Encyclopedia of the Southwest (F)

A portable, usually handheld, illumination device. Typically, a flashlight consists of a stem, comprised of a hard casing that doubles as a handle and as the housing…

Tony Hillerman uses this phrase to refer to people who are not native to the Southwest and therefore do not understand the variegated geography of the landscape and…

This is another way of referring to the A'shiwi, or Zuni, people before they had earned, or learned, their name. This type of naming convention suggests a pre-…

A travel bag used for short trips, usually designed as a small suitcase, with a zipper on top and either a shoulder strap or two handles. Flight bags are light and easy…

Also known as chert, flint is an exceptionally hard sedimentary rock that is therefore especially desirable when making stone tools that need to have and keep edges.…

An area that is prone to seasonal flooding. Flood plains vary in size and usually follow lower parts of valleys through which a primary water source flows. Because of…

Florence Hawley Ellis was a Southwestern archaeologist, who was not only a pioneer of dendrochronology, a method of dating using tree rings, but also accomplished the…

The term describes a complexion or skin tone that is flushed and tinged with red. Florid can also suggest excess in style and ornamentation, an overabundance of…

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…

Distinguished from a Clovis point in that Clovis points come from a slightly older culture and are slightly less sophisticated points in terms of stone working…

The second oldest correctional facility in California (after San Quentin), Folsom State Prison was opened in 1880, following the California Gold Rush. It is located on…

The baptismal font is a large basin on a raised pedestal, and has a primary place in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The fonts are often…

A series of small hills located at the bottom or base of a larger range of topogrpahic upheaval.

An American car brand that is known world-wide as popular, reliable and affordable. The Ford automobile company was named after Henry Ford, who is famous for changing…

A trademark name for a smooth, hard plastic top surface made of sheets of special paper laminated in synthetic resins. Formica was invented in 1912 in New Zealand and…

Fornication is the sexual act between two people who are not married to one another.

Now a National Historic Landmark, Fort Sill is a US Army post located in Lawton, OK. Established in 1869, it is the only active fort that remains from the era of the…

The four corners refers to the spot in the southwestern U.S. where the corners of four states meet. It includes the northwestern corner of New Mexico, the…

The number four is sacred to many Native Americans. There are four sacred directions, four sacred mountains, four sacred plants, and four times of day. It is believed…

Although there are many variations of the creation myth among the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, basic elements of the story are repeated and point to similar…

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…

A Franciscan is a Christian who belongs to the Franciscan order, which is a Catholic sect that follows the teachings and guidance of St. Francis of Assisi. Preaching a…

This U.S. born ethnologist and anthropologist spent five years among the Zuni, from 1879-1884, when his advocacy for keeping the Nutria Valley within Zuni boundaries…

Frank Hibben is a well-known archaeologist who studied Paleoindian cultures and had a very long and very controversial career. He received his master’s degree in…

A renowned and prolific American architect famous for designing numerous public buildings as well as residential homes. He is credited as the main contributor to the…