Bonnie Clark\u27s book is a welcome addition to the small body of published literature regarding Great Plains historical archaeology. It concerns two habitation sites located on the Pinon Canyon Maneuver site, a modern military base in the canyon lands of the Purgatory River (which the Spanish named EI Rio de Las Animas Pedidas en Purgatorio) in southeastern Colorado. The river is the lifeblood of this region, with a deep record of occupation by both prehistoric and historic populations. Clark searches for Hispanic Colorado, which she identifies as both a people and a place. But unlike other historical archaeology studies, this one has few written records to rely upon for building a story of the peoples of the past. The goal of Clark\u27s work is to place these two sites into a broader social fabric of Hispanic place

LaBelle, Jason M.

English

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University of Nebraska - Lincoln
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and
Social Sciences Great Plains Studies, Center for
Fall 2012
Review of On the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology
of Place in Hispanic Colorado. By Bonnie J. Clark
Jason M. LaBelle
Colorado State University, jason.labelle@colostate.edu
Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch
Part of the American Studies Commons, and the Geography Commons
This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It
has been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences by an authorized administrator of
DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.
LaBelle, Jason M., "Review of On the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology of Place in Hispanic Colorado. By Bonnie J. Clark" (2012). Great
Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences. 1248.
http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/1248
Book Reviews 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
211 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
On the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology of Place in 
Hispanic Colorado. By Bonnie J. Clark. Lincoln: University 
of Nebraska Press, 2011. xxvi + 148 pp. Maps, photographs, 
illustrations, tables, references, index. $45.00 cloth. 
Bonnie Clark's book is a welcome addition to the small 
body of published literature regarding Great Plains historical 
archaeology. It concerns two habitation sites located on the 
Pinon Canyon Maneuver site, a modern military base in the 
canyon lands of the Purgatory River (which the Spanish named 
EI Rio de Las Animas Pedidas en Purgatorio) in southeastern 
Colorado. The river is the lifeblood of this region, with a deep 
record of occupation by both prehistoric and historic popula-
tions. Clark searches for Hispanic Colorado, which she identi-
fies as both a people and a place. But unlike other historical 
archaeology studies, this one has few written records to rely 
upon for building a story of the peoples of the past. The goal 
of Clark's work is to place these two sites into a broader social 
fabric of Hispanic place. 
Chapter I sets the historical stage for Clark's narrative. 
This area of Colorado has long been considered desplobado, 
a territory outside of the Spanish core of New Mexico, but 
nevertheless maintaining a Hispanic identity (under both 
Spanish and Mexican influence). Clark identifies several ofthe 
major events and processes that affected this region, includ-
ing the development of New Mexican settlements, Mexican 
independence from Spain in 1821, the development of the 
© 2012 Center for Great Plains Studies. University af Nebraska-Lincaln 
212 
Santa Fe Trail as a major Mexican/American trade route, the 
development of land grants, and the Mexican-American War 
of 1846-48. As of the 1870s, 90% of the region still had ties 
to New Mexico. 
The focus of chapter 2 is the archaeology ofthe two histor-
ic sites recorded and tested by Clark and her crew, including 
La Placita, a cluster of six habitation structures surrounded 
by additional livestock features. First settled in the late 1880s, 
the site appears abandoned by 1898. It is contrasted with the 
Wild Plum site, located only two miles away. Wild Plum also 
dates to approximately the 1890s, and appears to contain two 
to three occupations, including a household, as well as later 
ranching and mining activities. How the residents of these 
sites made a living, including by ranching and gardening, is 
the subject of chapter 3, in which Clark details several of the 
artifact classes recovered during her work, discussing the 
use of ceramics and other common household items, some of 
which appear in period Montgomery Ward catalogs. 
Chapter 4 considers the uses of plazas in the New World, 
with laws governing Spanish settlement dating back to the 
16th-century Law of the Indies. Clark argues that La Placita 
was conceived, built, and used as a plaza; her argument is 
supported by the architecture itself as well as associated 
features and artifacts. Dealing with landscapes and the mean-
ing of place in chapter 5, she identifies slight differences in 
Hispanic and Anglo use of place, in particular in concepts 
of land use. For example, Clark contrasts whether lands were 
modified into new, artificial forms or were altered in a lower-
intensity method, simply taking advantage oflocal ecological 
conditions. In her concluding chapter, she discusses how 
archaeologists should begin to view such places as La Placita 
not as discrete "sites," but instead as parts of a larger ''place," 
urging researchers to broaden their scope of inquiry to that of 
the landscape scale. 
Archaeologists and historians will find On the Edge of 
Purgatory useful on several levels. First, it helps in diversify-
ing the archaeology of Colorado by broadening the range of 
economic adaptations as well as ethnic populations discussed 
in the archaeological literature. Second, it is a valuable intro-
duction to landscape archaeology and the concept of place. 
So often archaeologists become trapped in the concept of an 
archaeological site as an analytical unit, rarely attempting 
to integrate sites into broader spatial (and conceptual) units. 
Clark is to be commended for bringing greater diversity to the 
theoretical and topical literature of historic Colorado. 
JASON M. LABELLE 
Department of Anthropology 
Colorado State University 
C 2012 Center for Greot Ploins Studies, University of Nebroska-Lincoln 
Great Plains Research Vol. 22 No.2, 2012 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Review of \u3ci\u3eOn the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology of Place in
Hispanic Colorado. \u3c/i\u3eBy Bonnie J. Clark

DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska

University of Nebraska - LincolnDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - LincolnGreat Plains Research: A Journal of Natural andSocial Sciences Great Plains Studies, Center forFall 2012Review of On the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeologyof Place in Hispanic Colorado. By Bonnie J. ClarkJason M. LaBelleColorado State University, jason.labelle@colostate.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearchPart of the American Studies Commons, and the Geography CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Great Plains Studies, Center for at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Ithas been accepted for inclusion in Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences by an authorized administrator ofDigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln.LaBelle, Jason M., "Review of On the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology of Place in Hispanic Colorado. By Bonnie J. Clark" (2012). GreatPlains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences. 1248.http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/greatplainsresearch/1248Book Reviews                                           211                    On the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology of Place in Hispanic Colorado. By Bonnie J. Clark. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011. xxvi + 148 pp. Maps, photographs, illustrations, tables, references, index. $45.00 cloth. Bonnie Clark's book is a welcome addition to the small body of published literature regarding Great Plains historical archaeology. It concerns two habitation sites located on the Pinon Canyon Maneuver site, a modern military base in the canyon lands of the Purgatory River (which the Spanish named EI Rio de Las Animas Pedidas en Purgatorio) in southeastern Colorado. The river is the lifeblood of this region, with a deep record of occupation by both prehistoric and historic popula-tions. Clark searches for Hispanic Colorado, which she identi-fies as both a people and a place. But unlike other historical archaeology studies, this one has few written records to rely upon for building a story of the peoples of the past. The goal of Clark's work is to place these two sites into a broader social fabric of Hispanic place. Chapter I sets the historical stage for Clark's narrative. This area of Colorado has long been considered desplobado, a territory outside of the Spanish core of New Mexico, but nevertheless maintaining a Hispanic identity (under both Spanish and Mexican influence). Clark identifies several ofthe major events and processes that affected this region, includ-ing the development of New Mexican settlements, Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, the development of the © 2012 Center for Great Plains Studies. University af Nebraska-Lincaln 212 Santa Fe Trail as a major Mexican/American trade route, the development of land grants, and the Mexican-American War of 1846-48. As of the 1870s, 90% of the region still had ties to New Mexico. The focus of chapter 2 is the archaeology ofthe two histor-ic sites recorded and tested by Clark and her crew, including La Placita, a cluster of six habitation structures surrounded by additional livestock features. First settled in the late 1880s, the site appears abandoned by 1898. It is contrasted with the Wild Plum site, located only two miles away. Wild Plum also dates to approximately the 1890s, and appears to contain two to three occupations, including a household, as well as later ranching and mining activities. How the residents of these sites made a living, including by ranching and gardening, is the subject of chapter 3, in which Clark details several of the artifact classes recovered during her work, discussing the use of ceramics and other common household items, some of which appear in period Montgomery Ward catalogs. Chapter 4 considers the uses of plazas in the New World, with laws governing Spanish settlement dating back to the 16th-century Law of the Indies. Clark argues that La Placita was conceived, built, and used as a plaza; her argument is supported by the architecture itself as well as associated features and artifacts. Dealing with landscapes and the mean-ing of place in chapter 5, she identifies slight differences in Hispanic and Anglo use of place, in particular in concepts of land use. For example, Clark contrasts whether lands were modified into new, artificial forms or were altered in a lower-intensity method, simply taking advantage oflocal ecological conditions. In her concluding chapter, she discusses how archaeologists should begin to view such places as La Placita not as discrete "sites," but instead as parts of a larger ''place," urging researchers to broaden their scope of inquiry to that of the landscape scale. Archaeologists and historians will find On the Edge of Purgatory useful on several levels. First, it helps in diversify-ing the archaeology of Colorado by broadening the range of economic adaptations as well as ethnic populations discussed in the archaeological literature. Second, it is a valuable intro-duction to landscape archaeology and the concept of place. So often archaeologists become trapped in the concept of an archaeological site as an analytical unit, rarely attempting to integrate sites into broader spatial (and conceptual) units. Clark is to be commended for bringing greater diversity to the theoretical and topical literature of historic Colorado. JASON M. LABELLE Department of Anthropology Colorado State University C 2012 Center for Greot Ploins Studies, University of Nebroska-Lincoln Great Plains Research Vol. 22 No.2, 2012                                     

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Review of \u3ci\u3eOn the Edge of Purgatory: An Archaeology of Place in Hispanic Colorado. \u3c/i\u3eBy Bonnie J. Clark

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