An Introduction to the Study of Southwestern Archaeology

This book, being written in 1924, is NOT an introduction to MODERN Southwestern Archaeology but, it is a classic. If you are at all interested in the development of SW Archaeology this is the book. Kidder was the person with the most influence on development in this area. He was not the first person to use pottery seriation, stratigraphic methods, dendrochronology, and sound research design but he brought these and other scientific methods to the forefront of American Archaeology. He introduced multidisciplinary approaches to the field and transformed SW Archaeology from simple artifact gathering for museums into the organized empirical science it is today. In this book you can see it being done. You will see terms such as Basket Maker, Post Basket Maker, pre-Pueblo being developed. The introductory essay by Douglas Schwartz alone is worth the price of the book. He outlines the work done by five other major researchers (There were several more) in the region before Kidder. These five had an impact on Kidder's work. Schwartz takes us beyond 1924 thru the Pecos Conference of 1927, called by Kidder to, among other things, develop a standard nomenclature system which still stands today (Basketmaker I-III and Pueblo I-V). The annual Pecos Conference has been held every year since 1927.