MARCH 2, 2011

Bioarchaeologist to discuss Mimbres menu, March 9

March is Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month and the Desert Foothills Chapter (DFC) of the Arizona

CAVE CREEK – Archaeological Society (AAS) is proud to have one of its own members as their featured guest speaker. Doss Powell, a bioarcheaologist and faculty member at Paradise Valley Community College, will show photos and discuss his latest findings on March 9, 2011 at the regular chapter meeting held in the Community Building of The Good Shepard of the Hills Church, 6502 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek. The meetings begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

Doss has entitled his program, What’s For Dinner? He has been working in the Mimbres, New Mexico area since 2006 and is comparing the subsistence patterns of two very different environmental settings during the Late Pithouse Period – one located near the Mimbres River and others that settled on further upland environments. The Mimbres culture thrived in the Southwest from AD 750-1130, with settlements along major river valleys in southeastern Arizona, and along the Gila, Mimbres and Rio Grande Valleys in New Mexico and Texas.

Through comparative analysis of animal bones from pithouses and middens at both sites, Doss has been reconstructing the environmental adaptations that developed during the transition from pithouse to above ground pueblos in the Mimbres River Valley. The preliminary analysis will give us a better understanding of how the Mimbres people interacted with their environment and information about their subsistence patterns. We will learn what the Mimbres ate for dinner over 800 years ago.

Doss received his MA in Archaeology from UNLV in 2001 and will be defending his PhD dissertation May 06, 2011. Since 2006, he has served on Dr. Barbara Roth’s Harris Site Project in Mimbres as Field Director and the project’s zooarchaeologist.

The AAS is an independent, non-profit and state-wide volunteer organization that serves as a link between the professional archaeologist and the amateur enthusiast. Its goals are to foster public awareness, interest, research and conservation of Arizona’s rich archaeological heritage, with special emphasis on protecting these scarce resources. The DFC has been active in the Cave Creek area for over 30 years. The AAS website, www.azarchsoc.org has membership forms and information about each of the many state chapters.

www.AZstatepark.com will have complete listings about other March Archaeology Month activities around the state. Please contact DFC President Paddi Mozilo at 480-595-9255 for information on speakers or other chapter activities.