THE USE OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THE DISCOVERY AND ANALYSIS OF PREHISTORIC AGRICULTURAL FIELDS AND RELATED FEATURES AT WUPATKI NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA
by
Bryan A. Marozas
January 1984
Abstract
This study focuses on using aerial photo interpretation to identify and explain the material remains of prehistoric agricultural practices. Two different types of problems are discussed: methodological (identifying and locating agricultural fields) and theoretical (assessment of the inherent adaptational strategy).
The study area is a portion of Wupatki National Monument, Arizona, a semi-arid rangeland on a plain below a major volcanic field. Prehistorically, the region was thought to have been occupied by groups of Sinagua and Anasazi Indian peoples seeking suitable farmlands. Although interpretations of shifting populations and settlement patterns which typify the literature fail to present any evidence of an agricultural base, this study documents the distribution of agricultural techniques in the Wupatki area.
Employing analogies from ethnographic sources, data obtained from an air photo interpretation survey were used to generate hvpotheses concerning the dynamics behind prehistoric agricultural field placement and utilization. Resulting photo interpretation reveals several prehistoric "water harvesting" systems. Their discovery is critical for interpreting the adaptive strategies employed by prehistoric occupants of this semi-arid environment.
FRESH PAST A HISTORY OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY FOR KIDS
by
Julie E. Maurer
May 1996
Abstract
This manuscript is a history of the field of the people who put history and prehistory under the microscope, a history within a history. It is necessarily selective. Everybody engineers the past in one way or another, consciously or unconsciously. This is one interpretation of archaeology's past, present and future. By this I mean I have selected prominent people or the most prevalent circumstances of each era to illustrate and illuminate the history of American archaeology. I have built the story of archaeology's past around sites preserved by the Archaeological Conservancy (on private land); each site is stewarded by geographically relevant characters, (like a musk ox in Alaska, a farmer in the Ohio River Valley, a homed toad lizard in Arizona), who tell the story of the field of archaeology. With Conservancy sites as back drops, I try to convey that preservation and well mitigated investigation of archaeological sites is a current and desirable direction in archaeology's present, and probably, future.
Archaeological sites mean many things to many people. Every meaning matters, each vision is valid, whether a place has meaning as a sacred site, homeland, heritage monument, informational data bank, or educational resource. An archaeologist investigates a site for its infonnational value, for research purposes, to build hypotheses about past human behavior based on material remains and to then test these 'best guesses' against data collected. Native Americans, related to the people who once lived at what is now a National Monument, might consider a site not part of their past, but a viable part of their present. The public may see this same site as something to marvel at, a vacation land, or a place to enhance education. Looters might look at an archaeological site for sheer monetary profit. This is the heartbeat of today's archaeology: multiculturalism. Archaeologists are reconsidering our past as part of a collective or shared heritage, in which the different interests different people have in a site are validated and accounted for. It is an archaeology designed with the interests of different peoples in mind. Therefore, a creation story need not dissolve alongside the hypothesized Bering Strait migration to account for the peopling of North America.
This story is fiction based on fact, it is historical fiction. The characters are figments of my imagination, created out of 'midair.' The places are real; archaeological preserves currently protected by the Archaeological Conservancy. As preserves on private land, Conservancy sites symbolize current trends in archaeological thought, manifested as a concern for the protection of the world's heritage resources.
The paintings are interpretations of Conservancy sites I visited and documented during the spring of 1995. With the illustrations I have tried to juxtapose actual archaeological preserves with site-logical characters, and site-specific artifacts, where artifacts were visible. I wanted to show the diversity of sites, as they stand today, layered with the diversity of ancient material remains as they occurred at sites, and finally the diversity of species, animal, plant and human, across the continent. The latter was also a vehicle for visually integrating the concept of multiculturalism.
The concept of an "endangered" past is additionally bolstered by the frequency of characters who are or have been endangered species, (an orangutan, a musk ox, a buffalo, a California condor). I have tried to deliver this history of American archaeology in a way that is more then a lecture, that any interested person can read and understand. It is a hybrid text book and historical fiction. As I have learned from ZiNj Magazine, it is not necessary or desirable to 'talk down to kids,' but better to challenge them with new ways of thinking, and to prompt them to question the questionable world around us. The beauty of plain language lies in the debunking of the idea that science (or the development of a field) is necessarily scary and unintelligible to everyone outside of academia.
ANALYSIS OF WOOD USE BY EARLY FARMERS IN THE NORTHERN SOUTHWEST:
WOOD INDUSTRIES AND MOBILITY
by
Martin
Scott McClung
December
2002
ABSTRACT
My primary goal in this pilot project
is to explore and describe the rare, small‑scale wood assemblage
collected by the Colorado Plateau Agriculture Origins Project in the
1997, 1998, and 1999 field seasons. Secondly, I aim to determine if
studies of similar small‑scale wood assemblages would be useful
in answering questions about prehistoric residential mobility and lifeways.
To achieve these complex goals I developed
a model of prehistoric wood use within early farming societies. I based
my Wood Mobility Model on Binford's (1979:263266) notion of anticipatory versus
situational gear, the physical properties of wood, and an ethnographical
comparison of Southern Paiute and
Hopi wood industries. In order to test the model against the data I
needed to identify each species of wood present in the assemblage.
Since the positive identification of wood artifacts by species requires
the use of a comparative collection, I developed in this thesis a 26
piece comparative collection of indigenous woody plants found within
the Comb Ridge and Butler Wash study area in southeastern Utah. Included
here is a
detailed photographic record of the comparative collection and a basic
description of wood identification methods.
In the hope of discovering the full
range of functional roles wood played in early farming lifeways I father analyzed the assemblage
by constructing a function‑based typology. Chapter 4 contains
a detailed written and photographic description of the typology.
The results show four things: a unique
picture of early farming lifeways, information on cultural evolution, a need for
chronometric resolution, and perhaps some site location predictions.
Gaming pieces show that early farming life was not all work and no
play. Variation in mobility patterns along with significant periods
of time may be key elements of cultural evolution. We do not know when
the early farmers made this suite of garden tools. Furthermore, interpreting
the data from landscape prospective raises the possibility that additional
sites might be located within greasewood zones.
LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE WARRIOR ART: THE PERSISTENCE OF ABSTRACT REPRESENTATIONALISM
by
Ronald Timothy-Arvad McCoy
May 1987
Abstract
The significant influence of nineteenth century Western (European-Euroamerican) mainstream representational art on Plains Indians' drawings and paintings of wartime exploits has been suggested by some scholars. This influence allegedly appeared as early as the 1830s and thereafter became pervasive. A random sample of Lakota (Teton Sioux) and Cheyenne warrior graphics from the Plains Indian Wars era, c. 1865-1878, was examined to determine the extent of this influence. That examination leads to the conclusion that Plains Indian representational art, here termed "abstract representationalism," is fundamentally unrelated to and well outside the Western tradition of illusionistic representationalism. The contention that Western artistic traditions exerted significant influence on warrior art prior to the reservation period is therefore not sustained. Instead, abstract representationalism's survival during a period of intense culture contact is seen as an example of culture trait persistence among the Lakotas and Cheyennes.
CERAMIC DISTRIBUTION AND THE CHACOAN ROAD NETWORK
by
Tim McEnany
May 1994
Abstract
The primary purpose of this research was an investigation into the possible relationship between the Chacoan road system and regional distribution of ceramic materials. If the Chacoan roads represented a physical manifestation of a broad pattern of regional interaction, and if roads or certain roads served as an integrative mechanism at the regional level, then some relationship between the apparent plan of this system and ceramic distribution patterns can be expected.
Previous archaeological studies of regional ceramic exchange in the San Juan Basin have relied on simplified conceptions of the effects of distance on the distribution process. Investigators have also overlooked the fact that existing data are not entirely adequate for addressing the issue. An alternative methodology adopted for this study involves comparisons of coordinate matrix representations of differences in ceramic assemblage composition and settlement location using Procrustean similarity transformations.
Previous investigators have used methods requiring assumptions concerning the location or sources of ceramic materials which may not be valid. These assumptions effectively limited the scope of their research by forcing investigators to concentrate on one type of pottery. In this study, greater emphasis is placed on examining ceramic assemblages as a unit.
The results of this study indicate a relationship between ceramic distribution or exchange patterns and the Chacoan road system. This relationship may have existed because of the importance of a particular class of pottery in staging periodic public gatherings for the purpose of redistributing food and other commodities at the large sites in Chaco Canyon. Although previous studies have generally related the existence of Chacoan roads to a single cause or a single function, the results of this study suggest the roads can only be understood from a broader perspective.
DETERMINING FUNCTIONS AND DATES OF PREHISTORIC TERRACE FEATURES THROUGH THE ANALYSIS AND MAPPING OF SURFACE REMAINS
By
Josh H. McNutt
August 2001
Abstract
The purpose of this thesis was to study the terrace features of Site AR 03-04-05-0048 (Site 48) on the Coconino National Forest. My thesis evaluated the six terraces found at Site 48, to determine the function, date, and agricultural potential of the features. To determine the function of the terraces I mapped the terraces using an enlarged air photo. I also analyzed each feature and recorded its attributes to determine if the features were agricultural or occupational in function. To determine the date of the terrace features I sampled 13 two by two meter units for decorated ceramics. The ceramics were photographed and analyzed by unit to determine the specific ware and type of each sherd collected. Finally, I conducted a test on 10 soil samples taken the surface of Site 48 to determine the soil pH or soil chemistry of the terraced area.
The analysis of the features determined that four of the Site 48 terrace features were of purely agricultural function and the remaining two were found to be of dual use being both agricultural and occupational in function. The ceramic test conducted on the terraced features revealed that the site has evidence of continual use, possibly lasting from A.D. 800 to the mid 1400's. The calculated Mean Ceramic Date for the Site 48 terraces determined that the average ceramic date was A.D. 1156. The soil pH test performed on the sites determined that the soil was between a range of 7.5 and 7.9. These soil samples represent the natural soil chemistry and do not show any evidence of being altered by the inclusion of household midden of trash. I calculated the potential agricultural output of the Site 48 terraces and found that the output was only a minimal percentage of what was needed for one person to survive on for one year.
The goal of my thesis was to conduct a series of pilot projects to encourage future archaeological study. I believe that I have successfully completed the pilot project and have provided a significant database for the development of future research questions.
BROKEN POTS AND LIFE IN TWO RURAL MOCHE VILLAGES: POTTERY ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATIONS, AND COMPARISONS
by
Douglas T. Mehaffey
December 1998
Abstract
Moche sociopolitical development was a result of a long cultural tradition along the North Coast of Peru. Links between ceramic artifacts and human behavior during the Moche Period (ca. A.D. 200 - 800) provide a clearer understanding of elite and commoner lifeways. Ceramics collected and analyzed from household excavations at the villages of Santa Rosa-Quirihuac, an Early Moche occupation, and Ciudad de Dios, a Late Moche occupation, aid in the reconstruction of the cultural history of Moche behavior in the Moche Valley, Peru.
Focusing on the morphology of domestic and fine wares and inferring aspects of ceramic function in terms of Moche food preparation and storage, supports inferences about elite and commoner domestic space, social ranking and change within the Moche Period. Ultimately, our understanding of food preparation, processing, and storage helps solidify our understanding of the elusive, complex evolution that resulted in Moche Statehood.
My research aims consist of four major components: The first is to provide a descriptive analysis of pottery recovered from two Moche villages, Santa Rosa-Quirihuac also known as MV 74 and Ciudad de Dios or MV 83. The second, is to determine the function of pottery recovered from MV 74 and provide evidence for social implications. In addition, I want to define the cultural affiliation of this village: was it a Gallinazo or Early Moche occupation. The third aim is to determine the function of pottery recovered from Ciudad de Dios and provide evidence for social stratification. Again, I want to define the cultural phase of this village: was it a Middle or Late Moche occupation. Finally, to compare the pottery assemblages of these two villages and discuss the level of complexity that transpired across the Early and Late Moche phases.
REVISITING PUEBLO BONITO: A SPATIAL STUDY OF MATERIAL CULTURE
by
Lisa M. Meyer
May, 2002
Abstarct
In the American Southwest, we have one of the greatest archaeological wonders of the world, Pueblo Bonito, and we know little about it. The building's massive, intricate architecture and exotic objects have provided fuel for the imagination and interpretive models that depict the Chacoan social and political system as either a kinship-based consensus, a belief system, or a coercive hierarchy (Judge 1989; Lekson 1992; Peregrine 2002; Renfrew 2002; Sebastian 1991, 1992; Vivian 1989, 1990; Yoffee 2000).
