Southwestern-Style Spear Throwers Identified in the Ozarks

Cretaceous

New Feathered Dinosaur From New Mexico Was Among the ‘Last of the Raptors’

April 21, 2020 —by Blake de Pastino 12240 0

A carnivorous dinosaur that once hunted in New Mexico was among the last of its kind, paleontologists say.

anthropology

Rock Art in Chaco Canyon May Depict Ancient Solar Eclipse, Experts Say

August 10, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 19514 2

Experts say a petroglyph in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon may depict a solar eclipse from 920 years ago.

anthropology

Elite ‘Dynasty’ at Chaco Canyon Got Its Power From One Woman, DNA Shows

February 21, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 52493 10

New DNA evidence shows that elite leaders at Chaco Canyon weren’t just members of the same class — they were members of the same extended family, a “dynasty” that traced its ancestry to a single woman.

anthropology

Chaco’s Elites Were Natives of Chaco Canyon, Not Migrants, Their Remains Show

February 20, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 26012 2

The elites of Chaco Canyon were born and raised there, and weren’t migrants from distant regions, as many thought, new research finds.

anthropology

How Did People of Chaco Canyon Grow Their Food? Expert Says, They Didn’t

January 3, 2017 —by Blake de Pastino 18978 0

Recently, researchers have been at odds over a simple, central question in Southwestern archaeology: How did the people of Chaco Canyon manage to grow their food? According to new research: They didn’t.

fossils

Giant Triassic Predator, Named for Baby-Eating Monster, Discovered in New Mexico

September 8, 2016 —by Blake de Pastino 7846 0

In a fossil quarry in New Mexico, paleontologists have found a creature fearsome enough to be worthy of the name Vivaron.

anthropology

900-Year-Old Village Recorded in Volcanic Badlands of New Mexico

May 9, 2016 —by Blake de Pastino 17068 2

A 900-year-old village hidden in New Mexico’s black-rock badlands reveals its unique ties to Chaco Canyon.

anthropology

Cocoa, Caffeinated ‘Black Drink’ Were Widespread in Pre-Contact Southwest, Study Finds

September 8, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 19848 2

Stimulating drinks made from exotic plants, like the cocoa tree and a type of southern holly, were consumed much more widely across the prehistoric Southwest than was thought, according to…

anthropology

Bones of Exotic Macaws Reveal Early Rise of Trade, Hierarchy in Chaco Canyon

June 22, 2015 —by Blake de Pastino 18069 1

A new look at some unusual remains found at New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon may change our understanding of when, and how, the culture of the Ancestral Puebloans felt the first…

anthropology

Hallucinogenic Plants May Be Key to Decoding Ancient Southwestern Paintings, Expert Says

October 17, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 29829 6

Dozens of rock art sites in southern New Mexico, recently documented for the first time, are revealing unexpected botanical clues that archaeologists say may help unlock the meaning of the…

fossils

Tooth Found in Fossil Leg Bone Is ‘First Evidence’ of Clash Between Ancient Apex Predators

October 2, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 8190 0

A tooth found embedded in a fossil leg bone is evidence of an unlikely battle between two top predators in the American Southwest some 220 million years ago — one…

dinosaurs

Spiky, Scaly New Species of Ankylosaur Discovered in New Mexico

September 25, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 7650 0

The remains of an unusual armored dinosaur found in New Mexico may “fill the gap” in the fossil record of the lumbering, plated beasts known as ankylosaurs, paleontologists say. Its…

anthropology

Violence in the Ancient Southwest Offers Insights Into Peace, Study Says

August 19, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 8925 0

Despite some recent sensational claims that the prehistoric Southwest was the site of the worst violence in American history, the archaeologist often cited for that assertion says that, in fact,…

anthropology

‘Hidden Architecture’ of 1,000-Year-Old Village Discovered in New Mexico

March 31, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 19841 8

For more than 40 years, archaeologists have been coaxing what they could from the traces of an ancient Puebloan settlement in New Mexico they call Blue J. Buried under a thousand…

18th Century

First Evidence Found of Storied Battle That Stopped Spain’s Eastward Expansion

March 17, 2014 —by Blake de Pastino 27228 12

Nearly 300 years ago, two great alliances collided on the Great Plains in a battle that changed the course of American history. But until now, no physical evidence of the…

anthropology