Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the Archaeology Southwest Headquarters or online via Zoom Webinar, Benjamin A. Bellorado (Assistant Curator of Archaeology at the Arizona State Museum) presented “Road Signs and Walking Shoes: Sandals and Sandal Imagery as Part and Parcel of the Chaco Road System.”
For over a century, archaeologists have studied the ancient Chacoan roads, proposing functions such as resource transport, trade, and religious expression, though their exact purpose remains unclear. This presentation argues that these roads also served as performance spaces where people enacted movement, identity, and symbolism. Evidence from rock art and worn twined sandals suggests that travel along these routes was both a physical journey and a public expression of Chaco identity.
This presentation was part of Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café series—an informal forum that brings lifelong learners together with experts.
2025–2026 Archaeology Café: Tread — The Where, How, and Why of Trails & Foot Travel
Step into the 2025–2026 season of Archaeology Café: Tread. This year, we’re following the routes people have taken across time—on foot, through memory, and across landscapes.
From ancient migrations and sacred trails to trade paths, historical expeditions, and everyday travel, this season explores how movement shapes cultural landscapes in the Southwest and beyond. Trails connect people to place, carry meaning, and leave lasting marks on the land and in our stories.
This season, we’re coming home: Archaeology Café is returning to the headquarters of Archaeology Southwest in downtown Tucson—and adding a live Zoom Webinar option so you can join the Café in real time from wherever you are.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and talks begin at 6:00 p.m.
Can’t make it in person? Recordings are posted here on our YouTube channel a few days later.
History has many paths—let’s walk a few together.
Archaeology Café is made possible by BMO and The Smith Family Trust.
On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at the Archaeology Southwest Headquarters or online via Zoom Webinar, Benjamin A. Bellorado (Assistant Curator of Archaeology at the Arizona State Museum) presented “Road Signs and Walking Shoes: Sandals and Sandal Imagery as Part and Parcel of the Chaco Road System.”
For over a century, archaeologists have studied the ancient Chacoan roads, proposing functions such as resource transport, trade, and religious expression, though their exact purpose remains unclear. This presentation argues that these roads also served as performance spaces where people enacted movement, identity, and symbolism. Evidence from rock art and worn twined sandals suggests that travel along these routes was both a physical journey and a public expression of Chaco identity.
This presentation was part of Archaeology Southwest’s Archaeology Café series—an informal forum that brings lifelong learners together with experts.
2025–2026 Archaeology Café: Tread — The Where, How, and Why of Trails & Foot Travel
Step into the 2025–2026 season of Archaeology Café: Tread. This year, we’re following the routes people have taken across time—on foot, through memory, and across landscapes.
From ancient migrations and sacred trails to trade paths, historical expeditions, and everyday travel, this season explores how movement shapes cultural landscapes in the Southwest and beyond. Trails connect people to place, carry meaning, and leave lasting marks on the land and in our stories.
This season, we’re coming home: Archaeology Café is returning to the headquarters of Archaeology Southwest in downtown Tucson—and adding a live Zoom Webinar option so you can join the Café in real time from wherever you are.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and talks begin at 6:00 p.m.
Can’t make it in person? Recordings are posted here on our YouTube channel a few days later.
History has many paths—let’s walk a few together.
Archaeology Café is made possible by BMO and The Smith Family Trust.