Understanding the archaeological record of Pueblo Bonito would facilitate better understanding the Chaco Phenomenon, the regional development of roads, and both great houses and small houses from Chaco Canyon. However, inconsistencies in the literature impede this understanding. In this study, I provide a method to facilitate future Chacoan studies that could potentially clear up some perpetuation of misinformation. I critically evaluate Bernardini's (1999) residential suite model for Pueblo Bonito, using a geographic information system (GIS) to examine the spatial relationships among rooms, features, and classes of objects from the structure. I demonstrate the utility of GIS analysis in interpreting spatial relationships between artifact classes and features. I conclude that within Pueblo Bonito there is a central place that may have once housed the living, but over time it became a place that housed important objects and the dead. The use of rooms used to house important objects and the dead in the earliest constructed portion of the building may have become standard practice after A.D. 1070, with northern occupants moving out to the eastern and western flanks of the building.
This study further demonstrates that those living in or using the northernmost portion of the structure differed from the those in the rest of structure in their access to goods, and their treatment of burials. Thus, the prehistoric inhabitants likely considered individuals associated with the northern part of the pueblo, in life and in death, as special.
I also demonstrate that suites of rooms and other rooms identified by Bernardini (1999) as "residential" and "nonresidential" are different from one another, in terms of the type and quantity of artifacts recovered from them and their sizes. However, those considered as "nonresidential" may well have functioned as residential units, work areas, or ceremonial changing rooms based on artifacts within the rooms and hearth features.
From this study, I conclude that the use and implications of the terms "residential" and "nonresidential" evoke images of ethnographically documented households that in all fairness cannot be applied to Pueblo Bonito. Thus, using those terms is misleading and confusing, and does not adequately describe suite or room function at Pueblo Bonito. However, using designators absent of function would suffice and eliminate preconceived notions about there use.
This study contributes to future research in Chacoan studies, particularly at Pueblo Bonito, by providing a different approach to exploring the data, and showing the utility and value of using GIS in archaeology. On a larger scale, this thesis may provide insight into studies about sedentary populations in other parts of the world and demonstrate theutility of GIS at any archaeological scale.
BASKETMAKER II FAUNAL PROCUREMENT: A COMPARISON OF ROCKSHELTERS AND OPEN-AIR SITES ACROSS THE NORTHERN SOUTHWEST
by
Andrea R. Miller
May 2000
Abstract
This thesis examines Basketmaker 11 faunal assemblages for patterns in site function and subsistence strategies of selected northern Southwest Basketmaker 11 rockshelters and open-air sites. I analyzed faunal remains from Boomerang Shelter, occupied mainly during the Basketmaker 11 period and compared these remains to the assemblages found at open-air Black Mesa sites and Three Fir Shelter, occupied during a similar period. Primarily, I investigated site functions and subsistence through basic counts of NISP (number of identifiable specimens), as well as taxonomic richness and diversity. I found similarities between these Basketmaker 11 rockshelter assemblages in terms of types of animals and frequencies, with some differences in lagomorph and artiodactyl procurement. I also found differences between these rockshelter assemblages and open-air sites on Black Mesa.
PREHISTORIC BALLCOURTS IN NORTHERN ARIZONA
By
Michael Morales Jr.
August 1994
Abstract
This study examines the role of the ancient Mesoamerican rubber ballgame in context of the general Mesoamerican and American Southwestern relationship. Focusing on the northern fringe of the game's distribution, an archaeological analysis compares site relationships among eight prehistoric ballcourts near Flagstaff, Arizona. The widespread phenomenon of the Meoamerican ballgame is explored through local level relationships among spatial, material, and temporal variables.
The ballcourt study is founded on three basic research problems: 1) testing the hypothesis that the courts served as loci of significant human activity, 2) dating the ballcourts, and 3) assessing their spatial relationships. Archaeological investigation involved dividing the courts into sampling units, inventorying surface artifacts, and mapping the courts.
Ethnographic and ethno-prehistoric evidence of the Mesoamerican ballgame exemplifies sociocultural roles the ballgame has assumed within different societies. Evidence from ballcourt artifact assemblages support characteristic ballgame behavior, such as community participation, and feasting, by suggesting the possibility of group activities associated with the preparation and consumption of food and beverage in and around the courts.
Results of this research address two discrete episodes of ballgame activity in northern Arizona. Evidence from ceramic analysis suggests a Sinagua version of the ballgame was played in the southern portion of the Flagstaff area prior to the eruption of Sunset Crater (ca. A.D. 1064). Ballcourts in the northern portion of the study area were affiliated with the Cohonina ballgame tradition during the 12th century.
PARKINSON=S DISEASECPOSING EMBODIMENT THEORY AS A TOOL
FOR BROADENING AMERICAN BIOMEDICAL PARADIGM
by
Kari
Morehouse
May
2003
ABSTRACT
People with Parkinson=s disease (PD), a chronic neurological
disease that impairs movement, experience dramatic changes in their
daily lives. The disease=s movement afflictions evoke stereotypes
that counter modern American values of high-speed, flexible, productive
body types. The stereotypes= impacts on social relationships imply that the moving body
indexes complex meanings in American culture.
My research of PD with participants
from Flagstaff, Arizona, is composed of narratives that revolve around
clinical encounters and reveal how American values, such as including
control, productivity, and individuality, are embodied in daily movement.
The implications of physician, family, and self-conceptions of the
body are explored.
The participants= descriptions of their diagnosis,
treatment, and reconstruction of their self-identities reveal a paradigm
shift in American medicine from a divided mind/body/soul paradigm to
a phenomenological, or lived body, paradigm. Participant narratives
suggest various aspects of the biocultural interplay
in this chronic disease.
The narratives reveal that patient-initiated methods of disease coping and management tap therapeutic powers from patients= social support system, from movement therapies, from claiming bodily knowledge to adjust medication regimes, Awholing@ themselves spiritually, and from joking. Many movement therapy studies find support for the socially, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally integrative and beneficial effects of movement or body focused therapies for PD. This thesis suggests that blending a holistic patient-centered approach with conventional medical treatment invites health professionals and society to learn from, and with, PD patients rather than to simply design interventions for them or to denigrate them through social isolation.
