North America - Southwest (Geographic Keyword)
426-450 (899 Records)
This project looks at the spatial distribution of lithic and ceramic artifacts on slopes in Petrified Forest National Park to examine erosional impacts on distribution. Archaeologists use the spatial distribution of artifacts to identify features and their functions. Therefore, it is important that the affect of erosion moving artifacts out of their primary contexts is understood. It is hypothesized that patterns exist in the way artifacts erode downslope. Transects are put across site slopes...
It’s not an Illustration; it’s a Graphic Database: Rock Art Documentation in the Digital Age (2016)
Shumla incorporates new technologies that are revolutionizing rock art illustration and documentation. This presentation discusses the method developed by Shumla to engage these technologies in the production of graphic databases. Using Adobe Photoshop and a Wacom Cintiq Interactive Pen Display, digital Photoshop layers are used to graphically document data for individual figures. These living documents include accurate scale illustrations and the color calibrated and enhanced photographs used...
The Jemez Mountains Ethnohistoric Assessment: a Critical Examination of an Alternative Approach to Consultation (2017)
Most consultation occurs as part of NEPA and/or Section 106 compliance. That is, there is a predefined, location specific undertaking that concerns traditional communities, such as Native American entities, who are contacted and with whom consultation occurs. This is not, however, the only, or even the best, process by which traditional peoples may be included in consultations with land managers. Some land managing agencies have recently been adopting more proactive approaches. One example of...
Jemez Oral Traditions and Ancestral Landscpaes (2015)
Ethnographic research with cultural advisors and research partners from the Pueblo of Jemez on fire ecology, use of plant resources, and landscape within the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico reveals significant ongoing connections to Jemez ancestral places. The ancestral places within the Jemez Province that archaeologists define primarily through the distribution of Jemez Black-on-white ceramics, which dates between approximately A.D. 1250 to A.D.1750, reflect an intensively occupied...
Journeys of Our Ancestors: Ceramic Colorants and their Role in Undestanding Migration in the American Southwest (2017)
Culturally defined color, and the technology used to produce it, is a hallmark of ceramics produced in the American Southwest prior to European contact. This characteristic (among others) was utilized to initially name, define and describe archaeologically recovered ceramic wares (e.g. Colton and Hargrave 1937; Fewkes 1898; Kidder 1931; Shepard 1931). The integration of conservation science and materials science approaches to this research is crucial to reveal nuanced interpretations of cultural...
"Just Move On": Lessons from the Career of Dr. Betsy Reitz (2016)
Betsy Reitz is universally admired as a scholar, mentor, and colleague, and known for her prodigious production of high-quality, interdisciplinary, and rigorous scholarship. She taught her many students that research should be question-driven, anthropologically significant but not disciplinary confined, and multiscalar, with an emphasis on the long view. Betsy has long crossed the traditional divide between pre- and post-Columbian archaeology, exploring long-term trends in fisheries exploitation...
Kayenta Mine on Black Mesa (2016)
The Black Mesa Archaeological Project (1967-1987) was undertaken to clear archaeological sites to mine coal for the Navajo Generating Station. The original permit for this work expires in 2019. Working with project proponents, tribes, and other groups/individuals, Federal agencies are in the process of re-permitting (2019-2044) project features; these include the Kayenta Mine, Navajo Generating Station, a railroad, and two large powerlines. This poster summarizes the on-going cultural...
Kinship and the Self-Organization of Exchange in Small-Scale Societies (2017)
Circulation of material goods is common in small-scale societies. Even where exchange is not coordinated above the level of the household, goods produced in one area are consistently conveyed to distant settlements. Numerous ethnographic studies demonstrate that exchange transactions are common among kin, and that the circulation of goods in small-scale societies is structured by kinship ties. From an individual’s point of view, the number of kinfolk available to exchange with and where they...
Kiva B Internments at the Mine Canyon Site, New Mexico: a bioarchaeology and ancient DNA approach (2016)
Excavations at the Mine Canyon site, a PIII Chaco outlier near Farmington, New Mexico, revealed a cluster of thirteen individuals interred within Kiva B. Ancient DNA analysis of the individuals from the site demonstrated that six of the Kiva B internments belonged to the same derived form of Haplogroup A, suggesting a matrilineal relationship. Recent analysis of their burial positions suggests the Kiva B individuals are distinct from others at the site, further supported by a lack of grave...
