The Sinagua and the Western Pueblo Tradition: Perspectives from Bioarchaeology

Genetic and cultural relationships among ancient and historic populations in the American Southwest have long been of interest to archaeologists, and more recently to descendant communities. Documentation of more than 1500 human remains and 4000 associated funerary objects from US Forest Service land in anticipation of repatriation under NAGPRA provides abundant new information to address this topic. This poster discusses research using metric and nonmetric skeletal data and discrete skeletal traits to explore the origin and dispersal of Sinagua populations in central Arizona. Tracing the movement of populations through sites such as Nuvakwewtaqa offers insight on the relationship of the Sinagua to later Western Pueblo populations, particularly in the Hopi region.

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