Dig Deeper Into New Mexico Archaeology
Archaeomagnetic Laboratory
What connects archaeomagnetic laboratory supervisor Shelby Jones’ work with north-pointing, 12th century Chinese “rotating spoons,” GPS navigation, your cell phone and protecting satellites from solar storms? It can be found in the Earth’s shifting, unpredictable and electricallycharged molten metals in its outer core—our planet’s magnetic field. Archaeomagnetism combines two Greek words: “archaeo” meaning “ancient” and “magnetism,” and is the study of Earth’s past magnetism.
Why should we care about archaeomagnetism? It allows archaeologists to date materials not radiocarbon dateable, such as pottery, fire pits and burned adobe. The heating and subsequent cooling of the material generally preserves a stable and measurable magnetization at that specific time. Archaeologists compare this measure to existing databases of the Earth’s shifting magnetic field at that time for that specific region. They can then piece together the object’s approximate date, context and origin, potentially revealing trade routes or cultural connections.
Jones has published measurement data for more than 51,000 archived samples, from nearly 5,000 archaeological features. These represent a nearly complete repository for North American archaeodirectional samples from 1964 to the present. Data management of collections is critical to scientific discovery and progress and, says Jones, “As we acquire additional specimens, the need for additional support continues. Once completed, the materials in these laboratories will serve as a valuable research library for scientists across the US and world.”
Ceramic Analysis Laboratory
To the untrained eye, a pottery fragment, or sherd, doesn’t reveal much. To ceramic analysis lab director Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers, it ’s a time capsule to the past. Seltzer-Rogers explains, “they are vital to understanding the development of complex societies in the Southwest. Analyzing broken pots allows me to investigate intriguing questions from identifying ethnic groups, to how they exchanged materials and ideas, to how they learned to shape and paint pots.”
Unearthing a sherd is often the first instructive clue to an archaeological site’s inhabitants. For instance, if found next to a hearth, it suggests a culinary purpose. Much more is then revealed through sophisticated laboratory techniques collectively known as quantitative analysis. They are a powerful complement to traditional methods like visual inspection and stylistic comparisons, providing objective data on a sherd’s composition. Trace element analysis, for instance, reveals a geological fingerprint that pinpoints the clay source, possibly identifying trade routes and interaction between different groups. Temper (crushed rock or sand) and surface treatments (smoothing, slip or paint) speak to the potters’ techniques and cultural influences. Decorative elements act as stylistic markers, aiding in dating and potentially linking the sherd to a specific culture.
Unearthing a sherd is just the beginning of Seltzer-Rogers’ archaeological detective work. With advanced analysis, the sherd transforms from silent fragment to a window onto the Southwest’s ancient societies.
Field Work
Archaeological crew chief Steve Needle has his sights set on mysteries of Chacoan architecture and Mimbres pottery—and solving the first could get pretty high-tech.
Needle’s late friend and colleague, Charles (Charly) Gullett, meticulously analyzed Chacoan architecture whose precise construction methods, as well as potential astronomical alignments and symbolic elements, challenged the idea of its haphazard construction.
Aspects of Chacoan architecture remain a mystery, but evidence shows they had a deeper understanding of mathematics than previously understood. Needle envisions developing a groundbreaking, interactive archaeological map built with ArcGIS, a powerful software which would allow him to create layered maps of diverse data. Imagine this; a digital layered cake, with the terrain as the base layer, and successive layers representing architecture, ceramics, rock art and more. By zooming in and out, Needle will be able to better visualize, explore and analyze the related archaeological information. He hopes to publish his findings.
Needle’s journey from being a computational whiz to a detective involves rabbit bones and archaeologist Harry Shafer’s work on NAN Ranch Ruin Mimbres archaeology. Needle’s hypothesis is that the rim of these Mimbres pots, as well as other kinds of ancient Puebloan pottery, were created using the hip bone of rabbits that were specially shaped for the task. He hopes to perform experiments, with help from OAS volunteers, to recreate the technology. Without additional funding, Needle won’t be able to complete these groundbreaking studies.
Lithic Laboratory
Few secrets from the archaeological past elude OAS researchers across its multiple labs. Led by archaeologist and OAS executive director John Taylor-Montoya, the Lithic Lab unlocks treasures hidden within stone artifacts. Lithic analysis examines both raw materials and crafted tools. Visual examination and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) reveal stone type, origin and clues about past societies. XRF can help pinpoint the source of materials like obsidian, a prized toolmaking stone, by its unique geochemical signature. Finding Jemez obsidian artifacts at Paleoindian sites suggests extensive movement of people or possibly trade networks.
