Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s 20th anniversary of “Third Thursday Food for Thought” will feature “Petroglyphs, Pottery, and Painting in the Ancient Southwest“ by archaeologist Kelley Hays-Gilpin, Ph.D. This free online Zoom presentation will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2026 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm (Mountain Standard Time).

Please join us this month in celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s “Third Thursday Food for Thought” public presentations series! The first presentation in the series was “Hohokam Ruins, Reservoir, & Canals along Silverbell Road in Marana [Arizona]” by archaeologist Arthur MacWilliams, on January 19, 2006! (But, historical note: the Third Thursday series was an outgrowth of an earlier “First Mondays” series that began on November  1, 2004 with a presentation titled “American Indian Elders: Our Birthright!” by Arizona Humanities guest speaker Evangeline Parzons-Yazzie.)

For this January 2026 twentieth anniversary Third Thursday presentation, inquiring minds at Old Pueblo (and probably elsewhere) wanted to know about the similarities, or lack thereof, of visual imagery (aka “art”) on pottery vs rock imagery (rock paintings and engravings, petroglyphs) in the archaeological record of the Southwest. Archaeologist and prolific author Dr. Kelley Hays-Gilpin will explore this question using design examples from across Arizona and New Mexico in the period from the earliest painted pottery on the Colorado Plateau through the 1300s, and will discuss some ideas about what the overlaps and differences in visual design repertoire might tell us about community organization and interactions. Spoiler: textile images are important as well.

To register for the Zoom webinar go to https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_m_Clj43rRjuTCIHylJI-mQ. For more information contact Old Pueblo at info@oldpueblo.org or 520-798-1201.

Flyer: 20260115(v1)ThirdThursday_KelleyHaysGilpin_PetroglyphsPottery&PaintingInTheAncientSouthwest

Caption: Photos provided by Kelley Hays-Gilpin, clockwise from upper left: Shalako petroglyph on Hopi Second Mesa; Shalako image on Sikyatki Polychrome bowl (Field Museum of Natural History); petroglyphs with textile patterns near Holbrook AZ; Cibola White Ware jar with textile design (Museum of Northern Arizona)