New Thoughts on the Ancient Southwest

Steve Lekson

Abstract:

Southwestern archaeology is often presented as a statistical correlation of ancient peoples and past climates: sprinkle enough rain on the right soil, and up pop Pueblos. While most of the Southwest is, in fact, a desert, and climatic reconstructions are critical to understanding the past, ancient societies overcame environmental limitations to develop polities and civilizations. It is possible to write an archaeological "history of the ancient Southwest" which goes beyond climate and crops to explore events, catastrophes, rises and falls, war and peace, heroes and villains. This presentation illustrates some of the dramatic incidents in Southwestern prehistory, and links them in a historical narrative.