SEVENTH PARROT
In Search of the
SEVENTH PARROT
A Tale of Looting,
Archaeology, and
a Missing Bird
By Chris Turnbow, Deputy Director
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory of Anthropology
or most of us, the term “Mimbres” conjures images of
ancient black-on-white painted bowls with captivating
pictures of people, animals, and other beings. Dating
between A.D. 1000 and 1130, the Classic Mimbres people
who lived in what is now southwestern New Mexico developed an expressive ceramic tradition considered unique
among pre-Columbian cultures of North America. These
paintings, placed on the inside of hemispherical bowls,
reveal naturalistic and figurative images that depict the customs and cosmology of a people who are known to us only
through their archaeological record.
With Mimbres iconography now adorning tee shirts, postcards, mugs, Santa Fe Railroad china, contemporary Indian
art, and tourist advertising, one might be surprised to learn
that very little is known about their culture. What is worse,
the record of their existence is disappearing at an alarming
rate because of greed and thoughtless acts of destruction to
our irreplaceable cultural heritage.
F
Archaeological equipment and supplies are transported by mule into the
Gila Wilderness by the U.S. Forest Service. Photo by Chris Turnbow.
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SEVENTH PARROT
Mimbres art (detail) from the looted Mimbres parrot bowl. Courtesy of the Gila National Forest.
Despite passage of antiquity protection laws and an
increased public interest in historic preservation, federal
and state archaeologists report that looting of New
Mexico’s cultural heritage sites remains a serious problem.
Nowhere is this problem more devastating than in the
Mimbres country. Today, collectors from around the world
are willing to pay exorbitant amounts for museum quality Mimbres bowls. Encouraged by ever-increasing prices
for these antiquities, thieves have developed thriving
businesses to meet the growing demand. By the 1990s,
archaeologists estimated that nearly 95% of all Mimbres
pueblos were at least partially looted. Some were almost
completely destroyed when bulldozers stripped off the
overlying rubble to expose the burial pits below. If this
trend continues, little will remain of the Mimbres other
than thousands of bowls from unknown locations.
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The Seventh Parrot
Our story of the seventh parrot begins in the winter of
1999–2000 with the wanton theft and partial destruction of five Classic Mimbres cultural heritage sites held
in trust for the American people. But in reality the story
begins around 900 years earlier, when a Mimbres potter carefully examined a newly fired bowl. The black
mineral paint contrasted sharply with the brilliant
white slip beneath, but her eyes were drawn to the
images of seven parrots just below the rim. This beautiful bowl was used for serving, mixing, and ceremonies,
but in the end, it was ritually killed by punching a small
hole through the bottom before being placed over the
face of a deceased member of the Mimbres society. As
was often their custom, the grave was placed under the
floor in one of the rooms.
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The record of their existence is disappearing
at an alarming rate because of greed and
thoughtless acts of destruction.
The burial remained undisturbed under the floor and
collapsed walls of the pueblo until the winter of
1999–2000, when pothunters plundered the site. Casting
aside the human remains, the grave robbers took the bowl
and whatever else could be tuned into cash. The remarkable bowl with its finely painted parrots quickly sold.
Later that winter Forest Service Law Enforcement
Officers apprehended three men illegally digging in a
Classic Mimbres pueblo site within the Gila Wilderness
Area. With four other freshly looted pueblos nearby, it
was assumed that these were the men responsible for all
the damage. Among the looters’ possessions was a photograph of the parrot bowl. Broken and with pieces missing, the bowl now showed six parrots and the beak of the
seventh. If the seventh parrot potsherd could be located
at any of the publicly owned sites, then the looters could
be charged with additional crimes. The search was on.
The Search Begins
In 2001, the Laboratory of Anthropology was conducting
archaeological research on Mimbres sites near to where
the looting had occurred. Since the Gila National Forest
had very limited funding and personnel to carry out
emergency stabilization and research, I offered the assistance of the Laboratory to undertake the work. It seemed
like an excellent opportunity for us to gain some knowledge from these unfortunate circumstances and it would
give the Lab’s volunteers a chance to do more fieldwork.
Volunteers pass dirt disturbed by looters through excavation screens. Photo by Chris Turnbow.
