North America - Southwest (Geographic Keyword)
751-775 (899 Records)
Many archaeologists support the inclusion of Native American oral histories in archaeological practice; however, the use of oral histories in archaeology is not systematic or singular. In order to develop a clearer picture of the application of oral history in American archaeology, I quantified and analyzed the use of oral histories in peer-reviewed articles. This poster presents the results of an analysis of journals in American archaeology from 1980 to the present that demonstrate the...
Soundscapes in the Past: Interaudibility in the Chacoan Built Landscape (2017)
Sound has been a long disregarded aspect of the cultural landscape, despite being an important factor in how we, as human beings, interact with the wider world. By incorporating a consideration of sound, archaeologists can more fully understand the embodied experience explored through phenomenological approaches. In this poster, we investigate the interaudibility present within the built landscape of Chaco Canyon, using a GIS tool we have developed over the past two years. Focusing on Downtown...
Sources of Sinagua Obsidian Points and Debitage: XRF Analysis (2017)
Projectile points and debitage from three Sinagua sites in northern Arizona, were analyzed using the XRF instruments at Missouri University Research Reactor. The rooms at Lizard Man Village, Fortress Hills, and New Caves were occupied between 1050 and 1250 AD. Over 300 obsidian points and debitage were analyzed using an ARL Quant’x EDXRF Spectrometer. The primary source of obsidian is the well-known Government Mt source,with a few samples from RS Hill and other sources. The nearest sources of...
Sourcing and Trade of Basalt and Turquoise to Petrified Forest National Park (2016)
This project seeks to understand how the basalt and turquoise found at Petrified Forest National Park fits into the trade networks of the Southwest. The procurement and subsequent movement of basalt and turquoise materials have been studied in the Southwest, but not at Petrified Forest National Park. Basalt axe heads, vesicular basalt pipes, and turquoise beads/pendants were recovered from multiple sites but no natural outcrops of either source have been found within the park boundaries. For...
Sourcing Basalt from the Santiago Quarry in Chihuahua, Mexico Using XRF (2017)
During survey in 2013, we identified the only known vesicular basalt quarry in the Casas Grandes region in northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico. Using XRF, we analyzed basalt from the Santiago Quarry and compared the results to the chemical characterization of formal tools (mostly mano and metate fragments) recovered at the site of Paquimé in order to determine if this quarry was one of the sources exploited by prehistoric stoneworkers during the Medio period (1200-1450 A.D.).
Space and Settlement Across the Painted Desert: Comparing the Land Use Patterns of Preceramic Groups at Petrified Forest National Park (2015)
Although preceramic archaeological sites containing evidence of maize farming were first identified at Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO) in the 1980s, archaeologists have conducted little research on preceramic Basketmaker sites at PEFO. Several radiocarbon dates on maize falling in the first millennium BC from preceramic habitation sites have shifted researchers perspectives on the preceramic occupation Petrified Forest. Recent archaeological survey on Petrified Forest National Park...
A Spatial Analysis of San Juan Red Ware Using Least Cost Paths (2017)
A fundamental part of interaction is distance. Distance can be calculated in many ways. GIS applications allow the calculation of least cost paths between locations. Often the length of this path is used as the distance between points; however, the amount of time it takes to traverse a path may differ for paths with the same length that traverse different topography. In this poster, I use the distribution of San Juan Red Ware in a portion of the southwestern United States to examine the...
A Spatial and Predictive Model for Archaeological Sites in the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico (2016)
The Lincoln National Forest has produced a wealth of GIS data on archaeological sites in Southeastern New Mexico. This data has not yet been analyzed. This poster presents a predictive spatial model of archaeological sites on the Lincoln National Forest. In this project, I have developed a predictive model of archaeological sites based on a statistical analysis of environmental variables and test it by withholding a sample of sites. I also examined the distribution and density of archaeological...