Debris (flakes) and the stone’s properties (hardness, grain size) reveal the toolmaking process and how the material influenced shaping. Wear patterns further suggest function (cutting, scraping) and replicas might be made for deeper insights.
Tools tell the story of human adaptations. Mobile hunter-gatherers shaping and reusing stone tools for their needs, while settled farmers needed different implements for agriculture. Trade likely existed and identifying the source areas can help identify the vast distances prized stone types were moved across the region. While stone tools themselves can’t be directly dated, they are frequently found alongside dateable materials like pottery. Combined with analyzing the context in which these artifacts are found, researchers can indirectly estimate the age of the stone tools.
Aided by a vast database of artifacts spanning millennia, representing numerous sites across New Mexico, OAS researchers are piecing together a comprehensive picture of the state’s rich prehistoric past. One stone artifact at a time.
Low-Energy Plasma Radiocarbon Sampling Laboratory
Dr. Marvin Rowe, in the Low-Energy Plasma Radiocarbon Sampling Laboratory, invented a groundbreaking technique to determine the age of an object by precisely measuring the decay of a specific carbon isotope trapped within. Requiring just a minuscule sample—as little as 30 millionths of a gram of carbon—artifacts aren’t harmed. Considered to be the most elaborate and precise dating system developed, Archaeology Magazine called it, “one of the most important discoveries in decades.”
Analyzing unearthed rocks and stones isn’t always the focus at the Radiocarbon Lab. Sometimes unusual artifacts crossing the lab’s portal are analyzed for contract projects which help support this nonprofit enterprise division of the Museum of New Mexico system.
One was a textile thought to be Coptic, placed between two pieces of unsealed plexiglass and attacked by moths. Analyzing the frass, or insect droppings, verified the textile as Coptic without disturbing the textile itself. Perhaps most notoriously, an alleged Picasso dated 1954 in the lower right corner needed authenticating. Testing revealed the canvas to be from 1956. It seems the forger did not account for aboveground testing of atomic bombs between 1955 and 1963, doubling the amount of carbon-14 in our atmosphere. Since canvas is organic, and this canvas contained elevated carbon-14, our Radiocarbon Lab sleuths uncovered a forgery.
Osteology Laboratory
The Museum of New Mexico’s Office of Archaeological Studies acts like a scientific detective agency, piecing together objects from the past to inform our present. One key tool employed by Osteology Laboratory Supervisor Chandler Buchfink is examining skeletal remains, specifically bones—where he unlocks the secrets of these silent witnesses to past lives.
Unearthed human and animal bones reveal a wealth of information about the lives of people who lived long ago—details about a person’s approximate age, health, diseases, injuries, nutritional deficiencies, and by extension, whether they were primarily involved in hunting, gathering, or agricultural labor. Buchfink says, “Creating these life histories is one of the most important things I do to share the experiences that past peoples faced.” He hopes to acquire new equipment for the lab and reference materials to further refine analyses.
Common activities such as construction sometimes accidentally discover unmarked burials. Collaborating with the State Archaeologist, law enforcement, and local communities, Buchfink provides the service of recovering and providing information about these remains when they cannot be left in place. Buchfink and OAS leadership then work with agencies and stakeholders to implement an appropriate and respectful plan for final disposition.
By studying skeletal remains, Buchfink reconstructs past societies, thus enriching our understanding of the early peoples in the region we now call New Mexico.
Dear Archaeology Friend,
I hope the enclosed information about the groundbreaking research OAS is engaged in is inspiring.
When I first joined OAS, I knew that I was joining a talented staff of experts in their fields, but the breadth and depth of the research that is taking place here exceed my expectations. We are engaged in truly pioneering work, with local and global applications. That work would not be possible without support from volunteers and donors such as yourself. I hope you will continue to be a part of this community.
This brochure highlights a few of our current research programs and future goals, such as innovations in our radiocarbon sampling laboratory; renovations and updates to the archaeomagnetic laboratory; and continuing archaeological fieldwork and research that is uncovering new clues about New Mexico’s past. The work we are doing not only allows us to tell new stories about history, but also promises to inform the way we think about current issues we are confronted with today, such as climate change.
Through the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, we appreciate your generous support for ongoing research at OAS. Donations help us to invest in more opportunities for our staff to collaborate with leading scientists, develop internships and invest in updates for the analytic equipment.
Thank you for helping us preserve and promote the rich heritage of New Mexico.
With warm regards,
John Taylor-Montoya, Executive Director, Office of Archaelogical Studies
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“We
are so grateful for your support of the research programs at the Office of Archaeological Studies. Your generosity makes possible groundbreaking work that both reveals the past and informs our future.”
—Jamie Clements, President/CEO, Museum of New Mexico Foundation