BOOKSHELF

BOOKSHELF PEOPLE OF THE MESA: THE ARCHEOLOGY OF BLACK MESA, ARIZONA, by Shirley Powell and George J. Gumerman. Southwest Parks and Monuments Association and Southern Illinois University Press, Dept. AW117, Box 3697, Carbondale, IL 62902-3697. 1987. 175 pages. $21.45, hardcover, postpaid.

Black Mesa is a 2.1-millionacre tableland running from Klethla Valley on the Navajo Indian Reservation to Dinnebito Wash on the Hopi reserve. From 6000 B.C. to the present day, there have been four major periods of cultural development on this huge swath of dry highlands: the Archaic Period, from about 6000 to 1000 B.C.; Basketmaker, from about the time of Christ to A.D. 250; Puebloan, from about 825 to 1150; and Navajo, from 1825 to the present.

In 1966 the Peabody Coal Company signed leases to mine coal on this remote mesa. Before mining operations could begin, however, archeological clearance had to be obtained and detailed reports filed with the appropriate governmental agencies. All 64,858 acres of the Peabody lease underwent archeological surveys. About 2,500 significant sites were identified, and 200 of these were completely excavated. More than a million artifacts were recovered which, following study, remain the property of either the Navajo or the Hopi tribe. Contrary to popular opinion, the value and purpose of archeology lie not so much in the recovery of artifacts, as in the information and understanding that derive from study of the site.

WUPATKI AND WALNUT CANYON: NEW PERSPECTIVES ON HISTORY, PREHISTORY, ROCK ART, edited by David Noble. Exploration Series, School of American Research Press, Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM 87504. 1987. 40 pages. $4.95, softcover, plus $2.00 postage.

From one of the Southwest's premier anthropological research centers comes this slim volume. It concentrates on the prehistory of the Sinagua Indian farmers who inhabited a thousand years ago what are now the ruins of Wupatki and Walnut Canyon national monuments in northern Arizona. The lifeways of these early Americans and the rock art they created near their stone houses are The fieldwork on Black Mesa spanned 17 summers. The project, the largest continuous archeological venture in North America, was a joint operation of the Peabody Coal Company and the Center for Archeological Investigations, Southern Illinois University. Aside from enriching our understanding of the past, this cooperative effort between business and academia proved that the two can work in concert for the benefit of both.

The authors of People of the Mesa do a commendable job of detailing how a site is discovered, identified as to period, excavated, and its artifacts recovered and analyzed. Each chapter concludes with a summary of how people lived in the period studied and how the pattern of their daily life was influenced by the passing of time. All this is written in layman's language, neither purely professional nor painfully patronizing. While this is a large-format publication, superbly designed, it is not a coffee-table book. It is lovely to look at, but its real value is the information and understanding Powell and Gumerman offer the reader.

Contained within its 175 glossy pages are 41 line drawings by Thomas W. Gatlin; 125 photographs, including 20 pages in full color; a glossary; and a comprehensive index.

People of the Mesa is both worthy and representative of the Black Mesa project, and indeed is a fine example of making archeology come alive for the general public.

Revealed in the light of a changing environment. Although the Sinagua have long been studied, this publica tion is the most current and readable.

That is not all. There is also a history of the Wupatki Navajos who have lived precariously in the region for the last century. Their lives have not been easy, as local ranchers, sheriff's officers, and National Park Service bureaucrats have harassed them. This reviewer, who lived with the Wupatki Navajos for two years, can attest to the accuracy and vibrancy of this sketch.

The School of American Research, celebrating its 80th anniversary, has published many important studies. A list may be obtained by writing to the school. -Robert C. Euler (RIGHT) “Border Monsoon,” by Greg Singley; pastel, 40 by 30 inches. Singley, originally from Greensboro, Alabama, graduated from Ringling School of Design in Sarasota, Florida, in 1976. He moved to Phoenix in 1977 to pursue his interest in contemporary Southwestern art. He now is a freelance graphics designer as well as fine artist.(BACK COVER) Sunset Crater, one of many volcanic cinder cones in the Flagstaff area, dates from a violent eruption in the 11th century. On a nearby ridge, archeologists uncovered “the richest burial ever reported in the Southwest.” For more on the mystery of Ridge Ruin, turn to page 10. JERRY SIEVE