@kivaswjournal.bsky.social
A premier academic journal for archaeology, anthropology, and history of the American Southwest and Northern Mexico. Kiva’s quarterly articles explore the rich tapestry of Southwestern culture and heritage. https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/ykiv20
Diehl et al. 2021. Illustration of a Capsicum annuum Seed from Feature 7, AZ T:12:174 (ASM) (illustrated by Robert Ciaccio).
How did chilies spice up the Southwest? Diehl et al. examines 18th-century chili seeds in Arizona—evidence of Native adoption and new culinary traditions. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Southwest #FoodHistory #Chilies #NativeAmericanHistory
Willhite 2016. Geographic locations of 76 Draw and Paquimé.
From everyday tools to signs of status—Willhite’s research at 76 Draw, NM, uncovers how stone use reflected social and economic life in the Casas Grandes region and shows what sets Paquimé apart. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Southwest #CasasGrandes #Paquimé #AncientTrade
Howe 2020. Smeltertown 8-18-1939, Photo A46A. Facing southeast toward the Rio Grande River. Courtesy of USIBWC collections.
Forgotten border markers, a vanished town, and human connection—Howe’s study of the El Paso–Ciudad Juárez region revives borderland history. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Borderlands #History #Archaeology #ElPaso #Mexico
Zborover 2019. View of Ch-254 and Structure 5A, looking east. Cerro Picacho is in the background.
What can an ancient pithouse from the Viejo period (600 –1250 CE) in Chihuahua tell us about ritual and memory? Zborover uncovers how people shaped space to connect with their ancestors. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #History #Chihuahua #AncientMexico #Ritual
How did Northwest Mexico influence the American Southwest? This week, KIVA highlights research from Chihuahua, Mexico revealing deep cross-cultural connections.
#Archaeology #Chihuahua #Mexico #Paquimé #History
Shackley 2024. Approximate location of known sources of archaeological obsidian in the North American Southwest. Adapted from Panich et al. (2017); Shackley (1989, 2005, 2019b); Shackley et al. (2016, 2018). Source localities not to scale. Government Mountain is a source in the San Francisco volcanic field (Shackley 1988, 1995, 2005).
Recent research by Shackley reveals obsidian artifacts from northern Sonora Mexico show frequent contact across the Southwest—and hint at a mysterious, unlocated source in the Valle de Altar region. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Obsidian #Sonora #Southwest #AncientTrade
Kocer & Ferguson 2017. Gallina point varieties typed to six general categories.
How do point types and material choices correlate? Research by Kocer & Ferguson reveals how stylistic variability is linked to lithic materials in the Gallina Area of New Mexico. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Gallina #NewMexico #Obsidian #Southwest
Boulanger et al. 2023. Photograph of Helen Greene Blumenschein north of Taos, 1955.
Artifacts collected by Helen G. Blumenschein reveal the same obsidian source was preferred by the people of the Taos area in New Mexico for millennia according to a recent XRF study by Boulanger et al. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Obsidian #NewMexico #Southwest #History
Bisulca et al. 2024. Two palettes from the ASM collection
What were Hohokam palettes used for? Bisulca et al. uses multiple analytical methods to uncover lead traces and clues to possible ancient pigment preparation. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Hohokam #Southwest #AncientArt #History
Moss et al. 2023. Sites and communities/areas with obsidian samples used in this study.
Why did Chaco Canyon residents start using distant obsidian around AD 700 when closer sources existed? XRF analysis by Moss et al. shows how social ties shaped trade. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #ChacoCanyon #ObsidianAnalysis #AncientTrade #NewMexico
Lindsay 2021. Plan map of LA 20000.
A volcanic glass window into history: XRF analysis by Lindsay of obsidian from a 17th-century Spanish homestead in New Mexico sheds light on everyday exchanges between Pueblo and Spanish worlds. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #NewMexico #Obsidian #SpanishColonial #Pueblo
Lava rocks and laser beams? This week KIVA highlights new XRF research revealing fresh insights from the Southwest.
