Maxwell Museum curators, staff, and affiliated students are conducting exciting new research on Museum Collections and Archives and in the field. We share highlights of current research here.
Plan of Tijeras Pueblo showing construction phases. Room Block 3 on left.
Posted on: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
Dogoszhi-style Mancos Black-on-white bowl from Wallace Ruin (5MT6970), Vessel 120. Photo courtesy of Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.
Posted on: Wednesday, April 28, 2021
The Mancos Black-on-white pottery type is an enduring enigma in the central Mesa Verde region. It was produced from roughly A.D. 920–1180 and includes a wide range in variation in design and technology. During its production period, nearly... read more
Mimbres bowl with geometric design from the Maxwell Museum CollectionsMattocks site (LA 676)MMA 89.48.8
Posted on: Wednesday, April 21, 2021
Mimbres black-on-white pottery bowls are highly admired for their beautiful and intricate figurative and geometric designs. Their desirability to collectors has led to rampant looting and destruction of many Mimbres sites. It has also led to the... read more
Ceramic thin section sample E59 (MMA 2021.8.379a); Glaze E Puaray Glaze Polychrome
Posted on: Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Archaeological research is constantly evolving and changing. As new technologies are developed (often in the physical and chemical sciences), archaeologists are gifted with new and exciting tools with which to explore the past. The development of... read more
Detail. Handwoven Quiché Cotton Huipil, San Tomas Chichicastenango, Guatemala. Holzapfel Collection MMA 2007.74.1
Posted on: Wednesday, February 24, 2021
UNM Museum Studies Master’s student Petra Brown has been conducting research on Central American Mayan textiles and textile tools in the Holzapfel Collection of the Maxwell Museum’s ethnology division. Here is her report:
During the Fall 2020... read more
Figure 1. Majolica sherd, imported to San Marcos from Mexico (MMA 2006.114)
Posted on: Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Today, we conclude our discussion of our recent research at San Marcos Pueblo by exploring the direct and indirect evidence of Spaniards at the Indigenous community of San Marcos. Historical documents suggest that a mission was established at San... read more
An example of a petrographic thin section of a pottery sherd made at San Marcos, showing the clay (in red) and the crushed rock added to the clay as temper (in gray/blue).
Posted on: Wednesday, November 18, 2020
San Marcos Pueblo potters made beautiful glaze-painted pottery from the 1300s until the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. They used lead sources from the nearby Cerrillos Hills to create glazes. Unlike some contemporary pottery where glaze covers an entire... read more
Map of San Marcos showing the different periods of use (map by Shawn Perman)
Posted on: Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Today we continue our exploration of the University of New Mexico’s San Marcos Pueblo project (see Part 1 for an introduction to San Marcos Pueblo). In Part 2, we look at how the community grew and changed over time. Because the... read more
Book cover The Archaeology and History of Pueblo San Marcos: Change and Stability.
Posted on: Monday, November 2, 2020
Our next few “Research Wednesday” posts will focus on San Marcos Pueblo. San Marcos is a large ancestral Pueblo town located just south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the edge of the Galisteo Basin. Pueblo ancestors lived in this... read more