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SEVENTH PARROT
Volunteer Carolyn Rose documents the
masonry walls of a Mimbres room.
Photo by Chris Turnbow.
A volunteer maps the wall of a Mimbres room.
Photo by Chris Sorenson.
Thanks to a teaming agreement with the Gila National
Forest, enough money was available for supplies, laboratory fees, and publication costs as well as Forest Service
staff and much needed horses and mules.
During the warm spring of 2002, our archaeological
team gathered at the rendezvous point along the edge of
the Gila Wilderness Area. The Lab’s volunteer group was
drawn from far and wide. While most were from around
Santa Fe, a retired forest rancher drove in from Montana
and two anthropology graduate students came from
Texas A&M University. The group was also bolstered
with members of the Grant County Archaeological
Society and the anthropology class at Silver City High
School.
Because it is illegal to drive motorized vehicles into a
wilderness area, we loaded the heavy archaeological
equipment onto Forest Service mules and pulled on our
own backpacks. Five miles and 14 river crossings later
we arrived at the Classic Mimbres pueblo site. While the
Gila Wilderness is a wonderful place to conduct archae20 E l P a l a c i o
ological research, none of our group was happy with
what had drawn us there.
Even at a great distance, the team could see the freshly dug “potholes” that pockmarked the Classic Mimbres
pueblo. Situated deep within the Gila National Forest
and protected by federal antiquity laws, this site and the
four others nearby were thought to have been somewhat
safe from the looting that was rampant on Classic
Mimbres settlements elsewhere. Yet, it was here that the
three grave robbers were caught.
The devastation brought upon these pueblo sites cannot be overstated. During the course of a few months, the
thieves ripped through large portions of the sites,
destroying much of the scientific information contained
within them. The looters churned through collapsed
roofs, intact floors, hearths, and cultural materials in
search of the highly prized Mimbres Black-on-white
bowls associated with the burials.
Fieldwork at each site was carried out in a six-day session. Without the volunteers, completion would have
Help Protect New Mexico’s Past
Site stewardship is
one way to help protect
these resources for
future generations
to enjoy and study.
Mary Townsend, a Galisteo SiteWatch volunteer, monitors a petroglyph site on Bureau of Land Management property.
New Mexico SiteWatch
New Mexico’s rich culture spans at least 12,000 years, from
Clovis, the Paleoindian site, to historic Route 66. These cultural resources, however, are disappearing. Many forces can act to
obliterate the material remains of history, including erosion
and gravity, urban development, and vandalism (see “The
Seventh Parrot,” above). Site stewardship is one way to help
protect these resources for future generations to enjoy and
study.
The Historic Preservation Division of the Department of
Cultural Affairs is spreading stewardship throughout the state
with its SiteWatch Program. Regional chapters are being
formed in cooperation with public land managers such as the
Bureau of Land Management and the State Land Office. In
Santa Fe, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture/Laboratory
of Anthropology sponsors Galisteo SiteWatch, which focuses
on the Galisteo Basin’s endangered archaeological sites listed in
the Federal Protection Act of 2004.
To learn more about how you can become a site steward,
contact Phillip Young, SiteWatch Coordinator, at 505-8276314, or [email protected].
Santa Fe National Forest Site Stewards
One of the largest programs of its kind in New Mexico, the
Santa Fe National Forest (SFNF) Site Steward Program helps
manage one of the most comprehensive collections of heritage
resources in the United States, including both archaeological
and historical sites representing many cultures and time periods. After comprehensive classroom and field training, pairs of
stewards are assigned as monitors in one of six areas within the
forest: Gallina, Jemez, Chama, Garcia, Caja del Rio, or Pecos.
SFNF Site Stewards make site visits at least once a month,
weather permitting. Stewards are also provided with numerous
educational opportunities sponsored by the program. Affiliate
Site Steward positions are available for volunteers who prefer to
contribute by fulfilling important administrative and communications roles.
For more information about the SFNF Site Steward Program,
visit sfnfsitestewards.org, or contact Shelley Thompson at 505476-1145, or [email protected]. n
Contributed by Leslie Cohen, Laboratory of Anthropology, and Shelley Thompson,
Center for Museum Resources.
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Pothunters bulldoze a Mimbres Pueblo in the Mimbres Valley east of Silver City.
