society beginning about 400 AD and decline setting in around the 1140s. Their territory covered the northwestern corner of New Mexico and the adjacent areas of Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, and was connected by a series of roads radiating out of Chaco Canyon. Dry farming techniques supported their agriculture. However, it is speculated that drought and famine may have brought this civilization down. Or could it have been other factors such as religious upheaval, internal political conflict, or even warfare, which when combined, exacerbated the effects of drought?

Dr. Stuart will discuss his theories behind the migration out of the canyon to the New Mexico Highland and the upper Rio Grande district, and where the descendants are today.

When:  Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 2 p.m.

Where:  Coronado State Monument, 485 Kuaua Road, Bernalillo, NM.  1.5
miles west of the I-25 exit 242, off Hwy 550.

Cost:  $5 for Adults; Students and members of the Friends of Coronado
State Monument are FREE

Resevations:  none required

Public Contact:  Gary Williams, program chairman.  505-792-4851 or visit:
http://x.jtrk57.net/y.z?l=http%3A%2F%2Fhome.comcast.net%2F%7Efriendsofcsm&e=38&j=273485621

Bio: David E. Stuart was the first student in the state of West Virginia to earn a degree in Anthropology. He came to the University of New Mexico in '67/'68 where he earned the Masters and Ph.D. and, later, an honorary doctorate from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He has conducted fieldwork in Mexico, Alaska, Ecuador, and the American Southwest, where he continues to publish in both Anthropology and Archaeology. He served the University of New Mexico as a senior academic administrator for many years, and still teaches the Archaeology of New Mexico.