Audubon Program
Friday, October 7th
WNMU's Harlan Hall at 7pm

Elizabeth Toney, Archaeologist for the Gila National Forest, will be the featured speaker at October's Audubon program meeting.

A variety of bird imagery adorns the different artistic mediums of the Classic Mimbres culture. Of the many species of birds that are featured on Mimbres bowls, turkey, quail, scarlet macaws and other types of parrots are among the most interesting because of their speculated ritual and economic significance. These birds are a featured part of other cultural groups across the southwest. While the turkey and quail are commonly found in southwestern New Mexico, the two species of macaws (scarlet and military) and thick-billed parrots are from more distant areas. The scarlet macaw is native to the lowland forests found along the east coast of Mexico to the west coast in the state of Oaxaca. Thick-billed parrots are particularly associated with highland pine forests in western and central Mexico. Military Macaws inhabit an area from Mexico southward, especially Colombia, northwestern Venezuela, northern Peru, and eastern Ecuador. Yet from these far distant places, these birds worked their way into Mimbres iconography.

In this presentation we will explore what patterns are present in the archaeological contexts of birds found both near (turkeys, quails) and far (scarlet macaw, military macaw, and thick-billed parrot), delve into the iconography of these birds in Mimbres art, and speculate on the role of these birds in Mimbres social life.
The Audubon first Friday of the month programs are free and open to the public. Light refreshments are served after the program.