Soil Evidence of Hohokam Irrigation in the Salt River Valley, Arizona

Huckleberry, Gary

doi:10.1080/00231940.1992.11758190

Cited by 24 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Human modification can significantly alter soils and sediments, and many studies in the Southwest have documented both soil enhancement and degradation to soils as a result of prehistoric agriculture (Huckleberry, ; Homburg, Sandor, & Norton, ; Schaafsma & Briggs, ; Homburg & Sandor, ; Hall et al., ; Woodson et al., ). In some cases, soil enhancement due to agricultural practices allowed prehistoric groups to continue cultivation of fields for up to hundreds of years (Sandor et al., ; Schaafsma & Briggs, ; Woodson et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Site Formation Processes and Depositional Environment of a Fine‐Grained Alluvial Floodplain at La Playa Archaeology Site, Sonora, Mexico

Schott

2016

Geoarchaeology

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Located on a floodplain of the Rio Boquillas, the site of La Playa contains a principal occupation during the Early Agricultural period, 1200 B.C.–A.D. 50 (3150–1900 cal. yr B.P.). Local complexity in geomorphic features and extensive historic dissection of the floodplain have resulted in limited understanding of the site's alluvial history, which hampers understanding of archaeological features and an extensive canal system. This study reconstructs the site formation processes of the floodplain before, during, and after occupation by comparing soils and sediments from the Los Montículos area near the channel with those of more distant areas of the site. Sediments on the floodplain were deposited by low‐energy overbank deposition from ca. 4300 to 1600 cal. yr B.P., resulting in stratified deposits with weak soil development nearer to the channel, and more strongly developed soils farther from the channel. Low‐energy deposition of fine‐grained sediments was possible due to the stable location of the river channel during the Holocene, creating an attractive place for canal agriculture. Sometime after the Early Agricultural period, higher‐energy flows resulted in deposition of sandier sediments and multiple episodes of erosion and deposition in Los Montículos, where nearly all cultural material is now in a reworked context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Site Formation Processes and Depositional Environment of a Fine‐Grained Alluvial Floodplain at La Playa Archaeology Site, Sonora, Mexico

Schott

2016

Geoarchaeology

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“…Not only does irrigation affect the hydrological regime, it also can alter the depositional regime in such settings. Prolonged flood irrigation can modify the chemical properties of soil, through waterlogging and salinization, as well as its physical properties, through sedimentation (Hillel, :78–87; Huckleberry, ; Holliday, :335; Hesse & Baade, ). Of interest here is the development of irragric anthrosols, which form as a result of long‐term sedimentation of fine sediments (mostly silt and clay) from irrigation water (International Union of Soil Sciences [IUSS] Working Group WRB, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hohokam Canal Irrigation and the Formation of Irragric Anthrosols in the Middle Gila River Valley, Arizona, USA

Woodson

Sandor²,

Strawhacker

et al. 2015

Geoarchaeology

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Irragric anthrosols form as a result of prolonged deposition of fine sediments from irrigation water. Ancient irragric soils centuries to millennia old occur in several world regions, especially in arid environments of Asia and the Americas. This article presents evidence for an ancient irragric anthrosol in the North American Southwest, along the Snaketown Canal System in the Middle Gila River Valley, Arizona. This pedostratigraphic unit was formed as a result of a millennium of irrigation by Hohokam farmers from A.D. 450 to 1450. The irragric soil consists of a mantle of silty‐to‐loamy textures with minimal soil formation overlying a natural argillic horizon on a Pleistocene stream terrace. A soil mapped independently by the United States Department of Agriculture‐Natural Resources Conservation Service with these horizons corresponds closely with the canal system. Soil within the canal system tends to be lower in salt, sodium, and pH compared with external soils. This suggests that the irragric process improved soil for crop production through long‐term leaching and additions of fresh sediments with the irrigation water. This anthropogenic process of canal sedimentation has had a long‐lasting impact on the sedimentary record and soils in this arid environment.

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“…These canals date as early as AD 500 and began in the region of the Gila and Salt River systems (Doyel, 1984: 35). Irrigation canals acted as sources of water for corn, cotton, beans and squash cultivation for many Native southwestern populations (Huckleberry, 1992).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A possible case of coccidioidomycosis from the Los Muertos site, Tempe, Arizona

Temple

2006

Int. J. Osteoarchaeol.

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Coccidioidomycosis is a fungal disease endemic to southwestern North America and parts of Central and South America. Coccidioidomycosis frequently disseminates to the human skeleton and produces mostly lytic skeletal lesions. However, this disease is infrequently described within archaeological populations. As a result, it is important to report potential cases in order to improve current understanding of the appearance and distribution of lesions resulting from coccidioidomycosis in archaeological specimens. This study describes skeletal lesions in an adult male recovered from the Los Muertos site, Tempe, Arizona (AD 500-1450). These lesions are present on the inferior border of the left scapular spine, the medial portion of the left first metacarpal head, and the medial portion of the right first metatarsal. The lesions are predominantly lytic with sclerotic and, in some cases, healed cortical bone distributed around their margins. Evidence of skeletal healing is recorded within the destructive focus of one lesion. Geographical information on pathogen endemism, overall lesion distribution, and agricultural-era Hohokom behaviour suggest that coccidioidomycosis is the most likely diagnostic option for these lesions. Mounting evidence for possible infections in the palaeopathological literature, combined with high frequencies of nutritional stress levels in endemic regions, suggests that coccidioidomycosis contributed at least moderately to morbidity in the American Southwest.

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Soil Evidence of Hohokam Irrigation in the Salt River Valley, Arizona

Cited by 24 publications

References 6 publications

Site Formation Processes and Depositional Environment of a Fine‐Grained Alluvial Floodplain at La Playa Archaeology Site, Sonora, Mexico

Site Formation Processes and Depositional Environment of a Fine‐Grained Alluvial Floodplain at La Playa Archaeology Site, Sonora, Mexico

Hohokam Canal Irrigation and the Formation of Irragric Anthrosols in the Middle Gila River Valley, Arizona, USA

A possible case of coccidioidomycosis from the Los Muertos site, Tempe, Arizona

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