Analysis of debitage from Wetherill Mesa in Mesa Verde National Park indicates dramatic changes in toolstone procurement patterns through time. For much of the early occupation of Wetherill Mesa, locally available igneous and indurated shale toolstones were the primary resources utilized. During the Pueblo II period, however, there was a shift to the use of Brushy Basin chert, which outcrops approximately 20 km away. By the end of the Pueblo II period, there is another change in procurement. Silicified mudstones from the Burro Canyon and Morrison formations, from approximately 10 km away, were used. These changes in toolstone provide important clues about the changing social landscape in the central Mesa Verde region over time. RESUMENAnalisis de retazos producidos en la elaboracion de herramientas provenientes de la Meseta Wetherill en el Parque Nacional Mesa Verde, indican cambios dramaticos en los patrones de adquisicidn de piedras para herramientas. Por la mayor parte de la ocupacion temprana del la Meseta Wetherill, rocas igneas y estilolita endurecidas, disponibles localmente, fueron la principal fuente de recursos utilizados. Sin embargo durante el periodo Pueblo II hubo un cambio a usar piedra silicea de la Cuenca de Brushy, que se encuentra aproximadamente a unos 20 km de distancia. Para el final del periodo Pueblo II hubo otro cambio en la adquisicidn de material. Piedras silicificadas del Canon del Burro y formaciones Morrison, ubicadas a 10 km, fueron utilizadas. Estos cambios en piedras para herramientas proveen indicios importantes sobre los cambios en el horizonte social, a traves del tiempo, de la region de Mesa Verde.
The use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in the study of lithic procurement patterns provides crucial information about energy expenditure and territoriality of prehistoric communities. Cost-weight analyses calculate proxy energetic expenditures of agents who transport lithic materials from a quarry to the nearest habitation site. Illustrating energy expenditure values onto maps helps us understand changes in toolstone procurement patterns through time. Comparing energy expenditure values from one time period to another also demonstrates when agents developed the sense of territoriality. This research investigates how the central Mesa Verde Puebloans utilised resources on their landscape from A.D. 600 to 1280.
Tracking broad-scale behavioral patterns using both lithics and faunal remains offers one line of evidence for investigating both prehistoric subsistence activities and the consequences of aggregation and increases in population size. Accumulation research, which examines the ratio of projectile points to cooking pottery sherds from the same context, shows a higher ratio of projectile points in areas with lower population densities. This pattern holds true when examining faunal assemblages and large-game procurement practices from A.D. 900 to 1300 in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. This research demonstrates that social processes such as aggregation and increases in population density influence human hunting strategies as much as changes in natural environment, which lead to changes in a group’s dietary regime.
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