The Classic Mimbres Period in the Eastern Mimbres Area: Evidence from Ceramics, Architecture, and Settlement

Abstract

Classic Mimbres (ca. AD 1010-mid 1100s) archaeology from the eastern Mimbres area is summarized in comparison to the Mimbres Valley. Focus is on material from sites excavated by the Eastern Mimbres Archaeological Project, including Avilas Canyon, Flying Fish, and Pague Well, and also the Berrenda Creek site. The eastern Mimbres is definitively part of the Mimbres tradition, although there is variability that patterns spatially. Analyses reveal differences between sites and subregions. Intersite differences include groundstone in walls, adobe collars on hearths, and square partitions in corners of rooms. In comparison to the Mimbres Valley, the eastern Mimbres has less intensive settlement, and less evidence of ritual, though clear continuity between the Classic and subsequent Postclassic. These different characteristics are attributed to different social practices, including land tenure systems which engender social inequality that were present in the Mimbres Valley but not the eastern Mimbres.

Este estudio resume la arqueología de la cultura Mimbres del Clásico (ca. 1010-mediados del 1100 d.C.) del área Mimbres Este comparándola con el Valle de Mimbres. Se centra en el material de los sitios excavados por el Proyecto Arqueológico Mimbres del Este (Eastern Mimbres Archaeological Project), incluyendo los de Avilas Canyon, Flying Fish, y Pague Well (LA130191), y también el sitio de Berrenda Creek. La región Mimbres Este es definitivamente parte de la tradición Mimbres, aunque hay variabilidad cultural que forma patrones espaciales. Los análisis revelan diferencias entre sitios y subregiones. Las diferencias entre los sitios incluyen la lítica tallada en los muros, los cuellos de adobe en los fogones y las divisiones cuadradas en las esquinas de las habitaciones. En comparación con el Valle de Mimbres, el área de Mimbres Este tiene un asentamiento menos intensivo y hay menos evidencia de rituales, aunque hay una clara continuidad entre el Clásico y el Posclásico subsecuente. Estas características diferentes se atribuyen a diferentes prácticas sociales, incluyendo sistemas de tenencia de la tierra que engendran desigualdades sociales que estaban presentes en el Valle Mimbres pero no en el área de Mimbres Este.

KEYWORDS:

• Classic Mimbres
• eastern Mimbres area
• Mimbres Valley
• households
• diversity
• architecture
• architectural features
• settlement history

Acknowledgements

The Eastern Mimbres Archaeological Project would not have been possible without the permission and support of R. E. Turner and the Turner Foundation and the A-Spear Ranch owners. Other funding for our work was provided by our universities (New Mexico State, SUNY Buffalo, and Arizona State) and the National Geographic Society (grants 6980-01, 6612-99 and 52113-94). Analysis was partially funded by the National Science Foundation (BCS-0508001, BCS-0542044, and BCS-1113991).

Ladder Ranch personnel, including Steve and Janie Dobrott and Chic Wayne, helped in innumerable ways as did Steve Northup of the A-Spear. The field and lab work was done primarily by students from the State University of New York, Buffalo; New Mexico State University; and Arizona State University.

Darrell Creel, Roger Anyon, Pat Gilman, and Myles Miller answered numerous questions, especially regarding the Mimbres Valley sites. Sarah Klassen organized the work to put EMAP data on the Digital Archaeological Record (tDAR). Three reviewers provided constructive comments that added important detail. Oralia Cabrera Cortés translated the abstract into Spanish.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data Availability Statement

Data used in this article are available as part of the EMAP Project on tDAR at https://core.tdar.org/search/results?_tdar.searchType=simple&query=EMAP.

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed https://doi.org/10.1080/00231940.2021.1949799.