Customer Reviews

Behind Painted Walls: Incidents in Southwestern Archaeology

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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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