From about A.D. 900 to 1130 a Puebloan people flourished in and around the Mimbres River valley of southwestern New Mexico. Their greatest legacy is a remarkable body of pottery that features geometric and figurative designs that are very evocative of modern art. The pottery is much sought after by collectors, which has led to rampant looting of Mimbres sites. Archaeologists have been studying the Mimbres since the 1920s, and this work continues today. In this volume designed for the general reader, 15 leading Mimbres scholars present the latest information on these fascinating people, their lives, and their art.
The Mimbres people were a small, distinct group in the desert Southwest, contemporary with the Hohokam to the west and the Anasazi to the north. They lived in small villages, farming the rich river valleys of the region. They buried their dead under the floors of their stone and adobe houses, and the corpses’ heads were often covered with a spectacularly painted bowl. A hole was crudely punched in the center of the bowl, perhaps to allow for communication with the spirit. Around 1130 this lifestyle came to an end. The villages were depopulated, and the Mimbres people changed their burial practices and stopped painting the distinctive bowls. Long considered a great mystery, recent research suggests they did not disappear. Rather, the Mimbres moved into small hamlets and farmsteads, holding on until the Apaches arrived in the area around A.D. 1500.
Their pottery is the defining characteristic of these people, and it is well represented in this engaging and readable volume, with dozens of photos and drawings. Mimbres Lives and Landscapes is a valuable addition to the literature of one of the ancient Southwest’s most intriguing cultures.
