Books by Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers

This report documents the results of archaeological data recovery at two Mimbres Mogollon sites –... more This report documents the results of archaeological data recovery at two Mimbres Mogollon sites – the Lake Roberts Site (LA 47821) and the Hooker Site (LA 127051) within the confines of property held by the New Mexico State Game Commission (NMSGC) that is managed by the NMDGF located along the southern and western edges of Lake Roberts in the Sapillo Valley, Gila National Forest, Grant County, New Mexico.
The NMDGF proposed to rehabilitate the dam and spillway structure for Lake Roberts, an artificial lake managed by NMDGF on the Sapillo Creek. This construction project required use of land surfaces directly upstream of the present dam on both the north and south sides of the lake for temporary and permanent storage of construction materials. This use required leveling the land surfaces prior to storage, which had an adverse effect upon archaeological deposits and features present in that locale. Three archaeological sites were impacted by this reconstruction project, all of which exhibit artifacts characteristic of prehispanic Mogollon culture occupations.
A testing program at the two sites was conducted by the Office of Contract Archeology, University of New Mexico (OCA/UNM) in May 2011 as a task order though the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF). The testing revealed the spatial extent of LA 47821 and improved the understanding of it.
Following the testing phase, OCA was contracted to excavate those parts of LA 47821 and LA 127051 that would be impacted by the planned construction. This project phase took place between October 2011 and January 2012.
As part of the NHPA Section 106 process, and the then existing New Mexico Tribal Consultation Executive order 2005-004, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NMDGF conducted consultations with Native American tribes concerning the two sites, LA 47821 and LA 127051, that would be adversely affected by planned improvements to the Lake Roberts dam and spillway by NMDGF.
Excavations revealed that both LA 47821 and LA 127051 were comprised of residential and thermal features suggesting that these were short-term residential loci. The sheer volume of artifacts, such as ceramics, flaked lithics, ground stone, ornaments, faunal and macrobotanical remains provided opportunity to assess the lifeways of the prehistoric people who lived at these sites. The results of these and other specialized analyses including a comprehensive Neutron Activation Analysis, geomorphology of the local soils, a study of cacao residue on ceramics, X-ray fluorescence sourcing of obsidian, a study of rare stone spheres and DNA analysis of a sample of turkey bones altogether have aided in advancing the research of the Mimbres Mogollon in the Sapillo Valley of western New Mexico.

A Landscape of Many Peoples: Cultural Resource Preservation Plan and Archaeological Overview for Chiricahua National Monument, Cochise County, Arizona
The purpose of this report is to summarize and contextualize the archaeological record of Chirica... more The purpose of this report is to summarize and contextualize the archaeological record of Chiricahua National Monument, define current and potential future threats to cultural resources and Preservation Plan objectives, and articulate viable National Park Service (NPS) research objectives and management strategies for cultural resources within the Monument. The successful implementation of this plan should enhance the collective understanding of past land use practices and cultural trends within and around the Monument, mitigate the deterioration of scientific information, artifacts and architecture, and enable consistency in data collection for resource management. This report is also a record of prior cultural resource investigations within the Monument and a reference for potential future investigations.
Articles by Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2023
*full article under embargo until September 2025. For a full copy, please send me an email at tha... more *full article under embargo until September 2025. For a full copy, please send me an email at thatcher.rogers@gmail.com*
Archaeological interpretations for the seemingly sudden introduction of new types of material culture or cultural practice often include attribution to the arrival of a migrant population as part the construction of a periphery or frontier zone. In the International Four Corners area of the American Southwest/Mexican Northwest, archaeologists often correlate the ascendancy of Paquimé in the late thirteenth century CE with the development of a northern periphery in southwestern New Mexico. Simultaneously, sites in far southeastern Arizona became partially integrated into the Salado phenomenon. I evaluate architecture, settlement, and mortuary data from 26 sites with respect to existing models. Given ongoing historian discourse regarding Indigenous borderlands during European colonization, I advocate a model enabling the occurrence of borderlands construction prior to colonization and lacking a predominate hierarchical society. I conclude that the inhabitants of the International Four Corners region situated themselves within multiple inter- and intra-regional zones of interaction and that existing models of frontiers and edge regions are inadequate to address the variability present, but that of the borderlands does as it recognizes relationships to adjacent culture cores as influential but also centers the local inhabitants and their agency.