A Spatial and Predictive Model of Archaeological Sites on the Lincoln National Forest (2017)
The Lincoln National Forest has produced a wealth of GIS data on archaeological sites in Southeastern New Mexico. This data has not yet been analyzed. This poster presents a predictive spatial model of archaeological sites on the Lincoln National Forest to provide information on the interaction between people and the environment and the changing use of the landscape over time. In this project, I have developed a predictive model of archaeological sites based on a statistical analysis of...
Spatial and Temporal Variability in Hohokam Inequality (2016)
This paper will investigate synchronic and diachronic inequality among the Hohokam of southern Arizona. The Hohokam were an irrigation dependent, middle range society that occupied the low Sonoran Desert from approximately AD 500 to 1500. Over this impressive temporal span there were substantial changes, gradual and punctuated, to organizational systems, demographic pressure, and subsistence bases. The analysis presented in this paper will draw upon available data sets from substantial CRM...
Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Prehistoric Puebloan Settlements and Ceramic Wares on the Shivwits Plateau (2017)
During the summer of 2016, graduate students from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas conducted in-field ceramic analysis on Virgin Branch Puebloan sites found on the National Park Service portion of the Grand Parashant National Monument. Data collected from this project were analyzed in GIS in order to establish habitation site chronology in the region as well as address spatial artifact and settlement patterns through time as they relate to environmental variables. It is concluded that the...
Spatiotemporal Trends in Ceramics and Architecture in Domestic Paquime, Chihuahua, Mexico (2016)
A recent examination of domestic architecture at Paquime demonstrated support for structural differences present throughout the Medio period following Di Peso's phases. No known analysis, though, outside of Di Peso's publications has examined the ceramics data to assess whether differences exist between rooms or units. This paper examines the connection between differences in ceramic types and distributions and those present in structural elements of architecture. The broader implications of...
Spruce Tree House: The Social History of a Thirteenth-Century Cliff Dwelling (2015)
As one of the best preserved ancestral Pueblo sites in the Southwest, Spruce Tree House presents a unique opportunity to examine aggregation during the 1200s; a time fraught with significant social and religious changes, intensifying intraregional violence, and extreme climatic conditions that ends with widespread Pueblo exodus from the region. This paper presents our fine-grained reconstruction of how Spruce Tree House developed over time based on detailed architectural documentation and a...
Stable Isotope Ratios from Modern and Archeological Fauna from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico (2017)
Stable isotope analysis of archaeological material can reveal aspects of diet, mobility, resource exchange, and social structure in ancient civilizations. Chaco Canyon, New Mexico is a World Heritage site in northwestern New Mexico with peak activity and habitation around 1000AD. The nature of resource management by those inhabiting the Canyon has been long debated. Here, we present carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and strontium isotope data from archaeological faunal remains collected from from...
Statistics -It's a Sherd Thing: Archaeology in a High School Math Class (2015)
Whole books have been dedicated to the subject of math applied to archaeology, both in the field and in analysis. Archaeology educators have recognized that the excitement of archaeology can be used to share elements of trigonometry, statistics, geometry, and more. Educators at the Robert S. Peabody of Archaeology and Phillips Academy have collaborated to use existing collections of pottery sherds from sites in New Mexico to introduce statistics to high school students. In the "It’s a Sherd...
Steven A. Weber and the Birth of the Society of Ethnobiology (2017)
In June 1978, two young graduate students met while working for the U.S. Forest Service in Flagstaff, Arizona. At the time, I was organizing the 2nd Ethnobiology Conference to be held at the Museum of Northern Arizona in honor of two founding fathers of ethnobiology, Alfred Whiting and Lyndon L. Hargrave. Steve and I soon became friends and colleagues, spending many evenings over beers, and our conversations often centered on our mutual interests in interdisciplinary studies for which...
Still High on Pueblo Alto: Tom Windes’ Mounds of Accomplishment (2015)
Among Tom Windes’ huge list of accomplishments in archaeology, his work at Chaco Canyon and Pueblo Alto is especially noteworthy. The lasting nature of this contribution is clear in that Pueblo Alto and mounds at Greathouses continue to be discussed and interpreted. This paper further considers the Pueblo Alto mound stratigraphy and the use and occupation of the pueblo in the context of recent discussions of these data. The discussion ranges from the very specific to more general implications....