AN EXAMINATION OF THE OVER-HUNTING HYPOTHESIS AT CASA MALPAIS, A PUEBLO III-IV COMMUNITY
by
Jerryll L. Moreno
August 1995
Abstract
Over the last decade, archaeologists working with faunal collections from late prehistoric Pueblo communities have utilized a number of theoretical and methodological approaches to address changing subsistence patterns among sedentary agricultural societies. The over-hunting hypothesis is one such approach which assumes that sedentary, agricultural, pueblo groups depleted local artiodactyl populations causing hunters to increase their energy spent in obtaining the same quantity of meat by hunting at farther distances. Ultimately, these strategies and decisions should be reflected in the archaeofaunal record. This research examines the over-hunting hypothesis at Casa Malpais, a late Pueblo-III through Pueblo-IV archaeological community just north of Springerville, Arizona.
The study includes a total of 16,181 identifiable faunal bones. The analytical focus of the faunal study is element representation of artiodactyls recovered from Casa Malpais. A comparison of element representation at Casa Malpais to the early and middleperiod patterns at Gran Quivira, a late prehistoric community in eastern New Mexico, indicates that artiodactyls in the upper Little Colorado River region near Casa Malpais were not over-hunted. The results of the study also indicate that the size of the population, length of occupation, and possibly more importantly, the environment play key roles in the depletion of local artiodactyl populations suggesting that hunting pressure alone may not be the cause of decreased frequencies of antelope at Gran Quivira and that the diminishment of antelope around Gran Quivira may have begun prior to the middle period as previously thought.
THE RISE AND FALL OF A VILLAGE INDUSTRY: SPECIALIZED CERAMIC PRODUCTION IN PROTOHISTORIC NEW MEXICO
by
Thomas N. Motsinger
December 1992
Abstract
Between A.D. 1425 and 1550 Rio Grande Glaze Ware produced in the pueblos along the Galisteo Creek, an eastern tributary of the upper Rio Grande River, dominated the decorated ceramic assemblages of communities throughout the Rio Grande region. Glaze Ware pottery that was produced in the Galisteo Basin between A.D. 1315 and 1600 and exported to the Salinas region 130 km to the south was examined to determine whether changes in the scale of production coincided with the growth and decline of the regional exchange system. Two design attributes and two rim form attributes of the ceramic assemblages were measured and analyzed to explore changes in the degree of standardization, a measure that is argued to be a direct reflection of the level of specialization at which an assemblage was produced. A striking increase in design standardization was found to have occurred around 1425, temporally coinciding with the sudden increase in the regional distribution of Glaze Wares originating from the Galisteo Basin. This jump in standardization is argued to have been a reflection of a shift in the Galisteo Basin scale of Glaze Ware production from a household to a village industry. Although the earliest Glaze type continued to be produced by household specialists until about 1490, the more efficient cooperative industry met with great success until the mid-sixteenth century, when the ceramic standardization began to decrease, suggesting a breakdown of the village industry and a return to specialized household production. Several factors may have contributed to this collapse, including the Spanish entradas, disruption of the production and distribution system by raiding Athabaskans, and competition from microregional production centers. These results highlight the need for a reconsideration of the egalitarianism of the protohistoric pueblos and further investigations into the production systems that operated in the Rio Grande and other regions.
BASKETMAKER II MORTUARY PRACTICES: SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION AND REGIONAL VARIATION
by
Kathy Mowrer
December 2003
Abstract
I examine one of the most complex and varied of human expressions the relationship between the living and the dead. Mortuary studies indicate that burial practices can provide clues about social differentiation and regional variation. In this paper, I examine Basketmaker II mortuary practices to shed light on Basketmaker II social differentiation and ethnic boundaries. Basketmaker II (c.a. 2000 B.C.- A.D. 500) groups appear to fall between band-and tribal levels of social organization. A few extraordinary burials, however, contained unusual and inordinate numbers of burial items that suggest social differentiation unusual for small-scale societies. I examine the burial items that accompanied male, female, infant, subadult, and adult burials for evidence of social differentiation and to determine how the unusual burials fit into Basketmaker II social structures.
A few archaeologists have observed ethnic distinctions between eastern and western Basketmaker II groups. These interpretations tend to be based on material culture differences. Other elements of eastern and western Basketmaker II social identify such as mortuary practices, have received less attention. In this paper, I examine mortuary practices, for eastern and western Basketmaker II mortuary variability. Examining the Basketmaker II mortuary data for regional mortuary variability provides clues about eastern and western ethnic distinctions and contributes to the current debate about northern Basketmaker II populations.
EFFECTS OF NON-SCIENTIFIC SURFACE COLLECTION PRACTICES ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION: AN EVALUATION OF MISSING ARTIFACTS
By
JaNanette L. Mullins
May 2001
Abstract
Missing artifacts from site surfaces, as a result of non-scientific surface collecting practices, are of great significance to archaeologists. By non-scientific surface collecting I mean the collection of archaeological materials by private collectors, for personal, rather than scientific gain, from the surfaces of sites. Site interpretation and related theoretical frameworks are based on artifacts as primary sources of information. This pilot project examines non-scientific surface collecting activity within the Southwest to determine the extent to which such activity handicaps archaeologists' ability to interpret the past and to identify exactly what is being taken off of the surfaces of sites by non-scientific collectors.
I examined six private non-scientifically collected surface collections donated to the Museum of Northern Arizona containing a total of 479 artifacts. I worked with staff at the Museum of Northern Arizona to retrieve data on each of the six collections. Using cataloged artifact descriptions on file at the museum, I compiled the following data for each artifact: raw material type, artifact identification by type, diagnostic attributes, quality (whole vs. partial), size (greater or less than 2cm), and specific attributes. Exploratory Data Analysis was used to identify patterns in data.
Several questions were considered in the analysis of collections: 1) percentage of partial artifacts and whole artifacts collected; 2) range of lithic artifacts collected for each collection and percentage of debitage; 3) range of all artifact types collected; and 4) size range of materials surface collected.
Analysis reveals that all collections contain more than one artifact type. In fact, all collections contain at least seven different types of artifacts. All collections represent collection strategies in which the collector chose to acquire artifacts of more than just one type of raw material. Again, every collection contains artifacts made of at least three different raw materials. No collection contains solely all projectile points or all ceramic pots.
The majority of collections contain unidentified artifacts and unmodified material. Additionally, every collection contains partial artifacts of variable sizes. Percentages of materials in each collection differ in every instance as to size, quality, and amount of diagnostic material included. Some collections in the study contain a high percentage of smaller, partial artifacts. Other collections contain only larger, more pristine artifacts. As a general typology, there are four collecting patterns evident within the six collection assemblage: 1) collectors who concentrate their efforts on the collection of projectile points and other lithic materials, 2) collectors who focus on the collection of ceramic materials and whole vessels, 3) collectors who exploit both lithic and ceramic artifacts as a majority of their collections, and 4) collectors who collect a wide range of artifacts outside of these two popular artifact types.
