Tijeras Pueblo at the Crossroads: A Review of Previous Research and Site Significance

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the Tijeras Pueblo archaeological site. Highlighting Tijeras Pueblo as a community located at a cultural, geographical, and temporal crossroad, the paper attempts to place Tijeras Pueblo within a broader academic and social context. The excavation history of the site will be discussed, along with previous research, and past and modern significance. In its current context, Tijeras Pueblo has become of center of archaeological and cultural education and a place where knowledge is both created and disseminated. Occupying a very public space in the community, the site and its collections have become teaching tools for a new generation of professional and avocational archaeologists and for the greater Albuquerque community.

Este artículo ofrece una visión general del yacimiento arqueológico de Tijeras Pueblo. Destacando a Tijeras Pueblo como una comunidad situada en una encrucijada cultural, geográfica y temporal, el artículo intenta situar a Tijeras Pueblo dentro de un contexto académico y social más amplio. Se analizará la historia de la excavación del sitio, así como las investigaciones previas y su importancia pasada y moderna. En su contexto actual, Tijeras Pueblo se ha convertido en un centro de educación arqueológica y cultural y en un lugar donde se crea y se difunde el conocimiento. Ocupando un espacio muy público en la comunidad, el sitio y sus colecciones se han convertido en herramientas de enseñanza para una joven generación de arqueólogos, voluntarios aficionados y la gran comunidad de Albuquerque.

KEYWORDS:

• Ancestral Pueblo
• Pueblo IV period
• Middle Rio Grande
• Tijeras Pueblo
• Legacy collections
• cultural heritage management
• public education
• New Mexico

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my colleagues and co-workers at the Cibola National Forest for their continued support in promoting public education and research at Tijeras Pueblo, particularly Jeremy Kulisheck, Cynthia Benedict, and Crystal Powell. I owe a lot of gratitude to the volunteers from the Friends of Tijeras Pueblo. The 2019 SAA session, and subsequently this volume, would not have happened if not for the motivation and persistence of Nancy Woodworth. Judy Vredenberg, Marc Thompson, John Hayden, and Deborah Jojola have provided (and continue to provide) valuable feedback about the history of the site and past management. I am incredibly indebted to the artistic talents of Kym Campbell, who produced Figures 1 and 3. I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Pueblo of Isleta, particularly Henry Walt and Daniel Waseta, whose advice and input on management of the Tijeras Pueblo archaeological site has been so valuable and instrumental. Thank you to the staff of the Maxwell Museum, particularly, Dave Phillips, Kari Schleher, and Diane Tyink. Judith Habicht-Mauche has been an incredible support throughout this process. I would like to thank my parents, Juliana Arazi and Dewayne Coambs for helping to translate all of abstracts into Spanish. Finally, I would like to thank my family, Elliot and Amara Coambs-Wakefield and Kerry Wood for giving me the space to help compile this volume during a rough couple of years.

Disclosure Statement

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