Kiva, 2023
Archaeologists commonly interpret the Early Formative period through the lens of ceramic technolo... more Archaeologists commonly interpret the Early Formative period through the lens of ceramic technology and as a significant break from Late Archaic or Early Agricultural period lifeways; however, the local changes underlying this pattern often remain obscure. In this paper, we evaluate the existing literature for the Early Formative period the San Carlos Safford Area of southeastern Arizona and discern the accuracy of the current understanding of the local chronology, material culture, and regional patterning. Through a systematic examination of chronological, ceramic, and architectural data, we advocate for several interpretive shifts in the Early Formative period and characterize regional patterning during this temporal interval. We relate the emergence of larger villages as an adaptive strategy against a significant climatic event in the early to mid-sixth century yet also demonstrate the incongruities present between the San Carlos Safford Area and far better studied areas within central and southern Arizona.

Kiva, 2022
For more than one hundred years, archaeologists in southern New Mexico and the neighboring west T... more For more than one hundred years, archaeologists in southern New Mexico and the neighboring west Texas and northern Chihuahua have studied the prehispanic lifeways of the Jornada Mogollon culture identifying when occupations at Jornada sites occurred largely relies on chronometric dates and on cross dating of previously defined local pottery types – El Paso Brown, El Paso Bichrome, and El Paso Polychrome. Through a study of approximately 130 painted Jornada Mogollon vessels, this paper improves site dating capabilities by describing temporally sensitive El Paso Polychrome subtypes. This study was possible thanks to advances in digital media, museum collections, and substantial volume of new archaeological data, all of which remained unavailable even two decades ago. It is our hope that the newly defined El Paso Polychrome subtypes offer more accurate dating of sites and also provide a brand-new perspective of understanding the variation in painted designs on El Paso Polychrome.

Kiva, 2022
Johnson and Wasley's ([1966] Archaeological Excavations Near Bylas, Arizona. Kiva 31(4):205–253) ... more Johnson and Wasley's ([1966] Archaeological Excavations Near Bylas, Arizona. Kiva 31(4):205–253) Bylas phase was the basis of a chronological framework for the prehistory of the San Carlos Safford Area (SCSA). However, we note limited revision of the phase despite new archaeological data from recent investigations. We evaluate the Bylas phase and analyze chronology, settlement distribution, site structure, ceramic production and acquisition, subsistence, and mortuary patterns. Therefore, we revise Bylas phase chronology, specify four ceramic production zones, identify a mortuary pattern, delineate the nature and extent of occupancy and subsistence, and finally suggest dynamic changes in social organization and demography. We hypothesize many of these shifts, including conflict and district wide depopulation, relate to the emergence of a managerial elite class and repeated immigration from outside the SCSA during the Bylas phase before terminating with the arrival of northern groups at the onset of the Goat Hill phase.

Journal of Arizona Archaeology, 2021
Before the rapid commercial development of the Gila River floodplain in the Pueblo Viejo District... more Before the rapid commercial development of the Gila River floodplain in the Pueblo Viejo District of the San Carlos Safford Area, mid to late nineteenth century accounts describe the presence of at least ten large prehispanic villages referred to as “towns.” Leading two significant early archaeological expeditions, Fewkes and Hough tested several multi-story structures, which we term Big Unit Structures, at the Epley’s and Buena Vista ruins. Fewkes reported subtle differences between these multi-story buildings within the San Carlos Safford Area and platform mound compounds in the Phoenix Basin. We review excavation notes, maps, photos, and reports from excavations during the 1930s and 1970s to define the design of these structures. We develop a chronology for their construction, occupation, and abandonment and suggest construction started in the early to mid-thirteenth century. We assess their functionality and distribution to better understand the attributes of this geographically restricted phenomenon, as well as contextualize its occurrence within broader trends during the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These data lead us to conclude the emergence of a multi-settlement system within the San Carlos Safford Area and suggest the emergence of elite individuals who conducted activities within and occasionally inhabited these Big Unit Structures.

Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 2021
Archaeological interpretations for the seemingly sudden introduction of new types of material cul... more Archaeological interpretations for the seemingly sudden introduction of new types of material culture or cultural practice often include attribution to the arrival of a migrant population. In the American Southwest/Mexican Northwest region, one heavily debated migration is that regarding the inhabitants of the Mimbres valley of southwestern New Mexico and their supposed relocation to Paquimé in the Casas Grandes valley, Chihuahua, Mexico. This paper grounds interpretations for and against any such migration within broader anthropological studies of migration, as well as a systematic evaluation of all lines of evidence employed to support such a substantial population relocation. Whereas genetic data are supportive for population intermingling between the two areas, the cultural data remain ambiguous to oppositional. Consequently, I conclude that although a migration of Mimbres people to the Casas Grandes valley likely occurred, that it was neither as meaningful as has previously been argued nor was it the sole destination area for Mimbres people. Additionally, I situate broader historical trends that characterize late prehispanic southwest New Mexico, northwest Chihuahua, and the borderland region within anthropological theory on migration and culture change and provide new explanations for a dynamic two century period.
Revista de Arqueología Americana, 2021
Research demonstrates the association between musical instruments and ritual practices and politi... more Research demonstrates the association between musical instruments and ritual practices and political complexity in the past. Musical instruments have been found at the Late Medio period regional polity of Paquimé in northern Mexico and in sites ancestral to Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest, but they have never been meaningfully compared. Paquimé’s occupation corresponds with the first half of the Pueblo IV period in the Southwest, a time when instruments were most numerous and diverse. Intriguingly, some instruments are found in both regions whereas others are not. We summarize the types known for both locations and compare them, considering the social and physical contexts of their use.

