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2008 Abstracts
Joint Annual
Meeting of the Geological Society of America, American Society of
Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of
America (Houston, Texas; October 2008)
Geochemical and Soil Micromorphological
Properties of Archaeological Deposits in Coastal Southern California
Jeffrey A. Homburg1,4, Richard I. Macphail2, Paul Goldberg3, and James H. Mayer4
1Statistical
Research, Inc.; 2University College of
London, United Kingdom; 3Boston University; 4University
of Arizona
Geoarchaeological and soil studies were conducted in Los Angeles as
part of the Playa Vista Archaeological and Historical Project prior to
development of property formerly owned by Howard Hughes. Field
investigations at CA-LAN-62 and other ancient settlements near the
Ballona Lagoon and surrounding wetlands were completed to aid in
interpreting the formation, preservation, and alteration of cultural
deposits on alluvial fans along the base of the Ballona Escarpment.
These settlements span the last 6,000+ years, with sites represented by
Mission period through Millingstone period occupations. A variety of
soil analyses were completed (e.g., pH, organic matter, nitrogen,
calcium carbonate, electrical conductivity, particle-size, and bulk
density analyses), but phosphorus analysis proved especially useful.
Phosphorus concentrations were used to identify buried occupation
surfaces that were not always visible macroscopically in the surficial
and buried soils. Phosphorus analysis was also used to discern ancient
activity areas in relation to cultural features represented by food
processing, cooking, refuse disposal, and other activities.
Micromorphological analysis of fire hearths revealed use of peat that
may have served as fuel, lagoonal clay for hearth construction on sandy
substrates, and coprolites from large scavenging animals, as well as
the identification of egg shells and other materials not documented by
other archaeological recovery methods. Soil micromorphology was used to
identify alterations of cultural deposits, such as those caused by
groundwater fluctuations marked by calcitic hypocoatings and
redoximorphic features, burial by fan/alluvial deposits, and reworking
of deposits by bioturbation.
Soil Properties of an Ancient Dryland
Agricultural Complex in Central Arizona
Robert M. Wegener1 and Jeffrey A. Homburg1,2
1Statistical Research, Inc.; 2University
of Arizona
Prehistoric dryland agricultural soils were investigated near Queen
Creek in central Arizona as part of the U.S. 60 Archaeological Project.
This study aimed to (1) determine the long-term effects of cultivation
and agricultural management practices on soil quality, (2) measure the
effects of rock mulch on unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, and (3)
compare the results with previous soil studies of ancient agricultural
systems in the region. A suite of physical and chemical soil tests were
used to compare the soil properties associated with terraces, rock
alignments, and rock piles to uncultivated control soils from similar
soils and landscape positions. Justification for this type of study is
provided by the following factors: (1) soil formation is slow in
semiarid climates, so cultivation effects persist for centuries to
millennia; (2) many ancient fields have remained uncultivated since
they were abandoned, so long-term soil properties reflect ancient
agricultural use; (3) agricultural features provide clues for
identifying and sampling ancient cultivated and control soils; and (4)
ancient farming systems are relevant to modern studies of agricultural
sustainability. Results of this study indicate that cultivation and
management practices improved soil quality in agricultural contexts
relative to the controls. Rock mulch soils tend to have elevated
organic carbon, nitrogen, and total and available phosphorus levels,
with reduced or no changes in soil pH. Bulk density tests showed that
cultivation has not caused soil compaction. Salinity is elevated in
some agricultural contexts but not at levels detrimental to crop
growth. Rock mulch soils have higher unsaturated hydraulic
conductivities than uncultivated controls. Overall soil fertility and
productivity is improved in the cultivated soils, which is similar to
previous studies of ancient agricultural studies in the middle Gila and
lower Verde River valleys of Arizona.
Fall 2008 Arizona
Archaeological Council Conference: Advances in Hohokam Archaeology
(Phoenix, Arizona; October 2008) Pre-Hispanic Food Production and
Social Relations at the Cashion Site
Complex: Settlement and Subsistence during the Early Archaic and
the Hohokam Pre-Classic Periods
William M. Graves, Robert M. Wegener,
and Richard Ciolek-Torrello
Recent work at AZ T:11:94 (ASM), located just south of the
Cashion Site
Complex, near the confluence of the Salt and Gila Rivers, provides a
wealth of information concerning the human use of the Salt River
floodplain in the western Phoenix Basin from, perhaps, the Early
Archaic period and the Hohokam pre-Classic period. A possible
Early Archaic structure and pits provide information concerning
settlement and the subsistence activities in which people were engaged
during this early period of time. Later, pre-Classic field
houses, pits, and a possible canal document the use of the floodplain
by residents of the Cashion Site Complex. We use the information
we have gathered from Site 94 to discuss more general patterns in the
Prehispanic use of the floodplain by Early Archaic hunter-gatherers and
by Hohokam irrigation agriculturists and the kinds of social relations
and cultural connections in which residents of the western Phoenix
Basin were engaged.
