When
Where
Wednesdays
Jan 31, Feb 7, 14, 21, 28, and Mar 6, 2024
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Arizona time, via Zoom
A six-part series taught by Patrick D. Lyons, Ph.D., director and curator, and professor of anthropology
Excavated from 1946 to 1958 by the Arizona State Museum and the University of Arizona Department (now School) of Anthropology, Point of Pines Pueblo was the largest late pre-Hispanic settlement in the mountains of Arizona, consisting of as many as 800 rooms. Point of Pines Pueblo has long been at the center of discussions about ancient migrations in the U.S. Southwest and interactions between locals and immigrants. However, a lack of systematic analysis of the collections from the site and a dearth of published data about it have left generations of researchers in the position of having to make assumptions about social processes unfolding in the Point of Pines region based on Emil W. Haury's (1958) six-page summary of his complex inferences. In this six-session Master Class, we will explore the results of four recent studies focused on the unpublished collections from the site and their associated records, including original fieldnotes, maps, and photographs.
Session 1: An Introduction to Point of Pines Pueblo
In this session, participants will learn about the Point of Pines Archaeological Field School, the history of excavations at Point of Pines Pueblo, and the results of previous studies. The major focus will be on telling the story of Point of Pines Pueblo as it has been told since the 1950s, setting a foundation for the discussion of recent discoveries that have rewritten this story. 90 minutes plus time for Q&A.
Session 2: An Overview of Recent Discoveries
Refining our understanding of Point of Pines Pueblo has entailed resolving the controversy over whether the northern immigrants at the site came from the Kayenta area proper or from the Hopi Mesas (the Tusayan region, immediately south of the Kayenta region). Such work has also required a reconsideration of the nature of the immigrant occupation at the site, specifically, the number of immigrants present relative to the number of people local to the Point of Pines region. Other efforts have focused on reinterpreting the burning of the Maverick Mountain room block (associated with the immigrants) and the construction of the "Great Wall" surrounding the site, in the context of newly obtained evidence. 90 minutes plus time for Q&A.
Session 3: Kayenta or Tusayan?
In the 1950s, Emil Haury argued that the immigrants at Point of Pines Pueblo were natives of the Kayenta region, but in the 1980s, Alexander Lindsay suggested an alternative origin point: the Hopi Mesas (the Tusayan region). In this session, participants will consider the evidence presented by both researchers, in the context of current knowledge regarding these two related cultural traditions, and be presented with newly compiled ceramic, architectural, and demographic data that identify the immigrants as people from the Kayenta region. 90 minutes plus time for Q&A.
Session 4: The Nature of the Immigrant Occupation
The story as originally told held that the northern immigrants at Point of Pines Pueblo were spatially segregated, living a single block of 70 connected rooms (the "Maverick Mountain room block"). Participants will be presented with recently amassed ceramic, architectural, and burial data that strongly suggest immigrants actually built and inhabited the majority of the pueblo, earlier having used pit houses as temporary shelters. 90 minutes plus time for Q&A.
Session 5: The Burning of the Maverick Mountain Room Block
Generations of archaeologists in the region have been taught that the Maverick Mountain room block was set aflame by local groups at Point of Pines, to drive off the immigrants who had worn out their welcome. Recently synthesized ceramic, faunal, and contextual data will be presented to support the argument that the room block was, instead, burned by the immigrants themselves, as part of the ritual decommissioning of this part of the site. 90 minutes plus time for Q&A.
Session 6: The Great Wall
Previous researchers have concluded that the "Great Wall" that encircles Point of Pines Pueblo was built after the burning of the Maverick Mountain room block as a defensive measure: to protect the local groups still living the pueblo from reprisals by the immigrants who were driven off. In this session, participants will be presented with recently compiled evidence pertaining to the Great Wall and also comparative data from the Kayenta region. Together, these bodies of information point to conclusions very different from those reached by Haury and others. 90 minutes plus time for Q&A.
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$150 ASM members or $180 non members
Amount paid over $120 is a tax-deductible gift.
Proceeds will help fund the production of a book by covering the costs of artifact illustrations and maps to be included in it, as well as subvention fees charged by the press.
Refunds possible but please note that refunds for credit card payments are minus the transaction fee imposed on us by your card company. This transaction fee, usually about 3%, cannot be refunded to us or to you. Check payments receive 100% refunds.
To register, contact Darlene Lizarraga: