Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant: Seventeenth Century Metallurgy on the Spanish Colonial Frontier: Transformations of Technology, Value and Identity

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Under the supervision of Dr. David J. Killick, Noah Thomas will investigate the early seventeenth century metal working facility located within the site of Paa-ko (LA 162), in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. Paa-ko is a large adobe and masonry pueblo located on the east side of the Sandia Mountains with a long history of occupation, including pre-colonial and colonial period components. The excavation of the metal working facility over eight field seasons has revealed a diverse and intensive technological repertoire involving copper and lead smelting technologies, attempts at precious metal refining, copper smithing and iron forging. Using a synthesis of data obtained from historical sources, archaeological investigation and materials analyses, Thomas' research will investigate the ways in which these technologies were introduced and developed over the use life of the facility. Ongoing research into the faunal, pollen and macrobotanical assemblages of the historic component of Paa-ko indicate a complex relationship between the introduction of European goods and animals and a continuity of food processing practices. The metallurgical analysis will also contribute to understanding processes of technology transfer during early colonial encounters between colonists and indigenous populations. Thomas' research will investigate the strategies employed by both Native American and Spanish colonial metallurgists to establish the new technology within the incipient economic, social and technical networks of the new colony. It will also investigate in detail how a new technology becomes adopted and incorporated within pre-colonial forms of practice. In addition to contributing to anthropological understandings of technology transfer, this research will contribute to a more general understanding of the deep history of mineral use in the region. The economic history of the Southwest from initial colonization to its current inclusion in the global economy has revolved around the potential for the exploitation of the region's mineral resources. This project examines the changes in mineral resource use that occurred as the result of European colonization. These themes have been presented to the public in the form of public lectures to communities in vicinity of Paa-ko, in the form of site tours for the local community during the excavation of the metallurgical terrace, in general interest publications for the region, and in technical reports for the State Historic Preservation Office of New Mexico. The results of Thomas' research will also be incorporated into an exhibit at the Arizona State Museum entitled Gems and Minerals from Prehistory to the Present to go on exhibition in February 2007. This exhibit will present the deep history, social and economic significance of mineral exploitation in the region to a diverse audience including K-12th grade education institutions throughout southern Arizona.