Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at 12:00 noon, free!

Few places in Southwestern archaeology are as widely recognized as Chaco Canyon, but that doesn’t mean there is an archaeological consensus about the history and function of this World Heritage Site. For the final Brown Bag talk of 2017, Director of the Office of Archaeological Studies, Dr. Eric Blinman, presents a lecture on the history of Chaco Canyon and the possible functions of the site's monumental architecture.

Dr. Blinman's personal model of Chaco isn’t necessarily new or unique, and he suspects it could be characterized as “fringe” by others. Eric's perspective is, he believes, consistent with both existing information and the dating and DNA information that has come out relatively recently. Although some other ideas about Chaco will be gently critiqued, the focus of this talk will be on presenting a historically and functionally sound model of what Chaco might have been.

The Brown Bag talk will take place at the Center for New Mexico Archaeology at 12:00 noon in the CNMA library. Seating is limited. Admission is free.

The Center for New Mexico Archaeology (7 Old Cochiti Road) is located off of Caja del Rio Road, across from Challenge New Mexico on the way to the Santa Fe Municipal Golf Course. Take 599 to South Meadows Road, continue through the traffic circle west along the Frontage Road to Caja del Rio Road. CNMA is on the left-hand side of the road and is the large building with white sail-like skylights on the roof.