Tree-ring Dating the Llaves Valley Gallina

The 1970s were a period of intense activity in the Gallina heartland of north-central New Mexico. Excavations by James Mackey and Sally Holbrook and by Herb Dick documented dozens of Gallina sites and structures in the Llaves Valley alone. Unfortunately, analysis and publication did not always follow excavations, particularly in Herb Dick’s case.  His untimely death in 1993 left much of his excavated material in disarray. Through the efforts of several individuals and institutions, however, his tree-ring samples have been transferred to the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research in Tucson for analysis and curation. Here, we present the results of dendroarchaeological analysis of his collections from the Dam Ridge, Hacha Ridge, and Huerfano Mesa locales. These samples, combined with a synthesis of all Llaves Valley dendroarchaeological samples, help delineate the spatio-temporal variability and social organization of the Gallina occupation in the heartland of this enigmatic culture.