Losing Control in the American Southwest

Abstract

This chapter details a collaborative research project initiated at the request of a Native American tribe (Jemez Pueblo) in the Southwest United States. The tribe was interested in documenting their ancestral ties to the Valles Caldera National Preserve, a place of sacred importance. However, this landscape is largely devoid of artifacts harboring a clear ethnic signature. Our solution to this conundrum was to conduct a study of obsidian artifacts found in association with ancestral Jemez pueblo villages dating to A.D. 1200-1700. We used a strategy of surface collection and x-ray fluorescence to establish links between the archaeological record and this sacred landscape. This research serves as an example of one of the primary challenges facing archaeologists engaged in collaboration with descendant communities: giving up control over the research process. If we view this loss of control not as an obstacle but as an opportunity to explore innovative new research agendas, archaeology stands to benefit from collaboration in ways we cannot yet imagine.