Journal of Arizona Archaeology, 2021
We review and evaluate the Goat Hill phase in the San Carlos Safford area of southeastern Arizona... more We review and evaluate the Goat Hill phase in the San Carlos Safford area of southeastern Arizona that represents the archaeological impacts of a late prehispanic migration of Ancestral Pueblo groups. Due largely to an overlap with the Bylas and Safford phases, we propose a revision. We base this revision on the assemblage found at the Goat Hill site and cultural loci specifically linked via a predominance of Maverick Mountain pottery. In terms of an associated migration narrative, this revision includes an assessment of Maverick Mountain ceramics, corrugated pottery, perforated plates, and ceramic figurines, as well as chipped and ground stone artifacts. We address the Goat Hill site structure, residential and ritual architecture, mortuary patterns, chronology, and geographic extent of the Goat Hill phase, as well. We outline and discuss the relationship of the Maverick Mountain pottery design, style, and manufacturing method; the relevance of corrugated pottery to the Goat Hill phase using sherd count data, and the potential significance of perforated plates. Other elements of the material culture we discuss are specific aspects of residential and ritual architecture, the importance of the shift from flexed inhumation to subfloor infant inhumation and secondary adult urn cremation, and how the chronology of the Goat Hill phase relates to the Bylas and Safford phases. We additionally define the Maverick Mountain Complex and its relationship with the Goat Hill phase. Finally, we investigate room count estimates from several late prehispanic archaeological areas to situate the chronology and nature of the late thirteenth-century Kayenta migration, Maverick Mountain Complex, and Goat Hill phase in a regional perspective. Specifically, we argue the origins of the Goat Hill phase relate to increased internecine violence, critique some aspects of currently proposed models, and suggest that the size of an immigrant population does not necessarily correlate to the overall impact of the migration processes.
Pottery Southwest, 2020
A short discussion piece that examines the most commonly employed evidence in support of a sizabl... more A short discussion piece that examines the most commonly employed evidence in support of a sizable Mimbres population relocating into northern Chihuahua during the Early Postclassic period and having a significant impact on the development of Paquimé and the Medio period Casas Grandes culture. I rely predominately on the ceramic data and suggest likely beneficial avenues for research.

American Antiquity, 2019
This article summarizes the results of controlled experiments in which flaked-stone points that v... more This article summarizes the results of controlled experiments in which flaked-stone points that varied in impact strength by a factor of almost three were shot at media that were increasingly inelastic and therefore likely to break the points. Broken tips were reworked if possible, and used again under the same conditions. Our results show that all damage to low impact-strength materials, especially obsidian, was generally catastrophic, and, consequently, these points could only rarely be reworked. The fact that low-strength stones were commonly used to make small arrowpoints suggests that reworking was not a primary concern for their designers. Furthermore, in those instances when broken tips could be reworked, their performance declined. In addition, reworking broken points also resulted in shapes that are uncommon in many arrowpoint assemblages. Our results suggest that the original design attributes of arrowpoints may have been less affected by reworking, and, consequently, may more accurately suggest temporal and behavioral associations. Este artículo resume los resultados de los experimentos controlados en los que puntas de proyectil de piedra que varían en la resistencia al impacto en un factor de casi tres se dispararon a materiales que eran cada vez más inelásticos y, por lo tanto, que podían romper las puntas. Las puntas rotas se reformaron si era posible y se volvieron a usar en las mismas condiciones. Nues-tros resultados muestran que el daño a los materiales de baja resistencia al impacto, como la obsidiana, fueron generalmente catastróficos, y, en consecuencia, estas puntas rara vez se podian volver a trabajar. El hecho de que piedras de baja resistencia se usaran comúnmente para hacer pequeñas puntas de flecha sugiere que los diseñadores no pensaban en reacondicionarlas. Además, en aquellos casos en que las puntas rotas se pudieran reacondicionar, su rendimiento disminuía. En consecuencia, la reformatización de puntas rotas también dio lugar a formas que son poco comunes en muchos conjuntos de puntas de flecha. Nuestros resultados sugieren que los atributos de diseño originales de las puntas de flecha pueden haberse visto menos afectados por el retoque, y, en consecuencia, pueden sugerir con mayor precisión asociaciones temporales y de comportamiento. Palabras clave: reformación de puntas de proyectil, daño debido al uso, diseño, rendimiento, restricciones de materia prima, experimento controlado R esearchers have identified many variables that conditioned the form of flaked-stone projectile points (Shott 1996). These varied factors can be grouped into three general lines of inquiry: design characteristics, raw material constraints, and reworking. Point design variables include both stylistic expressions (e.g., serrations) that do not substantially change point performance as well as intentional modifications (e.g., side notching of triangular points) that do significantly alter point function, and, therefore, are potentially related to differences in the intended use (

