A History of the Ancient Southwest by Stephen H. Lekson

[big_load]

Once upon a time, I bemoaned how I couldn't make sense of how the multitude of named ancient cultures fit together. At the time I didn't realize how controversial that topic might be, but I'm inching closer to good sources. I just finished reading An Ancient History of the Southwest by Stephen H. Lekson, a big-picture synthesis and re-evaluation of the formation and evolution of the various groups and their likely connections to Mexico and the central US. Although seemingly aimed largely at popular audience and written in a bold and lively tone, it has strong academic underpinnings (96 pages of footnotes and a 77 page bibliography) and the author clearly identifies what is or isn't a mainstream view and scrupulously explains how and why he deviates from the mainstream.

The need to make the case leads to an unusual presentation in the form of two parallel threads throughout the book. One thread covers the history of each group/region in roughly 200 year segments, while the other covers the history of the archaeological study from its inception to the present (with some Native American and Spanish explorer/conqueror perspective thrown in). The central thesis is that academic biases, trends, and turf wars have clouded our understanding by precluding synthesis on a wide enough geographical scale and by failing to adequately consider how effectively information traveled along with goods.

This book really hit the spot for me. It at least touched on the questions that have been bugging me most (although it raised some new ones). In a sense, it is the real meat (without the romanticism) that Craig Childs' "House of Rain" made me hungry for, and addresses over a much longer time period and wider geographical scale some of the thinking I appreciated in David E. Stuart's "Anasazi America". Now I truly feel ready to dig into the primary references with some sense of how their conclusions have held up over time. (Along that line, I'm currently reading A.V. Kidder's "An Introduction to the Study of Southwestern Archaeology".)

[IHike]

Thank you... I have been looking for books on this very subject.

[autumnstars]

Sounds interesting. Too bad it seems too heavy to take along backpacking.

[PaleoRob]

Perfect for car camping?

[big_load]

My paperback copy weighs 2 lbs, 1 3/4 oz. (966 g). It's also one of those books that requires at least two bookmarks to read (three or four is better), so those will add a couple grams.

I forgot to mention that I picked this up at the Kane Gulch ranger station. It's a little out of the way, but they always have something interesting to read.