Dr. Fumi Arakawa is currently the Director of the University Museum and a Professor of Anthropology at New Mexico State University (NMSU). He is also a Research Associate with Crow Canyon Archaeology Center in Cortez, Colorado, and a Senior Researcher with the Village Ecodynamics Project.
Fumi’s primary interest is reconstructing sociopolitical organization among the Ancestral Puebloans in the Mesa Verde and northern Mimbres regions. His research examines how social scales and power changed through time in small-scale agricultural societies of the American Southwest using demographic, environmental, and material (lithics and pottery) data. To tackle questions of power and scale, he has gained a strong background in archaeological methods and theories, geology, chemical compositional analyses, and GIS technologies. Fumi has also explored topics related to multi-vocal studies in archaeology, cultural trajectory, gender division of labor, and exchange systems.
Cultural Landscape Studies with Zuni Elders in Gila National Forest
This film (above) shows collaborative efforts between two Zuni elders, archaeologists, a student researcher, and federal employees pertaining to interpretation of artifacts, architecture, and landscapes in Gila National Forest, New Mexico. This film particularly focuses on one archaeological site, Twin Pines Village and two rock art sites located near Chloride. In collaboration with two Zuni elders – Octavius Seowtewa and Jim Enote, their views and perspectives help archaeologists better understand a strong connection between the contemporary Native Americans (i.e., the Zunis) and ancestral people in the Gila National Forest of the Mimbres-Mogollon region.
This film was created by Jean Stelzer (a Gila National Forest employee) as well as contributed by Chris Adams (a Gila National Forest Black Range District archaeologist), Jorden Scott (a graduate student at NMSU), and Fumi Arakawa (the Director of the University Museum at NMSU). This project was supported by Southwest and Border Cultures Institute (SBCI) grant, entitled “Incorporating Humanistic Approach in Understanding Mimbres Lives in the Borderlands” in 2019.
Current Research
Since 2015, Fumi has directed NMSU archaeological field schoolprograms during the summers at Twin Pines and South Diamond Creek Pueblo, Mimbres sites on the Gila National Forest in New Mexico.
Fumi recently published a new book entitled "Correlative Archaeology: Rethinking Archaeological Theory." This book is available at 30% discount for anyone who purchases it through Rowman & Littlefield between the release date and 12/31/2022. The discount code is LXFANDF30.