Journal of Arizona Archaeology, 2018
The authors examine social interaction and integration among communities of the Lone Butte Wash a... more The authors examine social interaction and integration among communities of the Lone Butte Wash and the Gila Crossing Ballcourt Village near its confluence with the Gila River. The Lone Butte Wash is the terminal segment of the Queen Creek and is situated in the Gila River Indian Community in central Arizona. This paper describes what is known of the occupational history of Lone Butte Wash and the Gila Crossing Ballcourt Village, the largest prehistoric and historic settlement along this segment of Queen Creek. Though the site has been the subject of archaeological investigations and oral historians for more than two decades, archaeological fieldwork and archival documents have only recently been synthesized. This work has substantially improved our understanding of the prehistoric and historic use and occupation of Lone Butte Wash and its relationship with other sites along the Gila River and Queen Creek.
ON CASITAS RED-ON-BROWN AND SOME HISTORIC PUEBLO POTTERY TYPES IN THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, NEW MEXICO , 2020
This paper discusses poorly known pottery with red-banded rim designs of the Spanish Colonial per... more This paper discusses poorly known pottery with red-banded rim designs of the Spanish Colonial period in New Mexico. We present new data on the diagnostic attributes of Casitas Red-on-brown and also offer information on the vessel morphology. Our paper also offers a comparison with other similar pottery types in the Middle Rio Grande Valley and provides information on its possible Native American vs. Hispanic New Mexican origin.
This study presents varieties of textured surfaces on Playas Red pottery found in southern New Me... more This study presents varieties of textured surfaces on Playas Red pottery found in southern New Mexico and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Our research draws from a recent analysis of ceramics at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in the southern Tularosa Basin (Kurota et al. 2018), as well as the study of pottery from the Joyce Well Site (LA 11823), a major Animas phase village in New Mexico's Boot Heel, and other sites in southern New Mexico. We present five major types of textures on Playas Red: incised, punctate/smeared punctate, cordmarked, corrugated, and corn cob impressed. We also outline a dataset table as an organizational chart of all presently known textured variants of Playas Red that could be used as a field manual.
Pottery Southwest, 2019
This brief paper summarizes the results of first ever identified cacao residue on prehistoric cer... more This brief paper summarizes the results of first ever identified cacao residue on prehistoric ceramics in southern Tularosa Basin, New Mexico. This study was performed as a cooperation between the researchers from Office of Contract Archeology, University of New Mexico and Millsaps College.
RARE ARTIFACTS RECENTLY DISCOVERED ON WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE, NEW MEXICO , 2020
This short paper documents some rare artifacts recently found on White Sands Missile Range. They ... more This short paper documents some rare artifacts recently found on White Sands Missile Range. They include an animal effigy handle, a miniature bowl possibly functioning as a thimble, and a fragment of an owl effigy vessel.
Pottery Southwest, 2019
This brief report informs about the discovery of two unusual Jornada Mogollon ceramic artifacts r... more This brief report informs about the discovery of two unusual Jornada Mogollon ceramic artifacts recovered at White Sands Missile Range in southern Tularosa Basin, New Mexico. One of them is a previously undescribed ceramic type Lincoln Black-on-red Coiled Variety and the other is a fire molded ceramics that may have functioned as a possible prehistoric altar piece.
Book Chapters by Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers
Cochiti Reservoir and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Jan V. Biella and Richard C. Chapman, 2025
This paper presents two horizontal stratigraphy models we developed to describe temporal patterni... more This paper presents two horizontal stratigraphy models we developed to describe temporal patterning in the spatial distribution of precontact sites in two project areas in the American Southwest, one located at White Sands National Park, previously known as White Sands National Monument, (WSNP or White Sands) and the other at Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GUMO). Fieldwork by OCA/UNM.
In Cochiti Reservoir and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Jan V. Biella and Richard C. Chapman, edited by Emily J. Brown, Matthew J. Barbour, Jeffrey L. Boyer, Cordelia T. Snow, pp. 109-123. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico Vol. 51. Archaeological Society of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Cochiti Reservoir and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Jan V. Biella and Richard C. Chapman, 2025
