A University of Colorado Boulder researcher will share never-before-seen photography and research on Aztec ruins in a public program on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. at Trinidad State Junior College’s Massari Theater.
The program, “Archival Archaeology: Reconstructing Aztec Ruins from the 1920s photos by Earl Morris,” invites the public to learn about the relics at Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, New Mexico.
“This talk will re-examine Aztec Ruins National Monument through the eyes of Earl Morris — its first excavator,” said Erin Baxter, doctoral student from CU-Boulder. “Never-before-seen photographs taken during his work at the ruins will be shown to illustrate new information about the life ways, artifacts and architecture of Ancestral Pueblo people.”
Baxter has spent over 15 years working in and around Southwestern Colorado and Northern New Mexico. She specializes in the Chaco to Post Chacoan era and has interests in architecture, pottery analysis, remote sensing technologies and Geographic Information Systems. The program will include new details discovered as part of her doctoral research focused on a re-assessment of Aztec Ruins. As part of her visit, Baxter will also meet with Trinidad Middle School students to discuss Colorado’s pre-history.
Tickets for “Archival Archaeology: Reconstructing Aztec Ruins from the 1920s photos by Earl Morris” are $4 for adults and $3 for seniors and children. They can be purchased at the door the evening of event or in advance at the Trinidad Community Foundation, 134 West Main Street, Suite 24. TSJC students and faculty may attend for free with a school identification card. All proceeds will benefit the Louden-Henritze Archaeology Museum.
The Nov. 12 program is part of “CU in the Community,” a series of lectures by CU-Boulder faculty and staff. This community program is jointly sponsored by Trinidad State Junior College, Trinidad Community Foundation, Trinidad & Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, and the CU-Boulder Office for University Outreach.
For more information about the series, email outreach@colorado.edu.