The Largo -Gallina household: A view from the L /102 site

The Largo-Gallina branch, located in north central New Mexico, is one of the least understood of the ten branches of the Ancestral Puebloan culture. Despite the existence of substantial literature relating to that culture and the overall archaeology of the prehistoric American Southwest, most archaeologists have virtually ignored this branch or have failed to relate to it in their writings. As a result we know little about the lives of these forgotten people of the prehistoric American Southwest and how they related to other groups in the vicinity. Yet the extant literature characterizes this group as basically conservative, isolated and prone to violence. Some overall attributes include the use of conical bottom shaped pottery, elbow shaped clay pipes, thick walled structures, triple notched axes and elk antler implements. While artifact assemblages relating to Largo-Gallina sites are housed at several repositories in the Southwest, few have been examined and reported. As a result the knowledge that could be derived from researching such collections remains undisclosed. The examination of architectural attributes in combination with Largo-Gallina archaeological assemblages, such as those consisting of ceramics, lithics, and faunal materials, skeletal remains and archeobotanical material found in the Mohr-Sample Collection, and their associated records, can divulge fruitful information on various aspects of the Largo-Gallina culture. The household is one of those aspects. This is the first study that has focused on the Largo-Gallina household. In this study information derived from an examination of various assemblages and architectural characteristics has been integrated to define a Largo-Gallina household at the L/102 site. This data also was used to infer what activities and possible social, political and economic interactions might have taken place at the site on the household level. While these results may not be typical of all Largo-Gallina sites, they also demonstrate diversity within the greater Largo-Gallina community. Until further studies are conducted on Largo-Gallina sites, we may never fully understand their way of life.