Samantha G. Fladd – “Accumulating Identities at the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster”

Aggregated villages necessitate the continuous interactions of distinct social groups whose relationships both structure and are structured by their spatial setting. As such, negotiations of identity are often expressed through modifications to space. In addition to traditional architectural analyses, changing relationships to structures can be seen in the deliberate filling of rooms. In the Pueblo Southwest, rooms embody the memories and identities of those who use them, and the treatment of these spaces can speak to changing village dynamics. I will present research on relationships between spaces and social identities within the three largest ancestral Hopi villages of the Homol’ovi Settlement Cluster: Chevelon Pueblo, Homol’ovi I, and Homol’ovi II. Drawing on data compiled from detailed excavation records produced by the Homol’ovi Research Program, patterns of room modification practices can be assessed temporally and spatially. The accumulation of identities across the villages can be seen in the elaborate and nuanced practices of room closure, as well as the ways in which rooms were prepared for conversions to new uses. While often dismissed as “trash,” the Homol’ovi data suggest practices of material deposition contribute to the creation and maintenance of socially meaningful spaces and provide insights into the social identities of residents and the internal dynamics of village life.