The Puebloan construction wood-use cycle: Implications for dendroarchaeological research

Summary

An important component of models of wood-use behavior used to interpret archaeological tree-ring data is the temporal cycle through which wooden construction elements pass. Understanding the prevailing cycle of construction-wood-use behavior is vital to deriving both chronological and behavioral information from tree-ring collections from archaeological sites. Intensive dendroarchaeological research has identified a strong pattern of Puebloan wood-use behavior that can be generalized to evaluate tree-ring dates from puebloan structures built during the last 1100 years in the American Southwest. This construction beam cycle, which may take many decades to run its full course, involves the following successive stages: procurement, preparation, initial use, single or multiple reuse with or without modification and/or changes in function, consumption, and abandonment. Case studies from prehistoric sites and occupied pueblos exemplify the role played by the wood-use cycle in dating Puebloan sites and revealing the range of wood-use behaviors employed in their construction, modification, and use.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Dendrochronology: Social and Cultural Aspects of Wood in Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-50,04