Other great kivas have now been identified in Tularosa Canyon and at least two others also served as observatories similar to the Creekside great kiva although they appear to have been used to monitor other celestial events. Our discovery of the use of these great kivas as observatories, plus the complexity of Creekside Village and the Twin Kivas site as large, permanently occupied villages, provides a unique look into the knowledge that Jornada Mogollon people possessed, how they viewed their cosmological associations, and how they structured their lives based on their understanding of cyclical events that they were able track through the movement of celestial bodies.

The contribution we made to the recently released book by the University of Utah Press is the first published information available on the great kivas, community irrigation systems, and villages in Tularosa Canyon and southern New Mexico. We plan to release more about the discoveries in Tularosa Canyon over the next few years in various formats because these archaeological discoveries are some of the most significant yet reported for this area. Although we lack the outstanding architecture of places like Chaco Canyon and other monuments such as Stonehenge, the ability of the people living 1400 years ago in Tularosa Canyon to monitor celestial activities is on par with other peoples around the world. Archaeologists have not yet developed an in-depth  understanding of “primitive” knowledge as it relates to time keeping, charting of the celestial movements, or what we refer to as scared geometry, archaeoastronomy, or archaeogeometry. But, more and more sites are being discovered that exhibit a relationship to specific celestial events, and with the recognition of associations, we are beginning to understand a little better that what we have referred to as “primitive” cultures should probably include some of our own thinking and understanding of the universe. The Jornada Mogollon may not have had a written language, but they had a great understanding of the universe around them, a universe that they were a part.

To acquire a copy of MOGOLLON COMMUNAL SPACES AND PLACES IN THE GREATER AMERICAN SOUTHWEST, edited by Robert J. Stokes, Katherine A. Dungan, and Jakob W. Sedig, follow this link or contact The University of Utah Press directly.

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