Sunday, October 18, 2015
Cost of trip: FOA members: $85, non-FOA members: $95
(This trip is full, with a waiting list)

The lower Rio Chama Valley stretches from Abiquiu Reservoir to the river’s confluence with the Rio Grande. The valley and its tributaries—El Rito, the Rio Ojo Caliente, and the Rio del Oso—was home to a large population and some of the largest Southwest pueblos of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The valley lies between the Four Corners region and the Rio Grande Valley which leads some archaeologists to believe that it was settled by migrating Mesa Verde people who were generally moving downslope toward river valleys. Seventeen pueblos were built in the epoch following Mesa Verde’s depopulation and the appearance of large northern Rio Grande pueblo villages. There has been much recent debate about the origins of the people who lived in these prehistoric towns.

Our FOA tour will visit three prehistoric places of interest. First, Ponsipa’akeri, with its tall central mound suggesting that the pueblo was three stories high in places. Second, we will stop and hike to either the prehistoric town of Hupobi or Posi-ouinge. Which one we visit will be determined primarily by Mother Nature, since visiting Hupobi (our first choice) requires crossing a river that runs high after any rainstorm. Last, we will drive to El Rito and look at extensive examples of gridded and rock-mulched fields. These fields are unique in the northern Rio Grande region and thousands were built between the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The farming methods were successful in supporting a large population in a semi-arid, high-desert environment. A Museum of New Mexico project in the 1980s discovered that cotton was one of the crops grown in these unique fields.

The Hupobi or Posi-ouinge portion of the day will require moderate to strenuous hiking for a short distance. All trails are uneven and rocky. As always, a hat, sturdy shoes, water, and sunscreen are appropriate for these visits.

This trip is full and there is a waiting list. Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous hiking at Hupobi or Posi-ouinge. Cost to FOA members is $85, non-FOA members: $95.

Please check back on this website and the Museum of New Mexico Foundation's Friends of Archaeology website for updates.