Behind Painted Walls: Incidents in Southwestern Archaeology

This intriguing book tells the stories of the excavation, restoration, and in some cases, destruction of some of the most interesting archaeological sites in the Southwest. The five sites discussed all contain Kiva wall paintings made by prehistoric peoples of the Colorado Plateau. Lister delineates the archaeological methodology and provides lively narrative history as she describes work done at Lowry Ruin (Colorado), Gran Quivira (New Mexico), Kuaua (New Mexico), Awatovi-Kawaika-a (Arizona), and Pottery Mound (New Mexico) during the formative years between 1930 and 1960.As an insider who participated in these excavations, Lister is able to evoke the personalities of her fellow archaeologists and describe the techniques they used. She assesses their successes and failures with humor and understanding of the challenges involved. Her accounts will interest professional archaeologists and general readers alike.