Paper summarizing what is known of the Mimbres Terminal Classic period and the mid-12th century i... more Paper summarizing what is known of the Mimbres Terminal Classic period and the mid-12th century in the Mimbres area before assessing arguments and proposing the issues remaining to be investigated.
In Cochiti Reservoir and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Jan V. Biella and Richard C. Chapman, edited by Emily J. Brown, Matthew J. Barbour, Jeffrey L. Boyer, Cordelia T. Snow, pp. 201-216. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico Vol. 51. Archaeological Society of New Mexico, Albuquerque
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Books by Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers
The NMDGF proposed to rehabilitate the dam and spillway structure for Lake Roberts, an artificial lake managed by NMDGF on the Sapillo Creek. This construction project required use of land surfaces directly upstream of the present dam on both the north and south sides of the lake for temporary and permanent storage of construction materials. This use required leveling the land surfaces prior to storage, which had an adverse effect upon archaeological deposits and features present in that locale. Three archaeological sites were impacted by this reconstruction project, all of which exhibit artifacts characteristic of prehispanic Mogollon culture occupations.
A testing program at the two sites was conducted by the Office of Contract Archeology, University of New Mexico (OCA/UNM) in May 2011 as a task order though the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF). The testing revealed the spatial extent of LA 47821 and improved the understanding of it.
Following the testing phase, OCA was contracted to excavate those parts of LA 47821 and LA 127051 that would be impacted by the planned construction. This project phase took place between October 2011 and January 2012.
As part of the NHPA Section 106 process, and the then existing New Mexico Tribal Consultation Executive order 2005-004, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and NMDGF conducted consultations with Native American tribes concerning the two sites, LA 47821 and LA 127051, that would be adversely affected by planned improvements to the Lake Roberts dam and spillway by NMDGF.
Excavations revealed that both LA 47821 and LA 127051 were comprised of residential and thermal features suggesting that these were short-term residential loci. The sheer volume of artifacts, such as ceramics, flaked lithics, ground stone, ornaments, faunal and macrobotanical remains provided opportunity to assess the lifeways of the prehistoric people who lived at these sites. The results of these and other specialized analyses including a comprehensive Neutron Activation Analysis, geomorphology of the local soils, a study of cacao residue on ceramics, X-ray fluorescence sourcing of obsidian, a study of rare stone spheres and DNA analysis of a sample of turkey bones altogether have aided in advancing the research of the Mimbres Mogollon in the Sapillo Valley of western New Mexico.
Articles by Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers
Archaeological interpretations for the seemingly sudden introduction of new types of material culture or cultural practice often include attribution to the arrival of a migrant population as part the construction of a periphery or frontier zone. In the International Four Corners area of the American Southwest/Mexican Northwest, archaeologists often correlate the ascendancy of Paquimé in the late thirteenth century CE with the development of a northern periphery in southwestern New Mexico. Simultaneously, sites in far southeastern Arizona became partially integrated into the Salado phenomenon. I evaluate architecture, settlement, and mortuary data from 26 sites with respect to existing models. Given ongoing historian discourse regarding Indigenous borderlands during European colonization, I advocate a model enabling the occurrence of borderlands construction prior to colonization and lacking a predominate hierarchical society. I conclude that the inhabitants of the International Four Corners region situated themselves within multiple inter- and intra-regional zones of interaction and that existing models of frontiers and edge regions are inadequate to address the variability present, but that of the borderlands does as it recognizes relationships to adjacent culture cores as influential but also centers the local inhabitants and their agency.
Book Chapters by Thatcher Seltzer-Rogers
In Cochiti Reservoir and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Jan V. Biella and Richard C. Chapman, edited by Emily J. Brown, Matthew J. Barbour, Jeffrey L. Boyer, Cordelia T. Snow, pp. 109-123. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico Vol. 51. Archaeological Society of New Mexico, Albuquerque
In Cochiti Reservoir and Beyond: Papers in Honor of Jan V. Biella and Richard C. Chapman, edited by Emily J. Brown, Matthew J. Barbour, Jeffrey L. Boyer, Cordelia T. Snow, pp. 201-216. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico Vol. 51. Archaeological Society of New Mexico, Albuquerque