Medallion Papers

Medallion Papers

The Medallion Papers is a series of 39 publications issued between 1928-1950 by the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation.

The Medallion Papers is a series of 39 publications issued between 1928-1950 by the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation. Gila Pueblo, as it later became known, was one of the earliest Arizona institutions doing archaeological surveying and research in the Southwest. It was founded by Winifred and Harold S. Gladwin as a private foundation and employed professional archaeologists whose research was published in the Medallion Papers. Their work was instrumental in defining the Hohokam, Mogollon, San Simon and Cochise cultures and in describing early pottery types including Hohokam red-on-buff, Salado polychrome, Casas Grandes and others.

Gila Pueblo was located in east-central Arizona, several miles south of Globe, Arizona. It was in operation until 1950, at which time, the Foundation was dissolved. The buildings were acquired by the National Park Service and became the Southwest Archaeological Center from 1950 to 1971. They are now occupied by the Gila Community College (formally the Globe Campus/Eastern Arizona College). The Foundation's artifacts, photographs, library and documents were donated to the Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona.

Distinguished archaeologists published in the Medallion Papers are: Charles Avery Amsden, Ernst Antevs, Alice M. Brues, Nora Gladwin, Winifred and Harold Gladwin, Emil W. Haury, Fred Hawley, M. M. Leighton, Deric O'Bryan, E. B. Sayles, George C. Vaillant, and George and Edna Woodbury.

The Medallion Papers are digitally presented here in their full-text. The original issues Nos. 1-3 carry the imprint "Privately printed for the Medallion, Pasadena, California", while issues Nos. 4-39 have the imprint "Gila Pueblo, Globe, Arizona". The earliest issues were not published with authors or numbering and it wasn't until they became more widely distributed that stick-on labels were prepared with this information. All print work was done by Lancaster Press, Inc., Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Each volume was beautifully crafted on heavy cream-colored paper stock and most issues included color plates and line art. Covers displayed a design taken from a Querino polychrome bowl as the Medallion Papers colophon. The original format was 6 5/8 by 9 3/4 inches until issue No. 25, at which time the format changed to 8 1/2 by 11 1/8 inches. Issue No. 25, Excavations at Snaketown: Material Culture, which was originally printed in 1937, was later reprinted in 1965 by the University of Arizona Press, which retains its distribution rights.

Also presented here are the Amsden Pottery Paintings, a collection of 18 oil paintings commissioned by the Gila Pueblo Archaeological Foundation for use as illustrations in the Medallion Papers. The paintings were executed by Theodore ("Ted") Price Amsden between 1929 and 1936. The images of the paintings are presented in the order in which they appear in the Medallion Papers

In this collection
Items in Collection: 
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
A survey of the extent to which the Red-on-buff culture expanded along its western front despite geographic obstacles.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Excavations from the early-to-mid 1930's in southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico and northern Mexico resulted in the classification of a new culture, the Cochise culture.
Community
Archives
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Summary
Classification of several types of pottery found in the Flagstaff/Globe region of the Southwest and assignment of distinctive styles to specific cultures.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
An analysis of skeletal remains found in Texas in the coastal region, examining specifically the skulls, arms, and legs. Clues pertaining to culture are extrapolated from composition and structure of the bones.
Community
Archives
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Summary
Pottery from the Little Colorada River area is analyzed with the Chaco Canyon and Upper Gila River areas to define a possible new Little Colorado culture.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Examination of the validity of the commonly accepted tree-ring drought theory as applied by archaeologists in establishing timelines for the various cultures in the Southwest.
Community
Kiowa Tribe, Mescalero Apache, Archives
Category
Education
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
A survey of the origins and evolution of Indian cultures and development of classification schemes to place the cultures in various periods.
Community
Archives
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Summary
The purpose of this report is to describe the pottery types which developed in the Chihuahua Branch series
Community
Pueblo, Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Describes the excavations and findings at the White Mound and the Red Mesa Valley areas and their significance to the Pueblo cultures.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Paper revising a prior Medallion paper concerning excavations of Snaketown and the presentation of new theories about the "Mogollon" culture based on new analysis and information.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Archaeological survey of the ruins near the Grand Canyon- specifically, the ruins of 2 kivas located near the pueblos.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Critical analysis of similarities and differences in various tree-ring data obtained from the Medicine Valley in an attempt to reach a consensus as to the date of the ruins in the region.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Gladwin compares the previous work done on the architecture of the Flagstaff culture by Colton, Spicer, McGregor and Hargrave with tree-ring dating done by Douglass and McGregor and concludes that the tree-rings dates are in direct conflict.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
An examination of clues left by the Red-on-Buff (Hohokam) culture in the vicinity of the Gila Basin as they pertain to understanding the culture; clues including pottery sherds, rubbish mounds, and architectural ruins.
Community
Navajo Nation, Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Crucial importance of potsherds in conducting surveys of the Southwest in the absense of other tangible artifacts.
Community
Archives
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Summary
Archaeological surveys of the Mogollon and Mimbres cultures in order to better understand the Hohokam culture.
Community
Archives
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Summary
Paper standardizing the way ceramics and other archaeological findings should be classified.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Discussion of the best possible ways to catalog and name ruins in the Southwest.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
This report is concerned with the excavations in two pit house villages of southwestern New Mexico.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Methodology and instruments for carrying out tree-ring analysis with the goal of determining age of archaeological structures and artifacts.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
A survey of the extent to which the Red-on-Buff culture expanded along its eastern front despite geographic obstacles
Community
Archives
Category
Pottery and Basketry
Summary
Examination of Red-on-Buff pottery for clues to better understand the Hohokam.
Community
Archives
Category
Education
Summary
Critical analysis of similarities and differences between various cultures of North and Central America.