Undergraduate Research & Scholarships

Moira Peckham Humanities and Social Science

Liquid Connections: Water Management, Structures, and Community Identity at Abiqui, NM

I am seeking to explore the intersection between water management techniques and structures (called acequias) and community identity in Abiqui, New Mexico. I’m taking a multifaceted approach to engage with this question. I am looking at the physical irrigation structures (constructed during the Spanish occupation of New Mexico) and their connection to other structures that are important to the community, archival and literary research, and oral histories regarding shared history and water use. Another important aspect of this project is that it is community engaged archaeological scholarship, meaning that there is a partnership with the Abiquiuceo community, that they are involved in the research design and critique of interpretation.

Message To Sponsor

To the Banatao Fund, I can't thank you enough. It's meant the world to me to be able to explore community based archaeology in New Mexico. I made some amazing friends and felt I was able to profoundly engage with the Abiqui community. Because of your generosity, I feel I will have something new, interesting, and relevant to contribute to the field of archaeology. Thank you so much.