Lone Mountain Archaeological Services
Old Spanish National Historic Trails
Rock Art Sites
Hiener Spring and Deer House Pueblitos
HUECO 3-D SEISMIC EXPLORATION
Hidalgo County, New Mexico.
The Hueco 3-D project was conducted prior to a seismic oil and gas exploration undertaking. It was a particularly interesting project due to its location within the Malpai Borderlands, in remote portions of the southwestern "bootheel" of New Mexico, and its possible contribution to the ongoing academic discourse relating to the prehistoric Mexican Chihuahuan tradition. This is an area of much scholarly controversy, and most investigation has been aimed at finding the northern border of the tradition, which dates from the mid to late Pueblo periods. The Chihuahuan tradition was centered at Casas Grandes, a large urban center located in Chihuahua, Mexico. Scholars posit that Casas Grandes functioned as a sort of city-state with far-reaching economic and cultural influence, as evidenced by architectural styles, symbolism, and material culture. The dominant architectural styles include large puddle adobe pueblos with roomblocks built around plazas, though other structural forms persisted in many areas. Kivas were generally absent by this time, replaced by other forms of public buildings, including Casas Grandes-style ballcourts. Dissenting scholars point to the plethora of outlying sites with no apparent ties to Casas Grandes as evidence that the center was not as influential as previously assumed.
Ballcourts were often overlooked in previous investigations of outlying sites due to their unobtrusive character. Nevertheless, a few ballcourts have been recorded in the Animas Valley. Several additional ballcourts and possible ballcourts have been noted just beyond the boundaries of the Borderlands area. Lone Mountain archaeologists were pleased to discover a possible ballcourt feature at in the Hueco 3-D project area. Additionally, Chihuahuan pottery was discovered in some abundance.
It is clear that the area had some relationship with Casas Grandes. Interestingly, one of the larger settlement sites has yet to yield evidence for a ball court. In theory, larger sites would be more likely to have a ballcourt as they would be more likely to have direct affiliations with the cultural center. The absence of such affiliations would be illuminating. Further investigation could yield substantial data concerning the relationship of area sites with Casas Grandes.