Resolving the migrant paradox: Two pathways to coalescence in the late precontact U.S. Southwest

•Migrants are viewed as disruptive and beneficial, a challenge faced by all multicultural societies.•Contemporary migrations share some the same attributes as past migrations, allowing comparison.•The archaeological record provides a long-term, unbiased perspective on migration outcomes.•The post-migration trajectories of two societies in the pre-contact U.S. Southwest are studied.•New or existing inclusive ideologies greatly facilitate migrant-local coalescence.•Coalescence is a multi-generational process whose outcome cannot be evaluated during migration.•Migrant skill, identity, organization, and social distance may be more important than scale in determining outcome.