Next Meeting – May 14th

_{Ancestral Puebloan turquoise beads from Chaco Canyon. Public domain image from the National Park Service.}

All our monthly meetings and presentations are free and open to the public. Our next meeting will be held in person and on Zoom on Wednesday, May 14th, at 7:00 p.m. in the lyceum at the Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. After a brief business meeting, Sharon Hull, PhD, interpretive ranger at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, will present “Turquoise Trade in the Chacoan World and Beyond.” A reception will start things off at 6:30 p.m. in the CSWS foyer.

The procurement and exchange of turquoise was an important part of pre-Columbian American Southwest and Mesoamerican cultures. The ability to identify the geological source of the turquoise artifacts recovered from archaeological sites enhances our understanding of procurement strategies among sites and cultures. A technique to identify the source regions of turquoise artifacts was developed using the isotope ratios of hydrogen (₂H/₁H) and copper (₆₅Cu/₆₃Cu), measured by a secondary ion mass spectrometer, to “fingerprint” the turquoise deposits. To improve our understanding of long-distance trade among Chacoan sites, 59 turquoise artifacts recovered Pueblo Bonito, Marcia’s Rincon, Aztec, and Salmon Ruins were analyzed. Our results showed multiple long-distance trade networks into Chaco Canyon, different procurement strategies between the great house Pueblo Bonito and Marcia’s Rincon, a community of agriculturalist and artisans, and some similar patterns with Aztec and Salmon Ruins.

Sharon earned her BA from the Department of Anthropology/Geography at CU Boulder in 2003, her MA from the Department of Anthropology at Eastern New Mexico University in 2006, and her PhD for her thesis “Turquoise Trade and Procurement in the Chacoan World” from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Manitoba in 2012.

Meeting Bonus – “Room 33: A Room with a View into the Past” – 6:00 p.m.

Larry Ruiz, founder of Cloudy Ridge Productions, will present an exclusive preview of his latest film— “Room 33: A Room with a View into the Past.” In the fall of 2024, Cloudy Ridge Productions interviewed Hopi tribal member Phillip Tuwaletstiwa. Mr. Tuwaletstiwa was interested in “communicating vital, factual, and scientific information about Chaco Canyon, particularly Room 33 in Pueblo Bonito, to the general public.” Room 33 is somewhat controversial in that contained the remains of what some believe to be Chaco royalty plus thousands of turquoise beads. Larry will preview the film at 6:00 p.m., before the main meeting, and take questions from the audience. This portion of the meeting will not be Zoomed so you must be in-person at the Center of Southwest Studies to view the film.

Link to Join Webinar

https://fortlewis.zoom.us/j/97612418790

Meeting ID: 976 1241 8790

The San Juan Basin Archaeological Society (SJBAS) is a Colorado Nonprofit Corporation. SJBAS consists of people who are interested in the archaeology, culture, and early history of the Four Corners region. We have members of all ages and backgrounds, some with extensive training in archaeology and others with more limited knowledge, but a strong desire to learn.

Our mission is to advocate for and promote public awareness and preservation of archaeological, cultural, and historical resources, primarily of the Four Corners region of the American Southwest.

Members are eligible to participate in SJBAS field trips and they receive a monthly newsletter, the Moki Messenger, with information about current SJBAS activities and other matters of archaeological and historical interest.

We support and endow the John W. Sanders Internship and Education Fund. This fund provides ongoing internships for Fort Lewis College students at the Center of Southwest Studies. Donations are welcome to these 501(C)(3) funds: Donate.