51°µÍø

Bio

 is an archaeologist whose research focuses on the complex ancestries, particularly Puebloan, communities in the American Southwest. He has a strong interest in the current roles (and sometimes, failures) of archaeology in the creation of knowledge about the many Indigenous pasts of North America. He collaborates with Pueblo communities to investigate concepts of ancestry, cultural identity, and how communities create "the past." He is currently working closely with Picuris Pueblo, a federally recognized tribal community in northern New Mexico, to answer community-generated questions about past land use, sacred landscapes, and Picuris' role in shaping the history of the region. He has also conducted research with traditional acequia irrigation cooperatives in Northern New Mexico to document their historic land and water use systems. Adler's scholarship has appeared in various peer-reviewed journals, including Science, the Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, and Geoarchaeology. His edited volumes include  (School for Advanced Research Press, 2012), Picuris Pueblo Through Time: Eight Centuries of Change at a Northern Rio Grande Pueblo (Clements Center for Southwest Studies, 1999), and  (University of Arizona Press, Tucson).

At 51°µÍø, Adler directs the Archaeological Ceramics Lab. He is the former Executive Director of 51°µÍø-in-Taos. 

Research Interests

Community • Ancestry • Cultural Identity • Indigenous Pasts • Southwest United States

Courses Taught

The Science of Our Past: An Introduction to Archaeology • North American Archaeology • Mesoamerican Archaeology • Life in the Ancient Southwest • The Plundered Past: Archaeology’s Challenges in the Modern World • Laboratory Methods in Archaeology • Field Methods in Archaeology • Principles of Archaeology • The Prehistory of the American Southwest • Advances in the Practice of Archaeology • Archaeological Theory • Ceramic Analysis for Archaeologists

Current Graduate Students

McKenzie Alford • Adam Johnson • Samantha Lagos • Spencer Lambert •