Document Type
Research Report
Publication Date
2019
Abstract
This report details the work undertaken to explore the foundations of Spanish New Mexican society at LA 20,000. Originally identified in 1980 when the landowner trenched through the midden, the site is the most complex, best preserved 17th-century Spanish ranch thus far identified archaeologically. The site was the location of 11 years of fieldwork, first by the Museum of New Mexico, then by Mr. David H. Snow and Dr. Marianne Stoller. This site affords an unparalleled opportunity to explore 17th-century New Mexico and the foundations of Hispanic society. Our major research goals were: to investigate the construction and use of space at the ranch to understand the economic activities; to reconstruct foodways to understand the process of selecting and transforming plants and animals into meals as indicators of the interplay among ethnicity, social dynamics and environment; and to explore how the productive relationships structured and were structured by the environment. With financial support from the National Science Foundation, expertise from the Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research, and support from El Rancho de las Golondrinas, we first conducted a foundational project to revive the legacy collections from previous excavations, to assess the state of the extant collections and excavation notes, to create complete site maps, and to conduct a shallow geophysical survey. We describe these efforts. Our second project consisted of targeted excavation, artifact and sample collection, and analysis. The excavation strategy included a focus on anomalies identified in the geophysical survey, and the recovery of botanical and faunal remains. Much of our efforts were concentrated on investigating the architecture at the site and construction methods used in the structures. We have created a catalogue of the material culture and samples collected, and analysis of that material is ongoing. We present the results of the faunal, palynological, and other analyses. Finally, we offer a few suggestions for future work at the site and with the site’s material.
Recommended Citation
Trigg, Heather, Christina Spellman, and John Steinberg 2019 Final Report on the 2011-2017 Fieldwork at LA 20,000 La Cienega New Mexico. University of Massachusetts Boston Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Cultural Resource Management Study No. 85.
Creative Commons License
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