#XRayFlourescence #XRF #Archaeometry #Southwest #Archaeology
Ownby & Myhrman 2020. Broadline Purple-on-red sherds examined in this study, (a) DVA-6, (b) DVA-9, © DVA-35, (d) III2-1, and (e) SN-1 (Photos taken by M. Ownby).
How did ancient Tucson Basin potters make their glittering purple paint? Ownby & Myhrman analyze Broadline Purple-on-red pottery (AD 500–700) to find out. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Tucson #Southwest #Ceramic #Hematite
Searcy et al. 2022. Fremont ceramic pipes analyzed from Wolf Village.
What did the Fremont people smoke? Searcy et al. analyzed ancient pipes from Wolf Village (AD 1000-1100) in Utah, finding traces of tobacco, maize, and other plants. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Fremont #Utah #AncientPipes #BotanicalAnalysis
Kurota et al. 2022. EPP, Style 2 bowls with transposed images depicting stylized life forms: (a) Vessel 111 with opposing fish motif (image courtesy of NMSU University Museum); (b) Vessel 124 (image courtesy of White Sands Missile Range Museum); (c) Vessel 63 from Madera Quemada (image courtesy of Myles Miller); (d) Vessel 27 (source: Texas Beyond History; Miller and Thompson 2015:Figure 4); (e) crenellated bowl Vessel 116 (source: Centennial Museum); (f) reconstructed sketch of Vessel 23 showing transposed birds (source: Texas Beyond History); (g) Vessel 71 with transposed birds in flight motif (source: Human Endeavor Foundation); (h) Vessel 36 (image courtesy Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Catalog No. 62.24.163); (i) reconstructed sketch of Vessel 8 from LA 15044 (image courtesy of Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Catalog No. 77.42.64); (j) Vessel 49 from LA 2000; (k) shallow scoop, Vessel 40; and (l) shallow scoop, Vessel 38.
Thanks to increased access to digital collections, Kurota et al. redefine El Paso Polychrome pottery, improving how archaeologists date Jornada Mogollon sites. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #JornadaMogollon #ElPaso #Southwest #Ceramic
Bischoff 2023. Graphs showing the networks used in this analysis. Each network is displayed with the five strongest ties between each node. See Table 1 for site labels.
How did gender shape ancient exchange? Bischoff’s Tonto Basin study uses multilayer network analysis of ceramics, architecture, and projectile points to uncover separate social spheres. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #TontoBasin #Southwest #NetworkAnalysis #MaterialCulture
Bischoff 2023. Graphs showing the networks used in this analysis. Each network is displayed with the five strongest ties between each node. See Table 1 for site labels.
How did gender shape ancient exchange? Bischoff’s Tonto Basin study uses multilayer network analysis of ceramics, architecture, and projectile points to uncover separate social spheres. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #TontoBasin #Southwest #NetworkAnalysis #MaterialCulture
Schillaci et al. 2020. Early Kwahe’e Black-on-white olla from site LA 391, recovered during the Santa Fe to Pojoaque Corridor Project. Courtesy of the New Mexico Department of Transportation and the Office of Archaeological Studies. Photo by Carol Price.
What ties the Tewa Basin to Chaco Canyon? Schillaci et al. uses ceramic compositional data to trace movement & interaction in the Late Developmental period (AD 900-1200). doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #NewMexico #ChacoCanyon #TewaBasin #Southwest
How has technology reshaped our understanding of the past? This week KIVA explores new research insights from innovative ceramic analysis and methods.