Archaeologists can expect that surface collectors consider every item on the surface for collection. Unique collection preferences may guide collection choices initially, but may not limit the collection of other artifacts when they are available. Most non-scientific collectors collect artifacts with substantial interpretive potential. With every episode of nonscientific surface collecting, by every collector having a unique collection strategy, a percentage of a site surface is carried away. Data suggest the probability that non-scientific collectors are exploiting all artifacts found on site surfaces.
ORNAMENTATION AND SOCIAL AFFINITY: SHELL ORNAMENTS AND THE HOHOKAM INFLUENCE AT WINONA VILLAGE
by
Tracy L. Murphy
August 2000
Abstract
Since the 1930s archaeologists have debated the presence and influence of Hohokam populations among Sinagua people in prehistoric northern Arizona. At the post-eruptive site clusters of Winona Village and Ridge Ruin, Hohokam features consist of Hohokam-style pithouses, cremations, ballcourts, red-on-buff pottery, and shell ornaments. Through the analysis of shell distribution and ornament styles from Winona Village and Ridge Ruin, and comparative shell assemblages found in contemporaneous Tucson and Phoenix Basin Hohokam sites, Mimbres sites, and Sinagua and Cohonina sites, quantitative data are presented that suggest Hohokam influence, and possible Hohokam co-residence at Winona Village. Shell ornaments from Winona Village and Ridge Ruin, as well and comparative Sinagua and Cohonina sites, from the collections at the Museum of Northern Arizona are analyzed, site provenience information, and stylistic attributes are recorded. Shell indices for all sites are presented, allowing for comparison of the volume of shell recovered regardless of recovery biases between sites. Archaeological reports of contemporaneous Hohokam and Mimbres, Sinagua and Cohonina shell assemblages are compared to shell assemblages from Winona Village and Ridge Ruin.
Based on these data, clear distributional patterns with clear association to Hohokam features at Winona Village are found. Shell occurs in higher numbers at house clusters with Hohokam architecture, and house clusters closest to the ballcourts. Shell associated with cremations make up 80% of all shell from mortuary contexts at Winona Village. When shell indices from Sinagua and Cohonina sites with ballcourts are compared to sites without ballcourts, shell is 17 times more likely to be found in sites with ballcourts than those without. Additionally, shell ornaments found at Winona Village and Ridge Ruin are similar both in overall style and number to those found in contemporaneous Hohokam sites, suggesting participation in a single system of shell distribution. The correlation of large amounts of shell at house clusters with Hohokam-style architecture, and locations nearest to ballcourts, large numbers of shell from cremation contexts, and large numbers of shell found at sites with ballcourts, compared to those sites without ballcourts, suggests a Hohokam connection, and may indicate Hohokam people in co-residence with Sinagua people.
MAKIN' SOMETHIN' OUTA' NUTHIN'
by
Cindy Ann Nance
August 1995
Abstract
Until recently, women's participation in history has not been explored through material culture studies. Quilts are artifacts that are imbued with information about women's sentiments and resourcefulness. They are documents in thread that can be interpreted through the kind of structural analysis employed in archaeology. Patchwork quilts are an art form (folk art) that reflect social changes in attitudes as they impacted women. Many quilts were made as commemorative gifts, means for raising funds, and inscribed as testimonials of a quiltmaker's existence. Information about women's attitudes toward their subordinate status may be revealed when the conditions under which a particular quilt pattern was created are contextualized with contemporary socio-historic events and issues. Women were excluded from the public sphere during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, therefore many women in support of social reform causes created an active voice for themselves through the acceptable medium of quiltmaking.
The temperance movement was a bridge for women to eventually move out of the subordinate status imposed by protestant ideology and the male patriarchy. Quilts were used as protest symbols - banners and ballots - in women's assertion for legal prohibition and suffrage. As such, the Drunkard's Path was a quilt pattern that played an important role as a subordinate discourse by American women between 1840 and 1940. Through structural analysis this study examines the Drunkard's Path design alterations, in conjunction with the events and issues that acted upon it as a material culture, and will illuminate a subordinate discourse. As revealed through the medium of the Drunkard's Path, an explication of the subordinate discourse of American women between 1840 and 1940 will reveal a muted expression of women's sentiments about their social position in a male-dominated society.
ANCIENT PUEBLO SPINNING TRADITIONS IN THE NORTHERN SOUTHWEST
by
Linda Stephen Neff
December 1996
Abstract
The ancient economy of Pueblo spinning in the northern Southwest remains poorly understood. This research examined yam production, focusing on the well-represented period including the Pueblo II (A.D. 1000 to 1150) to Pueblo III (A.D. 1150 to 1250). The transition period marked a significant socio-political reorganization. Non-perishable cotton textiles and tools, plant remains and spindle whorl frequencies suggest a dramatic increase in cotton production after A.D. 1000. Poor archaeological preservation, finger twined products and settlement patterns may account for spindle whorl deficiency on earlier Basketmaker and Pueblo I period sites. However, the appearance and increase in efficient spindle whorls and other textile-related tools suggested a degree of yam production specialization.
Based on a statistical analysis of spindle whorl outer and inner diameters, thickness and weight, I examined spindle whorl spatial, temporal and functional variation using the Museum of Northern Arizona's collections. I identified two specialized production groups -- a "number of producers sharing a technology, raw materials, or workshop" (Costin 1991:33). A production group has no size limitations and represents culturally determined choices made by the ancient spinners. Ethnographic descriptions, archaeological spindle whorl and shaft specimens, and spindle whorl dimensions, suggested that post A.D. 1000, the Winslow, Kayenta, and Eastern Anasazi, Cohonina, and Wupatki inhabitants (Group 1) all used the horizontal thigh, supported spinning technique whereas the Sinagua (Group 2) were the sole practitioners of a vertical base, supported technique.
For each production group, the social processes leading up to the cultural distinctions follow two separate trajectories. The northern cultures (Group 1) chose not to adopt the modeled whorl technique opting for their horizontal thigh, supported technique that dated back to the Basketmaker III period. The Sinagua (Group 2) shared the vertical base, supported spinning tradition with Native Americans living in southern Arizona.
