{"id":2697,"date":"2019-12-12T02:24:45","date_gmt":"2019-12-12T02:24:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newmexicoriver.staging.wpengine.com\/?post_type=product&#038;p=2697"},"modified":"2025-10-28T20:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T20:18:07","slug":"a-cultural-history-of-the-rio-chama-with-dr-tim-maxwell","status":"publish","type":"trip","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicoriveradventures.com\/a-cultural-history-of-the-rio-chama-with-dr-tim-maxwell\/","title":{"rendered":"A Cultural History Of The Rio Chama With Dr. Tim Maxwell"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row&#8221; el_class=&#8221;bgForm insidebgForm insidebgFormToFix&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text][trip_acf_data][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=&#8221;contentArea&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<div class=\"no-autop\">[about_the_trip_title][about_the_trip_content]<\/div>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=&#8221;10&#8243; collapsible_all=&#8221;true&#8221;][vc_tta_section title=&#8221;Trip Highlights&#8221; tab_id=&#8221;trip-highlights&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Explore the iconic Rio Chama Wilderness<\/li>\n<li>Retrace the paths of the ancient Puebloans<\/li>\n<li>Amazing meals prepared by your guides starting with lunch on day 1 through lunch day 3<\/li>\n<li>A variety of crafts available to suit you and your group<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=&#8221;Where to Meet&#8221; tab_id=&#8221;trip-details&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;trip-chama-widget&#8221;][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=&#8221;Frequently asked questions&#8221; tab_id=&#8221;frequently-asked-questions&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;trip-faq-multi-widget&#8221;][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=&#8221;REVIEWS&#8221; tab_id=&#8221;reviews&#8221;][vc_raw_html]JTVCd3ByZXZwcm9fdXNldGVtcGxhdGUlMjB0aWQlM0QlMjIxJTIyJTVE[\/vc_raw_html][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][vc_column][vc_column_text][what_to_expect_title][\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Learn about the history of the Early Paleo and Folsom people traveling the Chama River Valley thousands of years ago and their high-quality chert for stone tools was found on the prominent Pedernal Peak. Learn about nomadic residents living 3,000 years heavily used the region as evidenced by obsidian spear points and ancient living sites. After the depopulation of Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde, new people entered the area and created communities along the river and its tributaries. By the mid-1300\u2019s they built some of the largest prehistoric pueblos in the ancient southwest by using a rock and gravel mulch grid gardens. Learn about the settlement by Spanish colonists, Native hostilities and the floods of the raging Chama River and the dams that finally tamed the river. Visit a grid garden on the last day of the trip.<\/p>\n<h4>Narration<\/h4>\n<p>Dr. Maxwell will share knowledge of the native peoples, history, and the agricultural field systems of the Rio Chama. He is Director Emeritus, New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies and conducted extensive mapping of Chama River cultural sites and the agricultural field systems of the Rio Chama.<\/p>\n<h4>The Trip<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicoriveradventures.com\/rivers-we-raft\/rio-chama\/\">We will follow the Rio Chama<\/a> for a 33-mile mellow whitewater rafting adventure from Tierra Amarilla and float through stunningly colorful sandstone and limestone walls and hidden canyons. The trip ends near Christ in the Desert Monastery and includes a visit to a nearby grid garden. We will view the spectacular red, yellow, and purple multi-hued cliffs captured by artists such as Georgia O\u2019Keeffe and Ansel Adams. For more information about this trip, please contact Southwest Seminars.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_class=&#8221;image4Layout insideimage4Layout&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p class=\"maroonHeading text-center\">Gallery<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width=&#8221;stretch_row_content_no_spaces&#8221; el_class=&#8221;photoGallery insidephotoGallery&#8221;][vc_column][vc_gallery type=&#8221;image_grid&#8221; images=&#8221;13895,13878,13884,13882&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row gap=&#8221;15&#8243; el_class=&#8221;box3Layout indsidebox3Layout&#8221;][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"maroonHeading text-center\">Related Trips<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text][related_trip][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Join Us and our good friends at Southwest Seminars for 3-days and 2-nights rafting the Rio Chama led by Dr. Tim Maxwell as we learn about the native history of the river and its valleys that served as a natural corridor from north to south for millennia.\u00a0 Dr. Maxwell will share knowledge of the native peoples, history, and the agricultural field systems of the Rio Chama. He is Director Emeritus, New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies and conducted extensive mapping of Chama River cultural sites and the agricultural field systems of the Rio Chama.\u00a0\u00a0 The trip will take us through the 33 mile Wild and Scenic Rio Chama Canyon with our world class guides taking care of every detail of this amazing adventure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"trip_category":[164,28],"class_list":["post-2697","trip","type-trip","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","trip_category-science-culture","trip_category-specialty-trips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>New Mexico Archeology &amp; Cultural Trips - Rafting - NMRA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join us for an amazing 3-day trip down the Rio Chama with Dr. Tim Maxwell as we learn about the native history of the river and its valleys.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newmexicoriveradventures.com\/a-cultural-history-of-the-rio-chama-with-dr-tim-maxwell\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Mexico Archeology &amp; Cultural Trips - 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