#Southwest #Archaeology #Ceramic #SWArch #History
Photo of Archaeological Zone of Paquimé, Casas Grandes (Mexico) by Francesco Bandarin from Wikimedia
Were some at Paquimé sacrificed for the elite? Waller et al. find evidence of ritual violence in a complex burial of 12 individuals. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #CasasGrandes #Chihuahua #Bioarchaeology #Mesoamerica
Nelson et al. 2015. Cultural areas and sites in Northwest Mexico. ©Ben A. Nelson. Sitenames: (1) Cerro Juanaqueña, (2) La Playa, (3) Huatabampo, (4) Cerrode Trincheras, (5) Paquimé, (6) Chaco Canyon, (7) Convento, (8) Ojode Agua, (9) San Jose Baviácora, (10) Buyubampo, (11) Ónavas: El Cementerio.
For 2,600 years, Northwest & West Mexico formed a cultural crossroads linking the Southwest to Mesoamerica. Nelson et al. trace these shifting ties. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Mexico #Southwest #Mesoamerica #INAH
Mathiowetz 2018. The Casas Grandes Sun Youth :(photograph © Justin Kerr, K1548).
Who are the macaw-headed figures on Paquimé and other Casas Grandes pottery? Mathiowetz (2014) traced the “Sun Youth” deity across Puebloan & Mesoamerican worlds. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #CasasGrandes #Chihuahua #Mesoamerica #Pueblo
Weiner 2015. Copper bell excavated at Pueblo Alto, AD 1020 –1140. National Park Service Museum Management Program, Public Domain.
Turquoise, cacao, shells & macaws—imports that shaped ritual life at Chaco Canyon. Robert Weiner explores their sensory power in Ancestral Puebloan ceremonies. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #ChacoCanyon #AncestralPueblo #Ritual #Southwest
Gallaga 2014. 3. Reflection from the Bonampak pyrite mirror (photo by Emiliano Gallaga).
Snaketown’s pyrite mirrors—rare outside Mesoamerica—offer insights into exchange, ritual, & identity. Gallaga’s study from 2014 reveals their cultural value. doi.org/10.1179/0023...
#Archaeology #Snaketown #Mesoamerica #Southwest #AncientTrade
Curious how collective action shapes community resilience? Discover insights from La Quemada in Dr. Andrea Torvinen’s Oct 20 webinar! aahs1916.org/event/eric-c...
#Archaeology #Mexico #Zacatecas #Mesoamerica #Ceramics
This Week KIVA explores Southwest–Mesoamerica connections in honor of Dr. Torvinen’s upcoming webinar.
#Archaeology #Southwest #Mesoamerica #Mexico #SWArch
Throgmorton and LeTourneau 2025. Images of Zuni Mountain Spotted Chert artifacts from archaeological sites in Cebolla Canyon (photos by Kellam Throgmorton).
Where does Zuni Mountain Spotted Chert come from? Throgmorton & LeTourneau synthesize 60 years of data to identify its geological sources in western New Mexico. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Lithics #NewMexico #Southwest #Chert
Want to publish but don’t know where to start? KIVA is looking for research on archaeology, anthropology & history of the Southwest. Submit your paper today!
#Archaeology #Southwest #History #SouthwestArchaeology #SWArch
Vivero-Miranda 2025. Examples of ceramic sherds analyzed. The applied hierarchical approach allows us to deconstruct the decorative attributes in useful analytical units to understand the role and relationship between attributes. The combination of “Approach, treatment, and variants”, results in “styles”. However, this analysis targets approach and treatment, as the most communicative to address inquiries of identity at the inter-valley scale. Noteworthy, is the potential that some typological distinctions (decorative attributes) may be the result of small fragments of other styles.
What can ceramic patterns tell us about community, identity & politics? A new study by Vivero-Miranda of Rio Sonora/Serrana ceramics styles offers fresh insights on social organization. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Sonora #Southwest #History #Ceramics
Roth & Lauzon 2025. Utah metate with red ochre and compatible mano from Pithouse 38 rooffall (photo by Lauren Falvey).
What's for dinner? New Research by Roth & Lauzon highlights the Late Pithouse period (AD 550-1000) food processing and cooking technology from the Mimbres Mogollon region. doi.org/10.1080/0023...
#Archaeology #Mimbres #Southwest #Foodways #NewMexico