14th Annual
Conference of the European Association of Archaeologists (Velletta,
Malta; September 2008)
Hohokam Settlement in the
Mountains and River Valleys of the American Southwest
Richard Ciolek-Torrello, Robert M.
Wegener, and Jeffrey A. Homburg
The Hohokam Indians are well known for developing the largest and
most-complex irrigation system in the deserts of the New World. But
this is only a part of the story.
The Gila and Salt Rivers that the Hohokam tapped to supply their canals
flow from high mountains, which reach over 3,500 m and bound the
deserts areas on the north and east. In the first millennium of their
existence, the Hohokam exploited the deserts and these surrounding
mountains. They built their canals and towns in the floodplains of the
rivers together with smaller villages in the mountains, where they
farmed along the tributaries of the Salt and Gila Rivers and hunted
wild game. With very limited areas for traditional farming practices,
the mountain Hohokam also developed new strategies for dry farming and
developed new domesticates, most importantly a succulent known as agave
that could be grown in thin, rocky mountain soils. The mountain Hohokam
were closely tied to the desert Hohokam through a network of ceremonial
exchange focused on ballcourts and a cremation mortuary complex. This
close integration was necessary, because of uncertainties in food
production in both regions. Farming in the floodplains of the larger
river valleys was often tenuous because of cycles of flood and drought,
whereas mountain farmers did not have enough arable land to sustain
themselves.
Around A.D. 1000, circumstances changed as a
millennium of floodplain stability changed. The floodplains of the Salt
and Gila River were eroded and downcut, destroying canals, fields, and
riparian forests that provided fuel, building materials, and animal
products. The desert Hohokam responded to these changing environmental
circumstances by building new canals on higher terraces overlooking the
floodplains.
This
response resulted in opening vast new acreage to agricultural
production in areas that were much less prone to flooding and erosion.
Hohokam population and house construction expanded tremendously in the
major river valleys. At the same time, mountain settlements were
abandoned and many of their residents moved to the valleys, where they
were incorporated into the growing settlements. They brought with them,
however, the agave and dry-farming technologies they had developed in
the mountains and built large dry-farming systems in the rocky hills
surrounding valley towns. The old ballcourt system, which had
integrated settlements throughout a vast region of the Southwest, was
replaced by a new sociopolitical system that focused on the large
desert towns along the Salt and Gila Rivers. Able to sustain themselves
entirely on the production of their expanded canal system and nearby
dry-farming fields, the Hohokam cut their ties to the neighboring
mountain areas, a gap into which poured independent and often hostile
groups of people.
2008
Annual Meeting of the Society for California Archeology (Burbank,
California; April 2008)
Expedientes, Padrones, Flaked
Stone, and Cattle Bones: Ethnohistoric Research, Archaeological Data,
and Future Directions for Mission Period Archaeology near the Ballona
Lagoon
Note: From the
symposium “Ethnohistoric Research and Colonial Period Archaeology in
Southern California,” chaired by John R. Johnson
Benjamin R. Vargas
In southern California, historical documents and archaeological data
are often intertwined to create models of prehistoric behavior. New
archival research and recent archaeological investigations by
Statistical Research, Inc., are allowing us to evaluate past models of
human interaction created for work near the Ballona Lagoon. A
continuation of traditional practices in ritual contexts and an
incorporation of introduced materials in domestic contexts is an
emerging pattern at these sites. In this paper, archaeological
materials are contrasted with ethnohistoric data to evaluate Native
American interactions with the Mission San Gabriel, the pueblo of Los
Angeles, and/or local Hispanic ranchos.
73rd Annual Meeting
of the Society of American Archaeology (Vancouver, Brisith Columbia;
March 2008)
Late Archaic, Early Agricultural, Early
Ceramic Period Architecture in Southern Arizona
Richard Ciolek-Torrello, Robert M.
Wegener, and Heather Miljour
Our research involved 45 completely excavated Cienega and Red Mountain
phase structures dating between 900 B.C. and A.D. 400. Significant variation in the construction of the superstructures,
hearths, entries, and number and type of intramural pits was documented
among structures dating to each phase. Using this variation, we
identified preliminary morphological and functional categories.We also
compare them to Cienega, Agua Caliente, and Tortolita phase
architecture in the Tucson Basin and at the Kearny site along the Gila
River. We conclude with how this architectural variability can be used
to understand the forager-farmer transition in southern Arizona.
Ceramic Technology of the
Forager-Farmer Transition: Late Archaic and Early Agricultural Pottery
of Southern Arizona
Robert A. Heckman, Christopher P.