Comparatively little research examines yam production through analyses of spindle whorls. In addressing the above problems, I explore a relatively unknown economic production system - cotton yarn production. Understanding the organization of cotton yam production adds much depth to our interpretation of the ancient Pueblo Indians on the Colorado Plateau.
HOPI HEALING PRACTICES A STUDY IN CULTURE CHANGE
by
Carol Nepton-Mottor
May 1991
Abstract
The traditional Hopi cultural health care system continues to be used as a strategy in the maintenance of good health. Contemporary Western medicine has been accepted but has not replaced the older practices. "Correct thinking" continues to be essential for optimum health. In the past Medicine-men, Bonesetters and Herbalists were consulted for illnesses. Medicine-men and women continue to be trained, and the use of native herbs endures and has expanded into the non-Hopi community. Ceremonies continue to be well attended and function as healing rituals and to promote balance in the world.
The pragmatic Hopi discard practices no longer useful while using the advantages of modern western medicine. The Hopi persist in preserving and revering their own older traditions. Ancestral beliefs and practices continue to be handed down to new generations. This provides a succession of the Hopi cultural identity and, as the Hopi believe, keeps the entire world in balance.
BASKETMAKER II LITHIC TECHNOLOGY AND RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY: AN EXAMPLE FROM SOUTHEASTERN UTAH
by
Chris D. North
May 2000
Abstract
The Basketmaker II period has witnessed more than a century of archaeological investigation, beginning with early expeditions to southeastern Utah during the late nineteenth century. Despite the rich archaeological record of the Basketmaker II period, the problem of defining Basketmaker II residential mobility continues to perplex investigators of Southwest prehistory. This holds particularly true for the early Basketmaker II period or White Dog phase where evidence of substantial settlements is generally lacking.
Examining lithic assemblages represents one way to evaluate the relative mobility of early Basketmaker II groups. In this study, I examine Archaic, Basketmaker II, and Puebloan lithic assemblages from the Butler Wash region of southeastern Utah to identify shifts in the degree of residential mobility across the agricultural transition in the northern Southwest. I hypothesize that early Basketmaker II lithic assemblages should exhibit a shift from formal to more expedient lithic technologies if a decline in residential mobility occurred after the adoption of cultigens. An analysis of chipped stone artifacts from Bent Oak Shelter, southeastern Utah, reveals that early Basketmaker II groups employed formal lithic technologies similar to lithic technologies employed during Archaic occupation of the site. In contrast, an analysis of chipped stone artifacts from Long Fingers Ruin, southeastern Utah, demonstrates a reliance on expedient lithic technologies during the Pueblo II-Ill periods. The similarities between Archaic and early Basketmaker II lithic technologies suggest that high residential mobility characterized the White Dog phase of the Basketmaker II period in southeastern Utah.
THE SAN FRANCISCO PEAKS CONTROVERSY: APPLICATION OF THE SEGMENTARY-OPPOSITION MODEL TO AN INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT
by
Diane M. Notarianni
March 1985
Abstract
This thesis is a case study in the description and interpretation of a process of group formation that occurred following a conflict over proposed development plans of a ski resort on land considered sacred and ecologically fragile. The disparity between these utilizations of land resulted in the formation of polarized groups along an axis of shared values, attitudes and desired goals, creating a balance of power which enabled a resolution of the conflict without the use of violence.
This thesis is an interpretation of that conflict, employing certain principles of segmentary opposition developed first for application to lineage-based African societies. The rationale for this is that in a pluralistic society interest groups function as segments much as lineages do in African societies. The contention of this thesis is that the structure of the empirical model derived from data on the peaks conflict can be shown to be isomorphic in principle with the structure of the heuristic model of segmentary opposition. The segmentary opposition model thus aids as an organizing theoretical model by casting meaning on a data set.
AN ETHNOGRAPHIC VIEW OF PUBLIC ARCHAEOLOGY IN NORTHERN ARIZONA AND THE ROLE OF NATIVE AMERICANS
by
Maria Emily Ka'imipono Orr
May 1997
Abstract
Both state and federal laws have been passed in the last two decades that mandate, either explicitly or implied, that archaeology public awareness programs be developed and implemented as one method of leading to the curtailment of the rampant looting, destruction, and desecration of prehistoric sites and burials. Embedded in these laws and regulations is the development of mutually beneficial relationships between Native American communities, the general public, and the archaeology community. Public archaeology came about partly as a result of these laws and their mandates.
This thesis is an exploratory research project. Prior to coming to Arizona I had not heard of the term, 'public archaeology' and I wanted to find out what it entailed. The term was coined over twenty-five years ago, yet consensus about what it means has not occurred. Public archaeology may be perceived differently by academia, contract archaeologists, government archaeologists, Native American archaeologists, and the current related literature. The primary purpose of this thesis is threefold: to determine the current definition of public archaeology as understood by archaeologists practicing in the northern Arizona area; to determine the personal motivation and relevance for involving the public in their practice, in the context of social issues and dynamics; and to assess the role that Native Americans play in archaeology. The data come from ethnographic interviews with archaeologists from northern Arizona and archaeologists who affect archaeology on a statewide basis. These archaeologists were selected from the various sub-domains of archaeology such as academia, graduate students, government, contract, and Native American.
RED-ON-BUFF NORTH OF THE MOGOLLON RIM: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND CULTURAL ASSESSMENT
by
F. Michael O'Hara, III
May 1998
Abstract
Interpretations of prehistoric culture change in the Flagstaff area after the A.D. 1064-1065 eruption of Sunset Crater have placed different emphases on migration and exchange. Culture -historical archaeologists of the 1930s and 1940s focused on inter-regional migration as a determining factor in cultural change, whereas processual archaeologists of the 19608 and 1970s focused on economic exchange. Coconino Buff Ware, a decorated pottery ware of the Flagstaff area, plays an important role in both of these models. Originally, Coconino Buff Ware was interpreted as the product of immigrant potters and was believed to be derivative of the Hohokam decorative tradition. Later interpretations saw it as derivative of black-on-white pottery of the Ancestral Pueblo decorative tradition. However, no methodical comparison of the wares and types in question has ever been performed.
