OF RUINS AND RUMINATION
History, they say, belongs to the victors. It’s their stories that are commemorated in the records kept by a people, whether it’s written in hieroglyphics or in ancient scrolls. In the American Southwest, so much remains unknown about the ancestral Puebloan peoples. Less, perhaps, about the commoners among them. But when the archaeological record of a certain site is placed in the context of surrounding cultures and known histories, it may slowly begin to reveal its secrets.
Taking the Gallina as a case study, Lewis Borck, adjunct research associate at the University of Missouri, explores the ways in which archaeologists construct and deconstruct the past.
Borck gives an hour-long online presentation, “Breaking Down Cardboard Boxes: How Archaeology Can Erase Histories and How It Can Reveal Them,” at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29. The program, co-sponsored by The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and the Center for New Mexico Archaeology, is part of a new virtual speaker series called Innovation in Archaeology. The series features scholars who provide alternate perspectives on the past as it relates to the American Southwest.
Borck’s talk was developed from 15 years of research in the Gallina region, including the archaeological field school he conducted at sites related to the Gallina culture (1100-1300 C.E.) earlier this year. The Gallina culture was named for the Rio Gallina, which runs through central New Mexico, north of the Jemez Mountains. The field school was offered through the Institute for Field Research in conjunction with the University of Missouri and Connecticut College.
The project was part of Borck’s ongoing investigation into the differences in political and social organization in the American Southwest and how the rise of a social movement may have challenged the political and religious power structures of the time. As a researcher, Borck is interested in how social movements shape religion and politics over time, including how our present views of the West are impacted by modern politics and worldviews.
The free talk takes place on Zoom and can be accessed at indianartsand culture.org/calendar. — Michael Abatemarco