A new book on the archaeology and art of Native American cultures from the pre-Hispanic Southwest by Ph.D. Radosław Palonka has been published recently in the USA and Great Britain by the prestigious Lexington Books publishing house. The book on Indian culture, written by the archaeologist from Krakow is unique because it was written from the perspective of a European.
“Art in the Pre-Hispanic Southwest: An Archeology of Native American Cultures” by Ph.D. Radosław Palonka from Faculty of History, Institute of Archaeology of Jagiellonian University is a synthesis of the cultural development of Indian communities. It is unique because it was written from the perspective of a European, despite the fact that Americans have many outstanding specialists in this field “- said Adam Koprowski from Jagiellonian University.
The chronological scope of the book covers the last 20 thousand years, from the first humans, the ancestors of today’s Indians who arrived in the Southwest, until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century. It describes the times from the Paleoindian period, through the archaic and formative periods, and the later highly developed agricultural cultures and civilizations: Pueblo, Casas Grandes, Hohokam, Mogollon / Mimbres and Fremont. The arrival of these nomadic peoples 500-600 years ago is also described: the Atapas – the famous Apaches and Navahs – and the peoples speaking in Numic languages, including Ute, and Paiute.
“The emphasis is placed on descriptions of settlement transformations, material culture, but also on the analysis of the iconography of ceramics and rock art. This combination of research on settlement, material culture and rock art is a unique attempt at a comprehensive reconstruction of pre-Columbian cultures, ”explained Ph.D. Radosław Palonka. You can also learn from the publication, among others on American Legislation and the Protection of Cultural Heritage.
Since 2011, Ph.D. Radosław Palonka has been running a research project in the Mesa Verde region in Colorado, USA. These areas are famous for the rock towns of Indians from the pre-Columbian Pueblo culture, built in niches and rock shelters on the slopes of steep canyons.
According to the information from Jagiellonian University, it is the first independent Polish archaeological project in the United States and currently the only European one conducted in this area. Research is financed, inter alia, by from grants from the National Science Center, the US Bureau of Land Management, the university’s own funds, and from the Consulate General and the US Embassy in Poland.