From Paleoindian to the Pueblo Revolt: The Role of Obsidian in New Mexico

  • 13 Nov 2018
  • 7:00 PM
  • Kit Carson Electic - 118 Cruz Alta Rd.

Location: Kit Carson Electric - 118 Cruz Alta Rd, Taos

Date: Nov. 13th (Tuesday) @ 7:00 PM

Speaker: Sean G. Dolan, Ph.D., Environmental Stewardship (EPC-ES), Los Alamos National Laboratory

Subject: From Paleoindian to the Pueblo Revolt: The Role of Obsidian in New Mexico

Sean is an archaeologist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Oklahoma, Master’s at New Mexico State University, and Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University. His research centers on prehispanic farming communities in New Mexico and northern Chihuahua, obsidian procurement, and lithic technology.  

TOPIC

Obsidian is an easily flaked volcanic glass that was the sharpest available material for cutting and piercing flesh in the Southwest before the introduction of metal tools by the Spanish. From the earliest inhabitants of New Mexico during the Paleoindian period to shortly after Spanish arrival, people manufactured formal and informal stone tools out of obsidian. There are around 50 geochemically distinct obsidian sources in the Southwest, and archaeological knowledge of which sources people used has increased in the past decade. This talk focuses on which obsidian sources people in New Mexico used starting in the Paleoindian period and continuing into the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. Trade, exchange, social interaction, and lithic technology are all discussed using obsidian sourcing results from sites in northern and southern New Mexico.


Join other TAS members and our speaker for Dinner at 5 PM

Guadalajara Grill South, 1384 Paseo del Pueblo Sur, Taos, across from Ace Hardware.

Arrive between 5:00 and 5:30 PM, place your order at the front, and take your number to the back room.  

No reservations needed.




Taos Archaeological Society

PO Box 143

Taos, NM, 87571

Admin@TaosArch.org

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