The Southwest Archaic

Abstract

Our understanding of the Archaic period in the American Southwest is much greater than before the advent of cultural resource management and mandated environmental impact statements, but it is still understudied. Research on this period relies largely on analyses of stone and bone material remains and has focused on subsistence, technology, and landscape use. Regional patterns, north to south and east to west, differ throughout this period. Increasing numbers of cultural features are being found, now that archaeologists are looking for them. Additionally, broader classes of material culture are being used to examine questions of social identity, ritual practices, gender roles, and other non-economic aspects of life.

Building resilient landscapes in a semi-arid watershed: Anthropogenic and natural burning histories in Late Holocene Tesuque Creek, northern New Mexico

“…The Late Archaic Period coincides with the “Late-Holocene Wet Period” which is characterized by increased affective moisture in the region. In northern New Mexico the Late Archaic is generally dated from c. 3500 to 1500 BP and is typically defined by the seasonal aggregation of larger communities (possibly 30–50 individuals; Irwin-Williams et al, 1973; Vierra and Foxx, 2009), the introduction of maize (McBrinn and Vierra, 2017; Vierra and Ford, 2006), and an increased diversity of projectile points in use (Vierra, 2013). Although cultivated maize was likely introduced to the northern Rio Grande at around 3000 BP, it appears only as a supplement to broader foraging patterns in this area until c. 1250 BP.…”

“…Although cultivated maize was likely introduced to the northern Rio Grande at around 3000 BP, it appears only as a supplement to broader foraging patterns in this area until c. 1250 BP. There is no evidence for local village aggregation during this time (McBrinn and Vierra, 2017; Vierra, 2018). Late Archaic foragers in this area continued to practice mobile lifeways between the uplands and the lowlands to take advantage of the abundant seasonal diversity of plant food sources across these rapidly changing ecological niches.…”

“…Late Archaic foragers in this area continued to practice mobile lifeways between the uplands and the lowlands to take advantage of the abundant seasonal diversity of plant food sources across these rapidly changing ecological niches. Late Archaic sites show already sophisticated management and low-level cultivation of various wild taxa in both upland and lowland niches, perhaps most significantly at Jemez Cave (Vierra, 2013) and the Chama Alcove site (McBrinn and Vierra, 2017; Vierra and Ford, 2006). Riverine settings also appear to have been used for winter campsites, and researchers note that water-table fed maize fit easily into a diverse subsistence base in niches that were already being cultivated with wild seeds (Ford, 2013; McBrinn and Vierra, 2017; Moore, 2018; Post, 2013; Vierra and Foxx, 2009).…”

Onset of dune construction based on archaeological evidence, White Sands, New Mexico

“…Some Paleoindian artifacts from the area are likely of earliest Holocene age and are well documented on the Great Plains. The Early Archaic is generally considered to be Early Holocene, but the Paleoindian to Archaic transition is very poorly documented in the Southwest in the field or via numerical age control (McBrinn and Vierra, 2017).…”