In this April 18, 2024 presentation, archaeologist Karl W. Laumbach highlights the years-long archaeological project conducted by Human Systems Research, Inc. (HSR) in southwestern New Mexico's Cañada Alamosa, a spring-fed canyon located on the northeastern edge of the Mimbres Mogollon world. The ojo caliente or warm spring in the Cañada supplies 2,000 gallons per minute, ensuring a perennial flow to the Rio Alamosa as it flows to the Rio Grande.
Separated by 50 miles and the imposing Black Range from the Mimbres Mogollon cultural center, the canyon’s well-watered position on a “zone of interaction” between the Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo peoples resulted in a unique cultural sequence from the pre-900 CE pithouse period up to the abandonment of the canyon in the 14th century, reflecting a variety of local interactions as well as changes in their respective centers.
Karl Laumbach’s archaeological career in southern New Mexico since 1974 included direction of the HSR nonprofit organization’s Cañada Alamosa project. Raised on a northeastern New Mexico ranch located between Springer and Cimarron, Mr. Laumbach has pursued an archaeological career in southern New Mexico since 1974. A graduate of New Mexico State University, he directed projects for the NMSU contract archaeology program for nine years before joining HSR in 1983. After serving as HSR’s Executive Director for 10 years, he continued and eventually would retire as its Associate Director and Principal Investigator.
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