I have selected samples of Buff Ware and White Ware pottery from two Winona Focus sites - Turkey Tanks Pithouses and Winona Village. Using measurements of element width and spacing, and of element and motif use, I have statistically characterized the samples of pottery. Results indicate that Coconino Buff Ware is quite distinct from White Wares from the same depositional contexts, and may be derivative of the Hohokam pottery tradition. I propose that Coconino Buff Ware may have been manufactured by Sinagua who had adopted a social identity linking them with their Hohokam exchange partners. Some members of Sinagua society adopted the use of ballcourts for communal rituals, a cremation death ritual, and the manufacture of red-on-buff pottery with unique vessel forms as behavioral and material expressions of this identity. I consider the possibility that Sinagua from the Verde Valley may have introduced these ideas to the Flagstaff area, and that a Hohokam trader may have may have lived at Winona Village.
LICHENOMETRY:THEORY, METHODS, AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS
by
Jeffery L. Overturf
December 1994
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the history, theory, methods, and applications of lichenometry. Lichenometry is defined as the use of lichens to provide age estimates of the substrates on which they are found growing. Although this technique has been used successfully in dating geological features, it has rarely been applied to the field of archaeology. Therefore, a major goal of this study was to evaluate the potential archaeological applications of lichenometry. To accomplish this, I addressed two avenues of research: the first was to show a potential archaeological application where a predictive liche growth curve already exists; the second was to develop a lichen growth curve which could then be used to date archaeological sites and features.
I chose to conduct research at a large prehistoric lithic (quartzite) quarry site located in the mountains of northern Colorado. The Windy Ridge site (5GA872) was well suited for a lichenometrical study because a growth curve for the species Rhizocarpon geographicum had been previously established in the mountains of Colorado, and that species grows abundantly at the site. A size-frequency analysis of lichen diameters found growing on cultural substrates indicated that the site has been significantly turbated by quarrying activity through time.
Additionally, the size of lichens found growing on five exposed quartzite veins placed the dates of the last use of these particular features between 1226 and 1469 A.D.; these dates may indicate a technological shift in lithic procurement strategy at that time. The next part of this study is focused on the area around Flagstaff, Arizona, where I established a lichen growth curve for the species Acarospora chlorophana. I selected a number of historical, archaeological, and geological Bites that had been previously dated; these sites then served as data points for constructing a lichen growth curve. The completed curve indicates a period of rapid growth for this species that lasts approximately 100 years, followed by predictable, linear growth of about 3.6 millimeters per century thereafter. This growth curve can now be used to date archaeological sites in the Flagstaff area which demonstrate growth of Acarospora chloroiphana.
AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE PREDICITVE MODEL: THE GREEN RIVER STUDY AREA, WYOMING
by
T. C. Peebles
December 1985
Abstract
This thesis is based on a Class II Cultural Resource Inventory conducted for the USDI Bureau of Land Management in the summer of 1982. The work was conducted by Metcalf-Zier Archaeologists, Inc. under the direction of the author. Major goals of the project include an improved understanding of the cultural resources of the area, the inventory of 23,000 acres of BLM land, and the construction of a site predictive model based on the inventory results.
A review of the known culture history of the area is presented including previous archaeological work and relevant chronologies. However, the emphasis of this thesis is on the development of the predictive model.
The development of the sample design is discussed as it relates to the predictive model. The rationale for the design and problem areas are presented. The problem areas include the restricted nature of the land included in the sample, as well as the effects of clustered observations on the modeling results. It is concluded that these problems do not seriously affect the model results.
The theory or the underlying principles of the modeling effort are presented. Ethnographic literature is used to construct a set of environmental variables which are believed to affect the suitability of a location for an archaeological site. It is suggested that in order to evaluate these variables a set of background information is required. It is concluded that there are significant differences for variable measurements between sites and the background information.
A site predictive model based on discriminant analysis is developed. It predicts site presence or absence with an overall accuracy of 87 percent. Several methods are used to cross-validate the model. Each method supports the model.
RANCHERS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS: FOLK VERSIONS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE IN DEBATES OVER LAND USE
By
Rebecca Pike
December 1998
Abstract
Ranchers and environmentalists have been at seemingly increasing odds over land use. As described in the media, the 'rancher versus environmentalist' debate appears to be a simple two sided issue: the ranchers who want to keep using and taming nature and the environmentalists who want to keep saving it. This thesis is an examination of the controversy from the perspectives of both the ranchers and environmentalists. Fifteen interviews were conducted with people who live and work on the Colorado Plateau. Interviews were designed to illuminate the complexities of the people and the conflict in which they are involved. This ethnographic work revealed that it is much more complex than popular images and descriptions indicate. The conflict is deeply rooted both culturally and historically. It is far from a "to graze or not to graze" issue. This debate is a forum to which many people with many different perspectives are drawn. This conflict represents the changing of a way of life and the definitions of self, land, and identity as a culture in relation to the land. Further analysis of this ethnographic data reveals the importance that activism, stereotypes, and extremism play in the cultural structure within which the debate sits.
PREHISTORIC CRADLEBOARDS OF THE NORTHERN SOUTHWEST: FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION
By
Claudette Piper
December 2000
Abstract
This thesis addresses explanations for the cranial deformation that began to appear in the American Southwest at about 750 AD. Profound changes marked the transition between Basketmaker III and Pueblo I times. One of these markers was the onset of cranial deformation. For the past 75 years, most archaeologists have assumed that cranial deformation was caused by the use of harder cradleboards. In this thesis, I examine the relationship between cranial deformation and the changing design of cradleboards. My research demonstrates that the hardness of cradleboards did not cause cranial deformation. Instead, the function of cradleboards changed dramatically. After Basketmaker times, cradleboards no longer were designed for maximum mobility through primarily vertical orientation; they reflect primarily horizontal orientation and also expediency of manufacture. This functional change can be attributed to the reduction in mobility that accompanied the commitment adoption of agriculture as a lifeway.
My research also suggests that different childcare practices provide an explanation for the two different kinds of cranial deformation that occur across the Southwest. Because parenting is learned from ones' own parents, different kinds of cranial deformation, as well as different materials used to manufacture cradleboards, may provide evidence of cultural affiliations. In addition, this difference may prove useful in tracing migrations during Pueblo I times.
"IT'S NOT A MATTER OF BEING GREEK OR TURK" ETHNICITY AMONG WOMEN IN CYPRUS
By
Aigli A. Pittaka
August 1996
Abstract
This thesis explores how Greek-speaking women in Cyprus perceive, construct and communicate ethnicity within the context of their daily lives and in relation to the political situation in Cyprus.
