Changing places: A cultural geography of nineteenth-century zuni, New Mexico

Abstract

A people's association with a place is an integral component in the construction of social identity; as Keith Basso (1996:53) put it, "human existence is irrevocably situated in time and space." Many factors contribute to place-making; which predominates at any given time depends on specific historical circumstances. This paper summarizes research on the dynamics of place-making along a colonial frontier shared by three Native American peoples-the Zuni,Navajo, and Apache-and two Euroamerican groups-Mexicans and AngloAmericans. The work focused on a single place, the Zuni seasonal farming village of Lower Pescado and how the idea of that place intersected with concepts of landscape, history and social identity in nineteenth-century New Mexico. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.