Archaeologists use the word "Mimbres" to refer to a prehistoric culture that thrived in present-day New Mexico. Archaeologists directing professional excavations of Mimbres cultural artifacts and architecture are particularly interested in the relationships between the lives and landscapes of the Mimbres past.

Archaeologists use terms like "Mimbres people," "Mimbres pottery" and "Mimbres village," but they do not know how people of this prehistoric culture referred to themselves.