This study suggests that Greek-Cypriot women have flexible and contextual categories of ethnicity and Self/Other. Their ethnicity is not the dominant feature in their identity; it is in conversation with other features. Their gender identities, in particular, go beyond ethnic differences, allowing these women to empathize with the female "enemy/Other".
Overall, it is evident that these Greek-Cypriot women do not use ethnicity to build walls between Selves and Others. Rather, they use ethnicity to acknowledge that there are similarities and differences between both Greek -Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots as well as between Greek Cypriots and mainland Greeks. Finally, these women resist ethnicity as something that is fixed and standard. They actively create their ethnicity and Self/Other, showing rich imagination in constructing and shifting "imagined communities."
The findings of this study confirm that ethnicity is a complex phenomenon and is not unified across cultures or even within the same culture. They also suggest that gender and ethnicity are in a dialectic relation; thus, we cannot study the one without taking into consideration the other
POTTERY KILNS OF THE NORTHERN SAN JUAN ANASAZI TRADITION
by
David E. Purcell
May 1993
Abstract
Nineteen slab-lined thermal features excavated in the Northern San Juan region of the Southwest have been interpreted as Anasazi pottery kilns. Similar features have been reported in the literature since 1878 but were not interpreted as kilns until 1958. The publication in 1973 of the Kiln Site excavation marked the first instance of the general acceptance of the existence of such features by members of the Four Comers archaeological community. The present study undertook analysis of the Kiln Site and published descriptions of all of the similar features excavated since in the Northern San Juan, using basic measures of central tendency.
Ile average Northern San Juan kiln was a long sub-rectangular trench excavated perpendicularly across a shallow drainage on the edge of a mesa, often in association with bedrock. This location may have been about 1.6 km from the nearest habitation, but little intensive survey of the areas in which kilns have been excavated has been undertaken. The kiln was built near other kilns in a cluster or group. This trench was dug to a length about I I times the depth and a width 3.5 times the depth, although the length and volume of the features varied. A fire was ignited in the trench before sandstone slabs were used to line the walls and pave the floor. The walls sloped out from the center of the feature and the stone floor was flat and level in the bottom. The feature was then used to fire pottery, leaving soot and oxidation on the internal surfaces of the feature, wood ash, charcoal, burned rock, and broken pottery. Pottery consists of pieces of McElrno and Mesa Verde Black-on-white (or an intergrade variety) bowls broken during firing and greyware sherds that may have been used as cover sherds: to protect vessels during firing. These types have been found in tree-ring dated habitations of late Pueblo II-Pueblo III age elsewhere in the region.
Whole or reconstructable vessels may have been overlooked after firing when the kiln was being unloaded, and are typically miniature or pinch-constructed vessels. Sherds typically display signs of overfiring, although some underfired sherds suggest problems in controlling firings; the presence of refired sherds suggests their use as coversherds. The feature was fired with juniper and pinon that was completely consumed, leaving little residue for tree-ring dates. The kiln was only fired once, although firings were relatively successful at least twice as often as they failed.
All investigators agree that the features were used to fire pottery, but disagreement persists on an appropriate term for these features. A review of terms used by ethnographic informants, modem potters, dictionaries, and archaeologists suggests that it is appropriate to identify these features as kilns. Kilns are only one feature among many constructed of upright sandstone slabs by the Northern San Juan Anasazi. Kilns can potentially be confused with cists, pithouses, roasting pits, and external hearths. The construction of kilns in shallow mesa edge drainages away from contemporaneous habitations may distinguish kilns from these similar features, but at present this spatial pattern is not statistically valid and possible kilns in all locations should be evaluated as such. Hundreds of possible kilns have been discovered but not yet excavated; few descriptions of these are available. Descriptions that have been published do fit the pattern of the average kiln, but other kilns of different forms and ages have also been reported in the Northern San Juan and other Anasazi regions. Because most of the excavated kilns have not been observed on survey but were discovered during construction activities, prospecting may be more important than survey for discovering kilns. The most promising methods for kiln prospecting in the Northern San Juan are soil coring with a bucket auger and use of the magnetometer.
Although slab-lined features have been investigated for the duration of Southwestern archaeological studies, the recent recognition that they are kilns is largely due to the writing of cultural resources laws and their implementation. Recognition that the features were used to fire pottery is late in coming because of the past reliance upon a model of Anasazi pottery making based upon ethnographic analogy with modem Pueblo Indians.
WALKING THE GOOD ROAD: ALCOHOLISM AND RECOVERY IN THE NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH
by
Gilbert A. Quintero
May 1992
Abstract
This is an ethnographic account of how a certain group of people -- Navajo members of the Native American Church -conceptualize and deal with a particular problem -alcoholism. More specifically, this thesis looks at the Native American Church as a system of healing and outlines how this religious organization can help someone with their drinking problems.
In this paper I outline how the peyote religion effectively treats alcoholism. I do this by looking at the NAC as a system of ideas. More specifically, I illustrate how particular ideas and philosophies (or what I will refer to as the epistemologies) within the NAC are used to treat alcoholism. I argue that the peyote religion gives an alcoholic an epistemology with which to think about their problems, their world, and their place in it. This system of ideas includes the philosophies of the "peyote road," notions concerning the effects of the peyote medicine, and therapeutic techniques used by folk practitioners or "road men." These ideas can help the alcoholic person in an undesired, disruptive state of "alcoholism," to a new and more functional state of "sobriety."
EXAMINATION OF SINAGUA FAUNAL EXPLOITATION IN PREHISTORIC NORTHERN ARIZONA
by
Tina Quirt-Booth
May 1996
Abstract
Interpretations of cottontail and jackrabbit abundance variability are often used to suggest environmental modification through agriculture and, therefore, the practice of "garden hunting." Szuter's 1991 study of Hohokam subsistence strategies supports this theory that a culturally modified environment is the most significant factor in accounting for leporid variability. In this thesis, I tested Szuter's theory that environment is the most significant factor in accounting for leporid varibility. I examined 18,297 leporid specimens from fourteen Padre and Elden phase northern Sinagua sites. The bones were taken from assemblages excavated at Wupatki Pueblo (NA405), Nalakihu (NA358), the Big Hawk Valley sites (NA618, NA680, NA681, NA682), Winona Village (NA2131, NA2132, NA2133, NA2134, NA2135), and three Padre phase sites excavated for the 1-40 Interstate project (NA8507, NA8527, NA8529). I found that site type, rather than environment, appeared to be the most significant factor affecting leporid variation.