News and Notes

ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA--NORTH ALABAMA SOCIETY

banner image: Moundville, Alabama

11.3.15

AIA TALK! Chaco Canyon: A New History 12 March 2015

Thursday, March 12

“Ancient North America, Entire” 12:45 Wilson Hall 168

“Chaco Canyon: a new History of a Pueblo Capital” 7:30 Wilson Hall Theatre

Dr. Stephen Lekson, Curator of Archaeology at the Museum of Natural History at the University of Colorado, Boulder, a winner of the Roy Chapman Andrews Distinguished Explorer award, is an expert on the sites of Chaco Canyon, Mimbres, and Mesa Verde. He has been involved in over 20 archaeological projects throughout the US Southwest.

In his day talk, Dr. Lekson will address a central issue. Archaeologists tend to specialize in particular regions. Native traditional histories are often specific to individual Tribes and Nations. An examination of the 11th & 12th centuries illustrates the potential for learning new things from the "big picture": Chaco, Cahokia, Tula, Chichen Itza, and Aztatlan.

Dr. Lekson’s evening talk will focus on Chaco Canyon. New data from its extensive hinterland suggest an exciting new history of this famous but mysterious site and the “Chaco Meridian” that connected it to other extraordinary sites.