Kellam J Throgmorton – History and Landscape at Two Chacoan Communities in New Mexico

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Relatively few Chacoan communities have been documented in detail. Those that have been well documented provide evidence of demographic change, social organization, and relationships to the landscape. This presentation compares the archaeology of two Chacoan communities in New Mexico—Padilla Wash and Morris 40. Dating between AD 750-1250, these two communities offer an extensive historical record before, during, and after the Chacoan era (A.D. 850-1150). Padilla Wash is located within Chaco Culture National Historical Park and provides an excellent example of an early Bonito Phase community, with a significant population in the AD 800-900s. Morris 40 is located on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation at the southern edge of the Mesa Verde region. Originating as a large, aggregated village in the AD 800s, Morris 40 developed into a Chaco-style community during the late 1000s or early 1100s. In both cases, landscape was an important factor in community organization. Dr. Throgmorton will compare and contrast the two communities to demonstrate how landscape manipulation may have been important to the expansion of Chacoan architecture and religious practices.

Kellam Throgmorton

Dr. Throgmorton is an archaeologist who works in the U.S. Southwest. He is an Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University and received his PhD from Binghamton University. He was the Field Director for the Northern Chaco Outliers Project at Crow Canyon Archaeological Center from 2019-2023. Dr. Throgmorton’s research is on cultural landscapes and their role in sociopolitical change, using methods that include GNSS site mapping, geophysical survey, remote sensing, artifact analysis, and ethnology. Recently, he investigated the manipulation of landscape as a mechanism for polity-building in Chaco Canyon and at Chaco-affiliated sites between A.D. 850-1150. He also has interests in stone tool production, lithic material circulation, and ethnohistory in the American West. Dr. Throgmorton is on the board of Southwest Archaeology, Inc. and is the chair of the Cordell-Powers Prize Committee.