La Cueva de la Colmena: bioarchaeological analysis of a funerary context from the Sonora – Sinaloa Project / R. A. Pailes 1967. (2015)
In the past six years the Centro INAH Sonora has turned its gaze to the Archaeological Collections under its charge, keeping priority to conservation, research, documentation and registration of such collections. Key member of this acquis is the collection product of the archaeological research conducted by Dr. Richard Allen Pailes in the year 1967 as part of the Sonora-Sinaloa Project. The main goal of the project was the recognition of different surface locations in the basin of the Mayo and...
La industria lítica precerámica del sitio La Flor del Océano, Sinaloa (2015)
El hallazgo en el año 2010 de puntas de proyectil del tipo foliáceo manufacturadas casi en su totalidad en cantos rodados de riolita, así como la gran cantidad de desecho de talla asociado a ellas, en el sito La Flor del Océano en Sinaloa; cuyas excavaciones continúan hasta el día de hoy, ha propiciado una serie de debates académicos acerca de su antigüedad y tecnología aplicada a ellas. En la presente ponencia, expondremos los resultados de las últimas temporadas de campo del Proyecto...
Lagomorph exploitation and garden hunting in the northern San Juan region (2015)
The northern San Juan (NSJ) region of the United States contains a high density of archaeological sites. Ancestral Puebloan people lived in small hamlets (ca. AD 1000) prior to aggregating into large pueblo villages (ca. AD 1150). Periods of drought occurred prior to the abandonment of this sub-region (ca. AD 1300), influencing the availability of animal resources. Zooarchaeological studies of subsistence in the NSJ region have focused on a decline in availability of large game concurrent with...
Land Use and Site Formation Processes of a Genizaro Land Grant: Recent Excavations at the Pueblo de Abiquiu, NM (2017)
This paper will discuss the most recent excavations in the Genizaro Pueblo de Abiquiu, NM (est. 1754). Abiquiu, as one of the oldest and most successful Genizaro land grants, is a key area for better understanding the history and trajectory of Indo-Hispanic settlements in Northern New Mexico. Three distinct areas within the historical boundary of the land grant were excavated, representing domestic defensive, and agricultural contexts. The paper will go over the excavations, ground-truthing GPR...
Landscape Importance In Northern Arizona: An Application of Ethnographic Voices and Quantitative Viewshed Analysis (2017)
The importance of landscapes has long been discussed in archaeology, yet this is an often overlooked line of evidence. Landscapes often have a primary role in Native American oral histories and stories. Humans in general have a tendency to attach strong social meanings to visually prominent landforms. Such meanings are embedded within cultural landscapes as networks of natural and constructed places are perceived and made meaningful by communities. The Colorado Plateau of Northern Arizona...
Landscape Legacies in Central Arizona: Archaeologists and Ecologists Working Together (2017)
Archaeologists have long used environmental data to reconstruct the past. Recently, environmental scientists have come to realize the value of incorporating archaeological viewpoints in understanding modern ecological systems. It has been shown that human activities, even those that are relatively non-intensive, have the potential to result in long-lasting ecological transformations. Cross-disciplinary alliances between archaeologists and environmental scientists are necessary if we are to...
Large Scale Aerial Photogrammetry: A comparative case study of changes in the archaeological landscape surrounding Pueblo Pintado, New Mexico (2017)
In this poster, I explore shifts in the geomorphic landscape surrounding Pueblo Pintado, outside of Chaco Canyon National Cultural Park, New Mexico, in order to assess modern impacts on the ancient road systems which connect Great Houses throughout the Chacoan region. Utilizing high-altitude aerial imagery gathered by Jacob Smith III, I am working to create a high-resolution, large-scale photogrammetric model surrounding Pueblo Pintado. This model will provide support for geospatial analyses of...