Courtesy of the Mimbres Foundation. Photo by Stephen LeBlanc.
been impossible, and although few had a background in
archaeology, they brought welcome expertise and enthusiasm to the project. With no time to spare, the team set
to work. A retired engineer drew the maps of the site and
damaged areas. Photographers documented the ruins
and the masonry walls, room floors, fire hearths, disturbed burial pits and other pits exposed in the potholes.
Most of the team worked in the potholes, preparing site
stratigraphy notes and drawings and collecting radiocarbon, pollen, phytolith, and macrobotanical samples.
One of the most labor-intensive chores was passing the
32 cubic meters of disturbed earth through the excavation screens. Missed by the looters were over 12 large
boxes of artifacts, including chipped stone flakes and
tools, pottery, groundstone, bone, and even a small animal figurine. Although the artifacts had lost their original
context, they revealed a wealth of information on Classic
Mimbres occupations in the Upper Gila River drainage.
Given that most of the region lies in wilderness and
undeveloped Forest Service lands, these collections contribute significantly to our understanding of Mimbres
culture.
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Among the most sensitive finds were the disarticulated human remains found scattered over the backdirt
piles. Teeth and bones of at least 19 individual burials
had been disturbed. The remains were respectfully
reburied in proximity to where they had been first laid
to rest.
Clearly, exposed potholes pose a continued threat to
surviving cultural resources. Such holes entice other
looters to expand the damage and summer monsoon
rains wash out walls and other intact cultural deposits.
Our last great effort was to backfill the potholes before
more damage occurred. After carefully lining the holes
with geofabric to mark the limits of the disturbance, the
real work began. For most of the last day, the holes were
refilled with the same loose masonry rock and earth
removed by the looters.
At the end of the sixth day, the weary volunteers descended from the site. The combination of shoveling and shifting the dirt during the strong afternoon
winds made them look like coal workers returning from
the mines, but with a sense of accomplishment, they
were in an energized mood. After a bath in the river and
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a hot meal, this band of good souls spent the last night
looking at the night sky and enjoying each other’s
friendship. The next day they made the long journey
back to civilization and in the weeks to follow, they
began analyzing the recovered artifacts and samples.
So, What Happened?
Although circumstantial evidence suggested that the
pothunters were responsible for looting all five sites, they
were charged with conspiracy and damage only in connection with the site where they were arrested. On
August 23, 2001, the judge sentenced the looters to a
year and a day in prison and ordered each to pay
$19,615 in damages. Additionally, the men were to forfeit their digging tools, a truck, and the revolver taken
during their arrest. No previous looters of Mimbres artifacts had received such a stiff sentence.
The seventh parrot sherd was never found. In 2005, I
was shocked to see the parrot bowl pictured in a noted
art museum publication. Conservators had done an
excellent job of repairing the vessel, even filling in the kill
hole. The bowl remains in private hands.
Combating the problem of looting across the
Southwest is not easy. Legislation alone cannot stem the
tide of archaeological site destruction for monetary gain.
This recent Mimbres looting incident, however, shows
that stronger enforcement of antiquity laws, more severe
court sentences, and a better informed public are making
a difference in protecting our nation’s cultural heritage.
Special Thanks
During the fieldwork, 33 volunteers between 15 and 75
years old and from many backgrounds ventured into the
wilderness, set up camp, and undertook the backbreaking job of doing the archaeology and site stabilization. An
equally dedicated group of 36 took on the work of analyzing the artifacts and samples. Approximately 6,000
hours of volunteer time was contributed during the
investigations. These individuals have my respect and
thanks for a job exceedingly well done. n
BELOW: Food and fun after a hard day’s
work: (left to right) Carolyn Rose, Chris
Sorenson, and Sal Morreale.
Photos by Chris Turnbow and
Chris Sorenson.
The Laboratory of Anthropology crew on the last day in the Gila Wilderness,
May 2002. Top row, left to right: Robert Schiowitz (Gila National Forest),
Richard Kristin, Sal Morreale, Chris Sorenson, Amy Gardner, and Richard
Huelster. Bottom row, left to right: Chris Turnbow (project director), Eleanor
Dahlin, Caryolyn Rose, and Linda Rodeck. Photo by Richard Huelster.
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