Suzanne Eckert

The Ritual Importance of Birds in 14th-century Central New Mexico

Abstract The Pueblo IV period (AD 1300–1450/1500) in the American Southwest witnessed the development of a number of new ritual systems in both the Western and Eastern Pueblo areas. Although associated with a diverse array of material culture, one of the most prominent aspects of these religious ideologies was the adoption of a complex of icons focusing on fertility, weather control, and community well being. Key among these motifs were birds, which appear to have played a central role in the materialization of these new ideological systems. In this paper, we evaluate the changing importance of avifauna in the ritual systems that were adopted in the 14th century in the Lower Rio Puerco area of New Mexico. Relying on ceramic, architectural, and faunal data from Pottery Mound (LA 416) and Hummingbird Pueblo (LA 578), we argue that both the imagery and use of birds in ritual contexts increased substantially at the two villages during the 14th century. These developments correspond to a new religious ideology that served to integrate the diverse populations that had aggregated in the Lower Rio Puerco area in the late 1200s.

RUDD CREEK PUEBLO: A LATE TULAROSA PHASE VILLAGE IN EAST CENTRAL ARIZONA

Abstract Rudd Creek Pueblo is a late Tularosa phase (A.D. 1225-1300) village located in the Upper Little Colorado region south of Springerville, Arizona. In 1996, Arizona State University, in cooperation with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, conducted archaeological fieldwork at Rudd Creek. This paper summarizes the results of that field season, which included the clearing of disturbed fill from a number of looted rooms, as well as limited test excavations in two great kivas, undisturbed rooms, and extramural areas. Comparison of the archaeology of Rudd Creek Pueblo with other Tularosa phase settlements in the Mogollon highlands along the Arizona-New Mexico border highlights key dimensions of variability in thirteenth century settlement in this area. Our investigations suggest that future research focusing on Tularosa phase settlements has the potential to contribute greatly to current debates in Southwest archaeology concerning migration, exchange, and population aggregation. Abstract Rudd Creek es un pueblo de la fase tarde Tularosa (A.D. 1225-1300) situada en la región del alto Río Little Colorado al sur de Springville, Arizona. En 1996, la Universidad Estatal de Arizona, en conjunto con el Departamento de Caza y Pesca de Arizona, realizó un trabajo de campo arqueológico. Este ensayo es un resumen de la temporada de trabajo de investigación en el campo, que incluyó el desmonte de terreno abandalizado en varios cuartos saqueados, y también excavaciones limitadas de prueba en dos grandes kivas, cuartos no perturbados y áreas extramurales. Comparación en la arqueología de Rudd Creek con otros poblados de la fase Tularosa en los altos mogollones a lo largo de la frontera entre Arizona y Nuevo México hace notar dimensiones claves en la variabilidad en los poblados en esta área durante el decimotercero siglo. Nuestras investigaciones sugieren que trabajo futuro con enfoque en los poblados de la fase Tularosa tiene la gran potencia de contribuir a los debates prevalecientes en la arqueología del sudoeste de los Estados Unidos al respecto con la migración, intercambios y agregación de población.