Las puntas de proyectil de las planicies costeras de Sonora, del desierto al bosque espinoso. (2017)
Durante los trabajos de excavación y recorrido de superficie en el Proyecto de Salvamento Arqueológico Gasoducto Puerto Libertad-Frontera Estatal, llevado a cabo en Sonora, México, se ha recuperado una numerosa muestra de puntas de proyectil sobre un área que cubre cerca de 600 kilómetros lineales, desde Puerto Libertad, en la costa noroeste del estado, hasta el límite con Sinaloa. Éstas puntas están afiliadas a determinados contextos en diferentes periodos, como el arcaico, el de agricultura...
Laser Removal of Graffiti from Pictographs at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site, El Paso County, Texas: A Five-Year Review (2017)
In 2009, a three phase project was initiated at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site to remove graffiti that was painted over Native American pictographs, using portable lasers. The first phase of this project tested the ability of a laser to remove graffiti from an area of rock that did not contain pictographs; this test showed that a laser could be used to remove layers of graffiti from the igneous formations at the site. In 2010, samples of graffiti paint that was not directly on the...
The Late Bonito Phase at Aztec North and West Ruins: Interpreting the Ceramic Data (2017)
Pottery from Earl Morris’ excavations in Late Bonito phase contexts at Aztec West Ruin and recent surface collections at Aztec North Ruin are examined to shed further light on Chacoan period developments at these two great houses. Morris’ early 20th century excavations focused specifically on West Ruin, but the North and East Ruins filled out the triad of great houses comprising a substantial complex within the modern boundary of Aztec Ruins National Monument. Several researchers have suggested...
Late Spanish Colonial Subsistence Practices and Their Environmental Impact in the Middle Rio Grande Valley (2017)
In 1598, Spanish colonialists introduced European domestic fauna, including sheep, pigs, and cattle, into New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande Valley (MRGV). Sometime after this initial contact, Native residents of the MRGV shifted away from the use of a diverse set of native fauna and focused their diets on non-native domestic taxa. This shift had far reaching effects; reliance on domestic grazers ultimately led to overgrazing, erosion, and loss of native species – all of which characterize the...
Lead and Zinc Pigmented Mural Paints: Lowry Pueblo Great House, Southwest Colorado (2017)
We used numerous techniques to study the white step pattern murals of Lowry Pueblo Kivas A and B: visual analysis, portable X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and powder X-ray diffraction. Elemental analyses identified lead and zinc in the shiny bright white paint layer and calcium in the dull white paint layer. X-ray diffraction confirmed zinc oxide and lead sulfate pigment minerals in the shiny, bright white paint layer, whereas...
Lead isotopic studies of Pueblo I glazes and archaeological mineral specimens (2016)
The earliest glazes in the Southwest were produced during the Pueblo I period (ca. 700-850 CE) in the Upper San Juan region of Colorado. Lead isotope ratios of these glaze paints were collected using multi-collector ICP-MS in an attempt to identify the source of the lead used by the potters in the production of the glaze paints. This paper will present the results of this study, and compare it to published ratios of lead ores, as well as archaeological and geological galena samples from sites in...
Learning from the Past: Cinder Mulch Agriculture Past and Present (2015)
Cinder mulch agriculture has been studied in relation to the archaeology of the Flagstaff, Arizona, area since Colton in the 1930s, with several experimental studies assessing the agricultural benefits of this method. Recently, local gardeners in the Flagstaff area have begun experimenting with using cinder mulch on their own gardens. This provides an opportunity for public outreach and for archaeologists and the local gardening community to learn from each other, with gardeners gaining the...
The Legacy of New Deal Programs to Northern Arizona and Southwest Archaeology (2015)
During the 1930s, federal New Deal programs financed and supported a number of archaeological projects in northern Arizona. Within National Parks and Monuments, surveys and excavations were undertaken so that people could see archaeological sites, and visitor centers were constructed to display and interpret archaeology for the public. Several major expeditions by the Museum of Northern Arizona were also supported by New Deal programs. Excavations from 1933 to 1939 were directed by professional...
Legacy Records and Digital Innovation: The Chaco Research Archive and Beyond (2016)
This is a pdf copy of the PPT slides used for the presentation in the SAA symposium. Over the last 12 years, the authors of this paper have been involved in a range of digital curation activities pertaining to legacy records and the integration and manipulation of those data to create new knowledge about the past. Primarily, we have worked together to create the Chaco Research Archive (CRA) and a variety of complementary projects including a mobile application and, more recently, the Salmon...