The Hisatsinom Chapter of the Colorado Archaeological Society will host Dr. Kelly Jenks on Tuesday, May 7, at 7 p.m. at the First Methodist Church, 515 Park Street, with her presentation, "Living on the Edge: Five Centuries of Cross-Cultural Contact in the Upper Pecos River Valley."

For centuries, the Upper Pecos River Valley has served as a natural transportation corridor, connecting the peoples and products of the eastern plains to the pueblos in the west. These cross-cultural contacts shaped the lives and daily practices of the valley's inhabitants, who simultaneously responded to and distrusted the economic and social opportunities presented by their plains neighbors. Jenks will review five centuries of cross-cultural interaction and trade along the Pecos, beginning with prehistoric trade between Plains Indians and Pecos Pueblo and continuing through the arrival and impact of Santa Fe Trail trade, and at the conclusion will identify some overarching themes.

Jenks is an assistant professor of anthropology at Fort Lewis College. Her research focuses on the archaeology and history of Hispanic settlement in the Southwest, and especially in eastern New Mexico. For more information about this presentation or about Hisatsinom, contact Diane McBride at (970) 560-1643.