Behind Painted Walls: Incidents in Southwestern Archaeology [Hardcover]

Florence Cline Lister (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2000

This intriguing book tells the stories of the excavation, restoration, and in some cases, destruction of some of the most interesting archaeological sites in the Southwest. The five sites discussed all contain Kiva wall paintings made by prehistoric peoples of the Colorado Plateau. Lister delineates the archaeological methodology and provides lively narrative history as she describes work done at Lowry Ruin (Colorado), Gran Quivira (New Mexico), Kuaua (New Mexico), Awatovi-Kawaika-a (Arizona), and Pottery Mound (New Mexico) during the formative years between 1930 and 1960.

As an insider who participated in these excavations, Lister is able to evoke the personalities of her fellow archaeologists and describe the techniques they used. She assesses their successes and failures with humor and understanding of the challenges involved. Her accounts will interest professional archaeologists and general readers alike.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Florence C. Lister is the author of Pot Luck: Adventures in Archaeology (UNM Press). She lives in Mancos, Colorado. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press; 1st edition (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826321895
• ISBN-13: 978-0826321893
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Southwestern America's Ancient Past, September 14, 2002

By 

Pam Hanna "wind star" (Thoreau, New Mexico United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Behind Painted Walls: Incidents in Southwestern Archaeology (Paperback)

Unlike Lister's previous book, *Pot Luck: Adventures in Archaeology*, her account here is less anecdotal and personal, but she goes into more scientific detail as she focuses in on five prehistoric Southwestern U.S. sites, namely Lowry Ruin in Colorado, Awatovi-Kawaika-a in Arizona and Kuaua, Pottery Mound and Gran Quivira in New Mexico. The prehistoric pueblo Indian time frame is from the 6th to the 13th Centuries and the conquering Spanish overlays are investigated up to the 17th Century. Archeological discovery times covered are from the 1930s to the 1960s.

College students, Native American helpers, and professional archeologists uncovered scores of embellished walls, different kinds of pottery and evidence of agricultural practices of the pueblo peoples, but conserving the finds was tricky at best and impossible at worst. Some of the most stunning finds were at Pottery Mound in the Rio Puerco in New Mexico. Wall paintings were startlingly abstract, complex and sophisticated. Shells, pottery, and gemstones not found in the area evidenced trade with Mesoamerica while pictures of fish and bison indicated exchanges with plains Indians.

The downside of these finds, the inside story of how archeologist Frank Hibben fudged on and suppressed some of the data at Pottery Mound for instance, is also chronicled by the author. At the end of her chapter on the subject, she states that "It is a pity that they are beclouded by controversy and that the original records are today beyond the reach of further scientific study."

Photos in this book are clear and intriguing. An excellent beginning and in my opinion a must-read for anyone interested in any or all of these five sites.
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