Stone and Bone: Examining Social Memory through Continuity and Discontinuity in the Mimbres Region (2016)
Groups in the past used social memory for various social negotiations, which can include maintaining and legitimizing power, access to resources, and monumental construction. But how is memory maintained, created or recreated in the daily practices of a group or groups going through social and material transitions? How does that translate to real social power? In this spirit, I explore the creation, inscription, and possible contestation of social memory in the Mimbres region of southwest New...
Stone Tools and Social Change (2015)
Drawing from survey level data acquired during recent cultural resource inventories in and near Canyons of the Ancients National Monument in southwestern Colorado, this paper investigates social change and continuity during the Basketmaker III to Pueblo III periods, as evident in the stone tool assemblages of distinct communities. Tool type, ubiquity, location, and association are used to explore trends in technological adaptations, providing insights into the social and economic complexity of...
A Story Told Two Ways: Exploring the Intersectionality Between the Archaeological Record and Social Context of Undocumented Female Migrants (2015)
The number of undocumented women crossing from Mexico into the United States has been increasing since the 1980s, leading to a steady upsurge in studies focused on the experiences and strategies of this subpopulation of migrants. Much of the discourse thus far has been focused on the social contexts of female migrants, that is their interpersonal and informational networks which influence their experience and survival strategies while crossing. In this poster we investigate how these social...
Strat is where its at: Analyzing and Managing Complex Mural Stratigraphy at Rattlesnake Canyon, TX (2016)
Pecos River style murals are highly-ordered, complex compositions of layered figures composed of different pigments. Through analysis of sequential ordering and stratigraphic relationships of these figures, researchers can gain insights into the technical history of a mural and the artistic and cognitive processes that led to its creation. The Pecos River style mural in Rattlesnake Canyon spans 32 meters and contains more than 250 finely-executed, polychromatic figures. Shumla is investigating...
Stratigraphic Evidence for Large Floods in Canal System 2, Phoenix, Arizona (2015)
Recent excavations conducted downstream from Park of Four Waters have provided new evidence of damaging floods within System 2 between AD 1050-1400. Two main canals contain stratigraphic evidence of uncontrolled Salt River. One canal (Hagenstad) contains evidence for two floods, the last one causing the alignment to be abandoned. The other canal (Woodbury's North), contains a flood deposit that filled the channel and led to its abandonment. A combination of ceramic, 14C, and luminescence ages...
A Study of Miniature Pottery Vessels in the Mimbres Region (2015)
What role did miniature vessels play in the lives of pit house and pueblo peoples of the ancient American Southwest? Were they toys? were they ritual? what is the evidence of their uses?To begin answering these questions I have complied data to explore the contexts of miniature vessels. This poster explores a case study of Mogollon sites (A.D. 200-1450) from Southwestern New Mexico. In this poster I will discuss traces of the life histories of miniature vessels including where they are found...
Stump Holes and Soot Staining: A 15 Year Update on the Wildfire Hazard Reduction Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (2017)
The frequency and severity of wildfires in northern New Mexico over the past several decades have increased, and wildfires often impact archaeological sites. In May of 2000, the Cerro Grande Fire burned approximately 48,000 acres of land in northern New Mexico including 7,650 acres within Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Following the Cerro Grande fire, wildfires continue to pose a threat to the Los Alamos community, LANL facilities, and cultural resources. In 2001, LANL implemented the...
Sub-Pixel Detection of Obsidian and Pottery by NASA Satellite and Aircraft Data (2017)
We determine the detection limits of sub-pixel artifacts (site midden, obsidian artifacts, and pottery) using airborne and spaceborne image data. Research results are presented from the Glass Mountain Site in northern CA and the Boquillas site in southern Arizona. Multiple visits were made at different seasons over three years. Visible, SWIR, and TIR spectral characteristics of targets and background were measured in the field. A spectral library has been constructed from ~200 target and...