Dance Hall of the Dead (1973)

A formal or prescribed set of observances that make up a regular practice, especially one carrying spiritual significance. A ritual can be performed alone or in small or large groups. Most communities around the world, have recurring gatherings, celebrations, or commemorations that are always performed in the same way according to agreed-upon standards. Such behaviors and events become ritualistic traditions that are often carried out through decades, centuries, or even millennia of repeated practices.

Folsom culture refers to a prehistoric group of nomadic hunters that may have hunted bison during the Pleistocene era. The majority of Folsom artifacts date to a period roughly between 9000 BCE and 8000 BCE. Archeological research shows that these hunter-gatherers lived across wide parts of North America, in the regions that stretch from what is now the Southwestern U.S. up through the Great Plains and all the way into Canada. The name Folsom originates in the first archeological site that uncovered this particular period, which was found near the village of Folsom, New Mexico. Traces of a specific "stone age" culture, based on its intricate and detailed stone weapons and tools were unearthed on that site in the early twentieth century, and additional Folsom sites have subsequently been excavated throughout New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas, as well as further up into the northeastern parts of the continent.

The Folsom culture is distinguished from the previous Clovis tradition by the shift from hunting mammoth that were becoming extinct to following herds of bison. This shift required developing new hunting techniques and devising new weapons, namely the famous Folsom point, which is a particular type of arrowhead that is carefully chipped out of flint rock. The typical Folsom arrowhead is characterized by a groove that runs along its center, suggesting that these points were mounted on wooden shafts and darts. The chipping of such grooves—a technique known as fluting—required advanced stone working tools, methods, and skills.

Much of the knowledge about Folsom culture that Tony Hillerman brings to his Navajo detective fiction, including his 1970 novel THE BLESSING WAY and his 1978 novel DANCE HALL OF THE DEAD, derives from the research he conducted for a chapter of his 1968 Masters thesis in English at the University of New Mexico. The chapter, which was published separately in TRUE, a men's journal, and in the 1973 published version of his thesis, THE GREAT TAOS BANK ROBBERY, was entitled, "The Hunt for the Lost American."

Foxes are canines that tend to be on the small size, with large upright ears and a large, bushy tail. They are opportunistic, ominvorous, and highly adaptable. In addition, although they can survive in a pack, they also do well on their own. As such, they have found a niche on every continent, except for Antarctica, where they have earned a variety of reputations as hunters, pests, and even beloved domesticated companions.

In folklore, because of their similarity to both coyotes and wolves, foxes tend to get lumped under the characteristic attributes of the other two. Seen as cunning tricksters, foxes are perceived with ambivalence, similar to coyote figures, whose nature is neither good nor bad. In the Navajo tradition, for example, foxes are viewed as a good animals that represent material goods. In addition, the fur and tails are used in different ceremonials such as Night Way and Coyote Way. Yellow and Blue Fox are mentioned a few times in the Navajo origin story. However, it appears that the larger gray fox or desert fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) can sometimes be associated as a Skinwalker or were-animal. Clyde Kluckhohn in Navaho Witchcraft asserts that, along with bear, owl, and crow, witches can take on the form of desert foxes.

A sling for a firearm, usually made of leather or canvas, worn either around the shoulders with the gun resting just under the armpit area, or around the waist.

An arid environment characterized by limited rainfall, sparse vegetation, and animals that are specially adapted for extreme temperature changes. In the U.S. Southwest there are three deserts: the Chihuahuan desert in Texas and New Mexico, the Sonoran desert in Arizona and California, and the Mojave in California and Nevada. These deserts can be very hot during the day and become near freezing at night. This means that the plants and animals that live within these ecosystems must be specially adapted to find water and as well as thrive the diurnal temperature changes. Plants such as cacti and desert scrub brush have adapted by developing strategies for preserving water, such as growing massive networks of roots or having tiny leaves that lose less water through transpiration than larger leaves. Animals that inhabit these desert regions include birds, rabbits, coyotes, rats, mice, lizards, and snakes. These animals are mainly active at dawn, dusk, or during the night. Larger animals are less common, as they have problems adapting in an environment with such little water. Through time the Southwest is progressively becoming more arid, which has contributed to a change in the distributions of flora and fauna. Additionally, overgrazing of grasslands and the lowering of the water table has caused more erosion and the incisement of arroyos and washes.

High desert refers to deserts formed and existing at higher elevations, usually resulting in different vegetation and plant life as well as more precipitation in the more mountainous areas.

A geographic term that refers to the outline of a mountain in which a gentle concave depression lies between two peaks. As the name suggests, the shape would then resemble a saddle used for horse riding, where the seat slopes down into a low curve between the slightly higher parts of the front and the back.

Slang for "fraternity house." Fraternity (and sorority) houses are part of the Greek system, or Greek letter organization, found at some universities and colleges, a system that purportedly encourages community service but that is more generally understood as an exclusive social system. Often, membership is available only to those have the financial resources and social and physical attributes typically associated with an insular, white, upper middle class, although fraternity and sorority houses exist that do promote community service and social values that transcend the stereotype of racist privilege.

Sedimentary rock consisting of sand or quartz grains consolidated and compacted together, typically reddish in color, although yellow and brown versions are also common. Rock formations composed of sandstone are relatively porous, allowing for percolation of water and dynamic erosion by both water and wind.

Sandstone often forms dramatically colored and shaped cliffs and other geologic formations, such as the iconic stone monoliths in Monument Valley, Utah. The rock outcropping of El Morro, on the Zuni Reservation, is composed of yellowish-gray white sandstone known as Zuni Sandstone.

Often commonly referred to as a "bike," the bicycle is a two-wheeled, man-powered mode of transportation that became popular as both entertainment and exercise in the late nineteenth century.