Steve Lekson – “Chimney Rock and Chaco Canyon, Pinnacle and Mesa Verde: Ancestral Pueblo Regional Dynamics” – Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society

Note: This post refers to an event that took place on Mar 15, 2010.

Recent excavations by the University of Colorado at Chimney Rock near Pagosa Spring, Colorado and at Pinnacle Ruin near Truth-or-Consequences, New Mexico illustrate two different regional dynamics in the Ancestral Pueblo world. Chimney Rock great house, atop a 1000′ tall ridge above the Piedra River, was an “outlier” of Chaco Canyon. Pinnacle Ruin, atop a 300′ sheer-walled mesa, appears to have been a Mesa Verde migrant village. These two sites will be used to explore the range of archaeological methodologies for understanding regional dynamics in the Ancestral Pueblo region. They represent two very different modes of interaction over distance: political colonization vs. migration.

Dr. Lekson’s new book A History of the Ancient Southwest will be available to lecture attendees at a 20% discount the night of the lecture. Check or cash only.