Household Ritual Closure in Mimbres Society

Abstract Ritual practices have been a common topic of study for many past cultures worldwide. Many studies have been done of ritual practices associated with communal architecture, whereas household ritual has sometimes received less attention. In this article, I use data from two sites in the Mimbres Mogollon region of southwestern New Mexico to explore ritual closure events associated with the termination of use or transformation of structures at these sites. I take a practice-based approach focusing on depositional events performed by households to demarcate closure and to identify certain materials associated with these events, including ash, ceramics, and ground stone. I document similarities and differences in closure deposits between pithouse and pueblo closure, and I argue that these closure events were important to reinforce household cohesion and continuity.