9320134 Minnis In a collaborative project, Drs. Paul Minnis and Michael Whalen will conduct archaeological research in the Casas Grande region of northern Mexico. The ruins of the great adobe pueblo of Paquime have consistently impressed visitors from Spanish explorers to modern archaeologists. However research in the region has been sporadic and the role which this site once played and the extent of its influence are unclear. Drs. Minnis and Whalen plan to conduct a systematic archaeological survey of the surrounding area in order to situate Paquime within a broader regional context. They will define "inner" and "outer" zones at varying distances from the site and locate archaeological occurrences within each. The size of material scatters and associated structures and agricultural features will be noted. "Exotic" or imported materials as well as selected pottery samples will be collected and analyzed. The goal of the work is to collect data on chronological and spatial variability in the size, type and distribution of such sites, of productive and ritual facilities and of artifacts. On this basis it will be possible to trace the degree of control out from the center of Paquime and to determine how this changed over time. For many years archaeologists have studied prehistoric cultures of the U.S. Southwest and have gained considerable insight into the development of these societies which, at their height, constructed pueblos which housed hundreds of individuals in a complex stratified societies. However neither the origin nor the geographic extent of these systems are well understood. While the Rio Grande river today constitutes a international boundary, it did not serve a significant function in the past. It is well known that the Southwestern cultures extended South into Mexico but comparatively little work has been done in this area. This gap should be filled because further to the South groups such as the Aztecs and their predecessors were present and th e degree of stimulus they provided to the development of complex societies further North is unknown. This research is important because it will fill an important archaeological gap in the New World. It will shed light on the development of prehistoric cultures in the United States and provide data of interest to many archaeologists. ***
