Another possible source of archeological maize found in Chaco Canyon, NM: The Tohatchi Flats area, NM, USA

Grimstead, Deanna N.; Buck, Sharon Maria; Vierra, Bradley J.; Benson, Larry

doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.06.003

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Sampling the same taxa of modern plants as the plant to be sourced is preferable, but this is not always possible due to habitat alterations or changes in modern agricultural practices, and other plants may serve as substitutes. For example, rabbit brush may serve as an appropriate substitute for maize, when maize cannot be grown in the targeted region (see Grimstead et al 2015), but may not serve as an adequate substitute if one is seeking to obtain Sr concentrations and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios. If humans are the focus of the study, then the fourth method described above may be used.…”

Section: Sampling the Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why a Standardization of Strontium Isotope Baseline Environmental Data Is Needed and Recommendations for Methodology

Grimstead

Nugent

Whipple

2017

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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Since initial applications of strontium isotope human sourcing in the early 1990s, the use of the method has steadily increased in archaeology and in anthropology more broadly. Despite this trend, the collection of necessary baseline environmental data has not been standardized and sometimes does not occur at all. A thorough environmental sampling strategy will ensure that all the variability within a selected region is documented, which is a critical step to improving the accuracy of sourcing studies. Furthermore, shared strontium baseline data collections are needed to improve the intercomparability of datasets and results. This paper provides a case study from a semiarid region in northwestern New Mexico, USA, highlighting the need for a bottom-up approach to baseline data collection (from bedrock to animal) and describes the methods of pre-field planning and collecting, including rationales for what samples to collect for Sr isotope baseline data. The authors hope that this paper will lay a foundation for the implementation and standardization of Sr isotope baseline data collecting, which does not currently exist.

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Section: Sampling the Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This problem will most often be encountered when trying to source agricultural materials. Planting the taxa in the sample location is an option (e.g., Grimstead et al 2015), but this method obviously adds a new layer of complications and is not feasible in most situations.…”

Section: Field Collectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why a Standardization of Strontium Isotope Baseline Environmental Data Is Needed and Recommendations for Methodology

Grimstead

Nugent

Whipple

2017

Adv. archaeol. pract.

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“…Kin Bineola East was not considered due to its approximation with Kin Bineola. Dates for these sites are uncertain (CRA 2016;Grimstead et al 2015) but tend to cluster around the late tenth to early twelfth century, correlating well with the timber procurement dates argued by Guiterman, Swetnam & Dean (2016). Least cost paths were calculated from site to site along the corridor from Figueredo moving east, resulting in three pathways that correlate strongly with actual road locations (Figure 9).…”

Section: Roadway Corridorsmentioning

confidence: 81%

A Least Cost Analysis: Correlative Modeling of the Chaco Regional Road System

Field

Heitman

Richards-Rissetto

2019

Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology

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Introduction People move to maintain relationships, to flee natural disasters, escape violence, fulfill spiritual callings, access resources, and for a host of other reasons. At times, human movement patterns reflect culturally defined values. Landscape archaeologists have embraced this line of inquiry, attempting to track movement patterns in ancestral contexts as a means of illuminating social dynamics. To facilitate movement-oriented analyses, archaeologists are capitalizing on new technologies and developing new methodologies; in particular, least cost analysis (LCA) has become a predominant approach for quantifying, predicting, and modeling pathways of human movement in the past. LCA has been used to analyze a range of topics, including interaction spheres, accessibility, and daily movement (

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“…[ 5 , 36 , 111 – 115 ]), it continues to be recast to explain the development of a complex sociopolitical system within this seemingly marginal environmental setting. Based on the low productivity postulated for maize [ 32 , 46 , 47 , 72 , 73 ] and documented material connections to the Chuska Mountains [ 11 , 35 , 116 – 121 ], Benson [ 33 ] claimed that the Chuskas served as a “bread basket” for Chaco Canyon residents (see also [ 32 , 34 , 46 , 72 , 122 ]). Benson’s [ 33 ] argument is based on two main lines of evidence: the sourcing of corncobs found within great houses and high soil salinity measures implying limited agricultural potential on the Chaco Wash floodplain.…”

Section: Review Of Salinity Studies In Chaco Canyonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, five corncobs predating 1130 CE—the main occupation period—have been tested from Pueblo Bonito and sourced to either side valleys within Chaco Canyon, areas along the Chaco River, or the Chuska Mountain slopes. Tested cobs dating to post 1130 CE have been variously sourced to either the Tohatchi area of the Chuska Mountains, the Totah, Lobo Mesa, or elsewhere ([ 34 ] p186). Several important factors, however, need to be considered in interpreting and extrapolating from these results (see also [ 39 ] pp139-140).…”

Section: Review Of Salinity Studies In Chaco Canyonmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil analysis in discussions of agricultural feasibility for ancient civilizations: A critical review and reanalysis of the data and debate from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

et al. 2018

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Questions about how archaeological populations obtained basic food supplies are often difficult to answer. The application of specialist techniques from non-archaeological fields typically expands our knowledge base, but can be detrimental to cultural interpretations if employed incorrectly, resulting in problematic datasets and erroneous conclusions not easily caught by the recipient archaeological community. One area where this problem has failed to find resolution is Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, the center of one of the New World’s most vibrant ancient civilizations. Discussions of agricultural feasibility and its impact on local population levels at Chaco Canyon have been heavily influenced by studies of soil salinity. A number of researchers have argued that salinized soils severely limited local agricultural production, instead suggesting food was imported from distant sources, specifically the Chuska Mountains. A careful reassessment of existing salinity data as measured by electrical conductivity reveals critical errors in data conversion and presentation that have misrepresented the character of the area’s soil and its potential impact on crops. We combine all available electrical conductivity data, including our own, and apply multiple established conversion methods in order to estimate soil salinity values and evaluate their relationship to agricultural productivity potential. Our results show that Chacoan soils display the same salinity ranges and spatial variability as soils in other documented, productive fields in semi-arid areas. Additionally, the proposed large-scale importation of food from the Chuska Mountains region has serious social implications that have not been thoroughly explored. We consider these factors and conclude that the high cost and extreme inflexibility of such a system, in combination with material evidence for local agriculture within Chaco Canyon, make this scenario highly unlikely. Both the soil salinity and archaeological data suggest that there is no justification for precluding the practice of local agriculture within Chaco Canyon.

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Another possible source of archeological maize found in Chaco Canyon, NM: The Tohatchi Flats area, NM, USA

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

Why a Standardization of Strontium Isotope Baseline Environmental Data Is Needed and Recommendations for Methodology

Why a Standardization of Strontium Isotope Baseline Environmental Data Is Needed and Recommendations for Methodology

A Least Cost Analysis: Correlative Modeling of the Chaco Regional Road System

Soil analysis in discussions of agricultural feasibility for ancient civilizations: A critical review and reanalysis of the data and debate from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico

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