Two Upcoming Special Zoom Lectures
02/28/2022
In April and May, 2022, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center will present two free Zoom lectures that relate to our very own back yard: imagery of the Mimbres Valley; and the ongoing archaeological excavations at Elk Ridge. Mark your calendars for these two dates!
The first offering is on Thursday April 21, 2022, 7:00-8:30PM, ARIZONA/Mountain Standard Time (same as Pacific Daylight Time), online via Zoom: it's Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” free program featuring The Mimbres Twins and the Rabbit in the Moon by archaeologist Marc Thompson, PhD.
The Mimbres lunar jackrabbit with a crescent moon, image courtesy of Marc Thompson
This presentation documents illustrations from Classic Mimbres Black-on-white ceramic bowls (1000-1130 CE) depicting the Panamerican apologue of the Hero Twins saga. These motifs account for about 12% of Mimbres figurative bowls and can be arranged in a narrative sequence from birth, trials, tests, death, and resurrection of the Hero Twins, to apotheosis as the sun and the moon. In this saga, the Hero Twins survive the tests, trials, and ballgame challenge through guile, cunning feats, and as tricksters of legerdemain. This tale, the characters, and the basic plot are known throughout North, Central, and South America. The deep, fundamental basis of the story revolves around dualities as in two sides of the same coin; they include life and death, dark and light, and male and female. Cognate Hero Twins motifs, both graphic and recorded, are documented on Classic Maya ceramics (200-900 CE), in the 16th century Twins’ saga of the Popol Vuh book of the Maya, and in US southwestern traditional tales. Comparing these similar, but ethnically distinct accounts allows for a fuller comprehension of these emblematic, evocative, heroic figures.
To register go here. For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201. For each Old Pueblo Zoom presentation, we let the presenter decide whether he or she wants for the program to be recorded and made available online. No recording decision has yet been made for this program. IF YOU WOULD LIKE OLD PUEBLO TO EMAIL YOU A FLYER with color photos about the above-listed activity send an email to info@oldpueblo.org with “Send April Third Thursday flyer” in your email subject line.
The following month, please enjoy on Thursday May 19, 2022, 7:00-8:30PM ARIZONA/Mountain Standard Time (same as Pacific Daylight Time), online via Zoom:, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” free program features The Elk Ridge Community in the Mimbres Pueblo World presented by archaeologist Barbara J. Roth, PhD. 
Some excavated rooms at the Elk Ridge site, photo courtesy of Barbara Roth
Elk Ridge was the largest pueblo in the northern portion of the Mimbres River valley during the Classic Mimbres period (1000-1130 CE). Recent excavations at the site combined with survey data indicate that it was part of a thriving community with social ties to other nearby pueblos and likely served as the ritual and perhaps economic hub for these smaller pueblos. In this presentation, Dr. Roth will discuss data from fieldwork she directed at Elk Ridge and surrounding sites and will explore how and why Elk Ridge played such a prominent role in this portion of the Mimbres River Valley.
For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201.
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