Floodwater Farming, Discontinuous Ephemeral Streams, and Puebloan Abandonment in Southwestern Colorado

Huckleberry, Gary; Billman, Brian

doi:10.2307/2694110

Cited by 35 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Fuller regional coverage and geoarchaeological studies can identify those places where sites may be hidden by alluviation. Real abandonments are well attested in Europe (Thrane 2003), the Mediterranean (Blanton 2000;Haggis 1996), the American Southwest (Huckleberry and Billman 1998;Nelson 1999), the eastern U.S. (Anderson 1996;Cobb and Butler 2002), highland Mesoamerica (Kowalewski et al 2008), and the Maya area .…”

Section: Continuity Abandonment and Gapsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Regional Settlement Pattern Studies

Kowalewski

2008

J Archaeol Res

108

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This is a critical review of regional settlement pattern archaeology published in the last decade. The regional approach proves to be highly productive of new ideas and lasting results. Cultural resource/heritage databases are increasingly important. Notable advances have been made in regional studies of Paleolithic and Holocene foragers, the reciprocal relations between Neolithic communities and their regional societies, and in understanding states and empires. There are new research potentials in comparisons, macroregional analysis, long-term change, and alternative pathways. Research designs should specify systematic coverage at the regional scale and carry out spatial analysis in which social groups are the primary focus.

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Section: Continuity Abandonment and Gapsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Regional Settlement Pattern Studies

Kowalewski

2008

J Archaeol Res

108

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“…Geoarchaeological research in the Mesa Verde region of the American Southwest has traditionally focused mostly on Quaternary sediments and soils (Force & Howell, 1996;Huckleberry & Billman, 1998) and less on the geological sourcing of artifacts. This "Four Corners" area, where the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet, is predominantly composed of Mesozoic sedimentary rock with isolated igneous intrusions of Tertiary volcanics (Griffitts, 1990;Semken, 2003;Matthews, Lynn, & Fox, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geoarchaeological investigation of lithic resources in the central Mesa Verde region, Colorado, USA

Arakawa

Miskell-Gerhardt²

2009

Geoarchaeology

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An important question in Southwestern archaeological research is how social and economic ties between prehistoric groups changed through time. The chemical and mineralogical matching of stone tools and ceramics to source areas is one approach to addressing this question. Here we challenge the assumption that igneous rocks used for manufacturing stone tools and ceramics in the Mesa Verde region of Colorado were originally derived from the Chuska Mountains of New Mexico. Recent geological surveys suggest that small igneous features present in and around Mesa Verde National Park and Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park contain similar lithologies and may represent a local source. We systematically visited seven of these igneous exposures and nine downstream gravel deposits, looking for geological sources and quarry sites matching the lithology of analyzed debitage from this region. Our results suggest that the ancestral Puebloans could have procured such igneous rocks as aphanitic minette and trachybasalt pottery temper from local areas. Because the trachybasalt is usually thought to have been imported from the Chuska Mountains, this discovery may require a revision of interpreted trade networks based on pottery temper and lithic raw material distinctions.

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“…Force and Howell (1997) provided the first published descriptions of selected sites as well as the only description of Holocene alluvium in McElmo Canyon. Studies of nearby Holocene sequences include Oviatt (1985), Christenson (1985), and Huckleberry and Billman (1998). Holocene paleoenvironmental studies of the region have been conducted by Petersen (1988), Van West and Lipe (1992), and Dean and Van West (2002).…”

Section: The Mcelmo Canyon Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Groundwater level, treated as an independent variable in controlling stream behavior by some authors (cf. Karlstrom, 1988), instead probably lags behind fluvial processes (Gregory, 1916:100;Huckleberry and Billman, 1998;Hereford, 2002).…”

Section: The Mechanics Of Climate Change In Fluvial Geomorphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Late holocene behavior of Chaco and McElmo Canyon drainages (Southwest U.S.): A comparison based on archaeologic age controls

Force

2004

Geoarchaeology

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Two outwardly similar shallow‐canyon drainages of the Four Corners region of the Colorado Plateau (southwestern U.S.), McElmo Creek (SW Colorado) and Chaco Wash (NW New Mexico), expose late Holocene units which have been dated by numerous remains of the puebloan Anasazi culture (A.D. 500–1300). The stratigraphic sequences, though composed of similar sediment facies, show markedly different evolutions. The McElmo Canyon sequence consists of two units separated by an unconformity that apparently represents an arroyo that migrated 5 km upstream in 200 years, suggesting a slow “complex response” model. The dated Chaco Canyon sequence includes an arroyo channel fill seemingly cut simultaneously through a 9–14 km reach, which began filling simultaneously throughout about 100 years later. Base level control seems to have been temporarily controlled by a large eolian sand dune damming Chaco Wash, probably during a dry period. The two entrenchment chronologies do overlap, but the resemblance of either record to published regional chronostratigraphies is minimal. The differences among these regional chronologies suggest that great variety existed among fluvial sequences in prehistory, perhaps more than is seen in present‐day drainages of the region. The contrasting fluvial histories correspond to an equally marked difference in cultural responses, especially in water‐control technology. The strongest obvious similarity between the sequences is probable anthropogenic influence, which is a consequence of using cultural remains for establishing chronological control. A strong influence of climate change is less obvious but still probable if lags in the system and possible intraregional paleoclimatic differences are included in the analysis. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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Floodwater Farming, Discontinuous Ephemeral Streams, and Puebloan Abandonment in Southwestern Colorado

Cited by 35 publications

References 37 publications

Regional Settlement Pattern Studies

Regional Settlement Pattern Studies

Geoarchaeological investigation of lithic resources in the central Mesa Verde region, Colorado, USA

Late holocene behavior of Chaco and McElmo Canyon drainages (Southwest U.S.): A comparison based on archaeologic age controls

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