Hidden History: Women and Children at Historic Mining Sites in the Tularosa Basin
2024 Lecture Series
May 18 - 2:00 pm
John Taylor-Montoya PhD, Executive Director for the Office of Archaeological Studies, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
While working in southern New Mexico Dr. Taylor-Montoya documented hundreds of historic mining sites dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries. The received wisdom was that the vast majority of the mines were “commuter” sites. Miners lived in nearby communities, traveled to the mines, camped while working, and then returned home. It was not uncommon to find non-industrial archaeological artifacts at these sites not typically expected of a hard rock miner that pointed to other occupants of these sites. This talk will be a brief tour of mining sites in southern New Mexico, the evidence, and the implications for the hard rock miner’s family life on the range.
Dr. John Taylor-Montoya is a native New Mexican who grew up visiting historic and archaeological sites in the Southwest. Dr. Taylor-Montoya received a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico in 2000, earned a Master of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma in 2003, and earned a Doctorate degree in Anthropology from Southern Methodist University in 2011. His dissertation was a quantitative analysis of changes in prehistoric stone tool technology over time in which he examined over 2,000 artifacts from hundreds of sites throughout the Plains and Southwest U.S. His research was funded by a National Science Foundation grant. He began practicing archaeology in New Mexico in 1999 as a crew member on projects in the central and northern Rio Grande area. His career in public archaeology began in 2001 as a Staff Archaeologist in the Oklahoma State Archaeologist office which launched his career in Cultural Resource Management. Before joining the Office of Archaeological Studies, a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs, he served as a Senior Project Manager and Director for regional offices of private, nationwide Cultural Resource Management firms for more than a decade. Dr. Taylor-Montoya has presented his research at international conferences, published articles in scholarly journals, and authored over 100 technical reports. He currently lives in Albuquerque with his wife, two children, their poodle, four fish, and a crested gecko.
Image: Dry placer mining, Jarilla mountains, New Mexico. Courtesy of Mindat.org