The University of Arizona Press
April 27, 2026
The University of Arizona Press is excited to attend the 2026 Society for American Archaeology Conference! From April 30 to May 3, find us at booth 403 to purchase books and meet our staff.
We’ll also have authors signing books at our booth this year! Check out the schedule below:
Thursday, April 30
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Carla Hernández Garavito, author of Reinvention and History Making in Huarochirí
3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Fumiyasu Arakawa and Octavius Seowtewa, authors of Collaboration in Practice
Friday, May 1
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Chris Loendorf, author of Collaborative Archaeology
1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Joe Watkins, author of Indigenizing Japan
Saturday, May 2
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Michael A. Adler, author of Transilient Acts and Resilient Villages
Finally, read on to get a glimpse at this year’s incredible new work. And don’t forget, the 40% conference discount is good for all books on our website from April 29 through May 27, 2026! Just enter AZSAA26 when you checkout on our website.
New & Featured Titles
Grounded in decades of collaborative research with Pueblo communities, Transilient Acts and Resilient Villages is a vital contribution to southwestern archaeology. Focusing on the Tiwa-speaking communities of Taos, Picuris, and Pot Creek Pueblos, Michael A. Adler shows how social and ritual organization, architectural change, and sacred geographies were mobilized in response to disruption. He challenges conventional resilience theory, which emphasizes systemic stability, instead centering Indigenous agency, mobility, and sacred practice as key to understanding cultural endurance.
Focusing on the Chavez Cave collections in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Collaboration in Practice presents a study of the partnership between New Mexico State University and the Zuni Cultural Resource Advisory Team (ZCRAT). Rather than centering on artifact analysis, the authors emphasize the collaborative process itself—visiting the site, curating an exhibition, and co-authoring this volume—as a model for ethical and respectful research. Ultimately, this work charts a path forward for community-based research that centers Indigenous voices and values. It advocates for an archaeology that is not only more inclusive but also more meaningful to the communities whose histories are being studied.
Collaborative Archaeology brings together a diverse group of scholars and tribal cultural resource professionals to showcase how Indigenous knowledge is transforming archaeological practice. Edited by Chris Loendorf, this volume features twelve case studies that highlight the power of partnership between Native American communities and archaeologists. These collaborations not only enrich our understanding of the past but also affirm Indigenous cultural continuity. From the establishment of Tribal Historic Preservation Offices to tribally led research initiatives, the book illustrates how Native voices are reshaping the field.
Within just two generations, communities in the Peruvian Andes experienced conquest by the Indigenous Inka Empire (1450–1532 CE) and the European Spanish (1532–1821 CE), leading to three centuries of colonial subjugation. Reinvention and History Making in Huarochirí is an archaeological and historical rendering of the experience of the people of Huarochirí (Lima, Peru) and their interactions with successive waves of colonialism. Using archaeological and historical datasets and spatial modeling, Carla Hernández Garavito builds on Andean epistemological frameworks to argue that in the face of drastic sociopolitical changes, the people of Huarochirí turned to their own history.
In Indigenizing Japan, archaeologist Joe Watkins provides a comprehensive look at the rich history and cultural resilience of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido, Japan, tracing their journey from ancient times to their contemporary struggles for recognition. Watkins’s insightful analysis highlights the Ainu’s enduring spirit and their resurgence as part of the global Indigenous movement. Key events such as the 1997 Nibutani Dam case and the 2007 recognition of the Ainu as Japan’s Indigenous people are explored in depth, showcasing the Ainu’s ongoing fight for cultural preservation and self-determination. By situating the Ainu’s experiences within broader global colonial histories, Indigenizing Japan underscores the shared struggles and resilience of Indigenous communities worldwide.
Archaeological Structuration is a critical analysis of the theory of structuration and its utility in the study of societal development over deep time. Structuration theory was originally developed by Anthony Giddens in sociology and adopted piecemeal into archaeology. This book takes a closer look at its contributions to new materialism and develops novel ways to operationalize the theory in archaeological research in the twenty-first century. To illustrate the usefulness of structuration theory, archaeologist Michael T. Searcy deploys it to uncover new understandings of ancient societies, particularly focusing on the Casas Grandes civilization in precolonial northern Mexico.
Mimbres Far from the Heartland offers a unique investigation into the complexities of Mimbres identity and social dynamics beyond the traditional Mimbres Valley heartland. Situated at the western edge of the Mimbres region, the Powers Ranch site represents a professionally excavated Classic period settlement in Arizona’s Gila River Valley. Through excavation and analysis of architecture and a rich array of artifacts, including ceramic sherds, projectile points, and shell artifacts, authors Mary E. Whisenhunt and Patricia A. Gilman provide a detailed look at the lives of Mimbres people on the periphery.
Featured Series
The Anthropological Papers of the University of Arizona is a peer-reviewed monograph series sponsored by the School of Anthropology. Established in 1959, the series publishes archaeological and ethnographic papers that use contemporary method and theory to investigate problems of anthropological importance in the southwestern United States, Mexico, and related areas. Selected volumes in the series are now open-access titles available through the University of Arizona Campus Repository.
The Archaeology of Indigenous-Colonial Interactions in the Americas is a series that highlights leading current research and scholarship focused on Indigenous-colonial processes and engagement throughout all regions of the Americas. The series builds on the success of its predecessor, The Archaeology of Colonialism in Native North America.
Amerind Studies in Anthropology is a series that publishes the results of the Amerind Seminars, annual professional symposia hosted by the Amerind Foundation in Dragoon, Arizona, and cosponsored by the Society for American Archaeology (SAA). Series titles that emerge from these symposia focus on timely topics like the analysis of regional archaeological sites, current issues in methodology and theory, and sweeping discussions of world phenomena such as warfare and cultural settlement patterns.
Native Peoples of the Americas is an ambitious series whose scope ranges from North to South America and includes Middle America and the Caribbean. Each volume takes unique methodological approaches—archaeological, ethnographic, ecological, and/or ethno-historical—to frame cultural regions. Volumes cover select theoretical approaches that link regions, such as Native responses to conquest and the imposition of authority, environmental degradation, loss of Native lands, and the appropriation of Native knowledge and cosmologies. These books illuminate the strategies that Native Peoples have employed to maintain both their autonomies and identities. The series encourages the participation of Native, well-established, and emerging scholars as authors, contributors, and editors for the books.
For questions or to submit a proposal to any of these series, please contact Senior Acquiring Editor Allyson Carter at acarter@uapress.arizona.edu.
