Southwest Archaeology Notebook https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ Field notes on the Ancestral Pueblo world: Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, rock art and pottery, ordered by the Pecos timeline and visited with care. en-us The Pecos Classification, period by periodhttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ancient-peoples/pecos-classification-pueblo-periods/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ancient-peoples/pecos-classification-pueblo-periods/Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000How a 1927 conference turned Southwest archaeology into named periods, from Paleoindian hunters to Pueblo IV villages, with a dated table worth carrying. Southwestern pottery types, color by periodhttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/pottery-artifacts/southwest-pottery-types/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/pottery-artifacts/southwest-pottery-types/Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Corrugated gray, black-on-white and polychrome: how Southwestern pottery types get their names, what each tells you, and how archaeologists date with them. Where the Ancestral Puebloans wenthttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ancient-peoples/ancestral-puebloan-migrations/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ancient-peoples/ancestral-puebloan-migrations/Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000The thirteenth century departures were migrations, not a vanishing. Trace the descent lines archaeologists follow toward Hopi, Zuni and the Rio Grande. Visiting an archaeological site with carehttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/visit-responsibly/site-etiquette-checklist/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/visit-responsibly/site-etiquette-checklist/Fri, 21 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000The complete checklist for Southwest ruin visits: permits, water, walls, ladders, graves and rock art, plus the etiquette mistakes that damage sites. Chaco Canyon: reading the great houseshttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/iconic-sites/chaco-canyon-great-houses/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/iconic-sites/chaco-canyon-great-houses/Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Pueblo Bonito, Chetro Ketl and the roads of Chaco explained: what the great houses were, what the astronomy suggests, and how to plan a day in the canyon. Mesa Verde cliff dwellings: an honest guidehttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/iconic-sites/mesa-verde-cliff-dwellings/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/iconic-sites/mesa-verde-cliff-dwellings/Mon, 10 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000Cliff Palace, Balcony House and Long House compared: what tickets and tours involve, what the alcove villages were, and the mistakes that ruin a day. Petroglyphs and pictographs: a primerhttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/rock-art-petroglyphs/petroglyphs-vs-pictographs/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/rock-art-petroglyphs/petroglyphs-vs-pictographs/Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0000How pecked petroglyphs and painted pictographs are made, why desert varnish dates some panels, and how to read technique before you reach for meaning. The laws that protect ruins, in plain wordshttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/visit-responsibly/arpa-antiquities-laws/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/visit-responsibly/arpa-antiquities-laws/Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000The Antiquities Act, NHPA, ARPA and NAGPRA explained for visitors: who owns the past, what is a crime, and what the laws mean on the trail. Mogollon, Hohokam and the other Southwestshttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ancient-peoples/mogollon-hohokam-southwest-cultures/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/ancient-peoples/mogollon-hohokam-southwest-cultures/Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000Pueblo country was never the whole Southwest. Meet the Mogollon highlands and the Hohokam canal builders, with a four tradition comparison table. Choosing between the great ruin siteshttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/iconic-sites/comparing-southwest-ruins/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/iconic-sites/comparing-southwest-ruins/Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000Chaco, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, Canyon de Chelly, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Bandelier, Wupatki and Casa Grande compared for access, effort, season and reward. Reading rock art without overreading ithttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/rock-art-petroglyphs/reading-rock-art-caution/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/rock-art-petroglyphs/reading-rock-art-caution/Mon, 13 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000Spirals, bighorn and anthropomorphs: what scholars can defensibly say about Southwest rock art symbols, where the debates live, and why there is no dictionary. A sherd on the trail: look, record, leavehttps://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/pottery-artifacts/finding-sherds-on-trail/https://southwestarchaeologyteam.org/pottery-artifacts/finding-sherds-on-trail/Mon, 06 Jul 2026 09:00:00 +0000What a single potsherd can tell you, why every sherd stays where it lies, and the observation habit that turns hikers into the Southwest’s best site stewards.