Road Signs and Walking Shoes: Sandals and Sandal Imagery as Part and Parcel of the Chaco Road System.

For over 25 years, Dr. Benjamin A. Bellorado has conducted collaborative research with descendant communities, archaeological fieldwork, and collections-based research. As Assistant Curator of Archaeology at the Arizona State Museum, his work focuses on understanding the ways that ancient cultures interacted with the social and natural worlds and how identities are expressed through clothing and other decorated media. Using archaeological methods to understand the deep history of the region, his work reinforces and strengthens Indigenous ties to landscapes, and to advocate for the preservation of cultural resources in the Bears Ears National Monument and across the greater Southwest.

Tracing the routes of the ancient roads that crisscrossed Chaco Canyon, and more broadly across the Chaco World, has fascinated archaeologists and the public for over a century. Using newly-developed technologies and ethnographic insights, researchers have proposed that roads served several purposes, such as aiding resource procurement, facilitating exchange networks, and projecting religious power. However, even when using the most up-to-date techniques, archaeologists often come to dead-ends when trying to trace road alignments across rocky and broken landscapes.

Perhaps roads served another important purpose beyond their everyday function—as unique performance spaces. Learn about new research on roads, rock art, footwear, and textile imagery, using communication theories that provide clues to how these perplexing avenues were used and who used them.

This is a free event for all ages but we do require your reservation. You may RSVP by clicking the link here.

Any guests under 21 must be accompanied by an adult.