Garraty, and Resha Shenandoah
Excavation of several Cienega and Red Mountain phase site components
resulted in the collection of over 3,500 sherds from nonriverine
habitation loci in the Queen Creek region. This collection allowed a
detailed examination of the beginnings and development of well-fired
ceramic container technology in southern Arizona. Our preliminary
findings concerning vessel manufacture and function are compared to
previous studies at sites along the Gila and Middle Santa Cruz Rivers,
along with a cross-cultural comparison with protohistoric and
historical-period forager-farmer groups. The results shed light on the
transition from multiuse vessels to an increasingly specialized ceramic
container technology.
Hunting Practices and Faunal
Subsistence Patterns during the Forager-Farmer Transition in Southern
Arizona
Janet Griffitts and Jennifer A. Waters
Excavations at Finch Camp (AZ U:11:7 [ASM]) produced one of the largest
and best-dated nonriverine Cienega and Red Mountain phase faunal
collections recovered from the Queen Creek region. Leporid and
artiodactyl remains dominate the faunal assemblage, and many rodent
taxa are also represented. Comparable faunal collections have been
recovered from contemporary, riverine contexts in the Tucson Basin. The
Finch Camp fauna allow a detailed reconstruction of subsistence and
hunting strategies in the Queen Creek region, along with
comparison of hunting and subsistence in riverine and nonriverine
settings during the forager-farmer transition in southern Arizona.
U.S. 60 Symposium
As part of an Arizona Department of
Transportation–sponsored
project, Statistical Research, Inc., excavated 13 prehistoric sites
situated
along U.S. 60 between Florence Junction and
Superior
,
Arizona, in 2005–2006. Included among these sites were habitation
loci
representing 3,000 years of aboriginal occupation. An unprecedented
result of
the project was the discovery of nonriverine Late Archaic/Early
Agricultural
settlements represented by securely dated house groups, human burials,
and
extramural facilities. We discuss our findings to date, focusing on
Cienega
(800 B.C.~A.D. 1) and
Red
Mountain
(A.D. 1–400)
phase land use, technology, agriculture, mortuary practices, and
chronology.
From Basin to Rim: Foraging and
Farming Landscapes in South-Central Arizona
Michael Heilen
The U.S. 60 project resulted in the discovery of habitation and
limited-activity site components dating from 900 B.C. through A.D. 1450, including ancient agricultural habitation sites in nonriverine
settings. Focusing on these early sites, we compared the landscape
context of US 60 sites to over 1,500 sites in an approximately 4,500 km2 area of south-central Arizona. In this paper, the emergence and
development of forager-farmer land-use strategies is modeled by
tracking variability and change through time in site location and
composition. This information is used to infer the systemic landscape
context of the U.S. 60 sites.
The Content of Feature Fill and
Changes in Domestic Activities at Sites in the Queen Creek Valley
William M. Graves
Excavations at seven sites have yielded a wealth of data concerning
trash deposition and the character of feature fill in contexts dating
from the Early Agricultural period through the pre-Classic period.
These data allow us to examine issues concerning the nature of
settlement and community throughout this long period. In this paper, I
examine artifact and volumetric data from features and fill to examine
occupation duration and intensity and variation in site activities
through time. Using these data, we can begin to reconstruct changes in
settlement and community that may have taken place with the shift to a
domestication economy.
20th
Anniversary Southwest Symposium: Movement, Connectivity, and Landscape
Change (Tempe, Arizona; January 2008)
Soil and Landscape Responses to
American Indian Agriculture in the Southwest
Jonathan A. Sandor1 and Jeffrey Homburg2
1Iowa State University; 2Statistical Research, Inc.
Soil studies of prehistoric to contemporary American Indian agriculture
across the Southwest indicate varied, dynamic responses to land use.
Soil change is inferred from comparisons of agricultural fields to
reference uncultivated areas (space-for-time substitution). Soil
response pathways vary by initial ecosystem conditions, diverse
agricultural methods, and environmental sensitivity to alteration
(varying resistance and resilience). Terrain change detection is
complicated by postfarming geoecological processes and land use. Soil
change ranges from degradation (e.g., organic matter/nutrient decline,
compaction, salt/sodium accumulation), to minimal net change, to
enhanced soil quality. Ancient agricultural soils provide long-term
perspectives on human-environmental relationships and land use
sustainability.
Foraging Societies in an Arid
Environment: Coping with Change in the American Southwest
Bradley J. Vierra
The American Southwest is an environmentally diverse region that ranges
from upland mountains and high mesas to lowland river valleys and
desert plains. It should therefore not be surprising that this
variability would also be represented among past foraging societies
that had to cope with this ever-changing landscape. Twenty years of
hunter-gatherer research has only just begun to identify the nature of
this diversity. This paper will focus on several principal research
themes that are currently being studied by southwestern archaeologists:
the Paleoindian-Archaic transition, Archaic foraging technology, early
agricultural society, and forager-farmer relationships. Together these
themes provide new insights into past foraging societies and possible
avenues for future research.
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