Legacies on the Landscape

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Legacies on the Landscape was a collaborative, interdisciplinary project led by Arizona State University from 2004 to 2016. Working closely with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, the Legacies project undertook archaeological and ecological research at a number of prehistoric sites in the Perry Mesa region of central Arizona. Studies were focused on understanding the long-term human impacts on the landscape. The project's research area fell largely within the Agua Fria National Monument and Tonto National Forest.

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  • 2007 Archaeological Survey: Perry Mesa, Yavapai County, Arizona (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell.

    The Arizona State University (ASU) 2007 field season at Perry Mesa lasted from January to May, 2007. Accompanying laboratory efforts are ongoing. Within this field season, archaeological survey efforts were focused on the area surrounding Pueblo la Plata. Additional survey work was conducted at Bull Tank Farm, Pueblo Pato and the interfluve located south of Pueblo la Plata where ecological control samples have been collected. This chapter relates specifically to architectural features and...

  • Agave Typologies of Richinbar, Pueblo la Plata, and Pueblo Pato Archaeological Sites of Agua Fria National Monument (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Todd Passick.

    The purpose of this paper is to examine the agave surrounding three different pueblos located in the Agua Fria National Monument and to separate them into typologies which can then be compared to known species in the area to determine weather hyrbridiaztion had occurred. This analysis will help determine whether agaves on these three fields have been hybridized, either intentionally by early inhabitants, or by natural occurrences. This is done by placing the plants into groups based on...

  • Agricultural Impacts on Soil Compaction and Sediment Size (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katie Johnson.

    Many activities affect soil composition, wind, rain, volcanic activity, time, and mammals are just a few examples. Humans are one of the many organisms that affect soil; however they have a measurable impact in a short horizon of time compared to many of the other agents of soil formation. Human activities impact soil formation in many ways ranging from agricultural practices to building and mining, and even war. Understanding how agricultural processes impact the landscape is helpful as it...

  • The Agricultural Landscape of Perry Mesa: Modeling Residential Site Location in Relation to Arable Land (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse.

    The prevailing interpretations of settlement patterns in the Perry Mesa region of central Arizona (ca. A.D. 1275-1400) focus on the defensive posture of the large aggregated villages. Other factors that may have influenced the locations of residential settlements, such as the distribution of agricultural land, have not been fully explored. This study addresses these issues by examining the relationship between residential site size and the distribution of agricultural land. The environmental...

  • Agua Fria National Monument Bibliography (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Bibliographic references for research in the Agua Fria National Monument area

  • Alliance and Landscape - Perry Mesa, Arizona in the Fourteenth Century: Surface Ceramic Collections for BLM Lands in the Agua Fria National Monument (2010)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Paul Shockey. Christopher Watkins.

    Project Description: Archaeological ceramics were systematically collected from the surface of three archaeological sites (Richinbar Ruin, Pueblo Pato, and Pueblo La Plata) within the Agua Fria National Monument. The fieldwork was part of the National Science Foundation sponsored “Alliance and Landscape: Perry Mesa, Arizona in the Fourteenth Century” project (BCS-0613201), administered by Dr. David R. Abbott and Dr. Katherine Spielmann of the Arizona State University School of Human Evolution...

  • Alliance and Landscape: Perry Mesa, Arizona in the Fourteenth Century: Surface Ceramic Collections for USFS Lands in the Cave Creek and Payson Ranger Districts of the Tonto National Forest (2010)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Paul Shockey. Christopher Watkins.

    Archaeological ceramics were systematically collected from the surface of five archaeological sites (Las Mujeres [aka Squaw Creek Ruin], Big Rosalie, Polles Pueblo, Mercer Ruin, Ister Flat Ruin) within the Tonto National Forest. The fieldwork was part of the National Science Foundation sponsored “Alliance and Landscape: Perry Mesa, Arizona in the Fourteenth Century” project (BCS-0613201), administered by Dr. David R. Abbott and Dr. Katherine Spielmann of the Arizona State University School of...

  • The Ancient Agroecology of Perry Mesa: Integrating Runoff, Nutrients, and Climate (2013)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples.

    Understanding agricultural land use requires the integration of natural factors, such as climate and nutrients, as well as human factors, such as agricultural intensification. Employing an agroecological framework, I use the Perry Mesa landscape, located in central Arizona, as a case study to explore the intersection of these factors to investigate prehistoric agriculture from A.D. 1275-1450. Ancient Perry Mesa farmers used a runoff agricultural strategy and constructed extensive alignments,...

  • Archaeological Research at Pueblo la Plata: Surface Collection and Excavation (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine Spielmann. Melissa Kruse-Peeples.

    The spring 2004 pilot archaeological research at La Plata Pueblo was designed to begin acquiring data concerning the distribution, contents, and depth of midden deposits at the site. Midden of some depth is necessary for the Legacies project goals in order to obtain sufficient samples of 1) ceramics for an accumulations study and 2) well-preserved faunal and floral remains for comparative analysis with contemporary data on plant and animal distributions. Our data collection strategy involved a...

  • Artifact and Rock Distributions at Pueblo la Plata (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Lisa Baldwin. Caitlin Wichlacz.

    Artifact and rock distributions were noticeably different across the landscape surrounding Pueblo La Plata. By sampling artifact and rock densities along three transects, we attempted to determine what the independent distribution patterns were for artifacts and for rocks. By combining our results, we hoped to see whether or not there was a correlation between artifact and rock densities across the site. We expected to see a drop in artifact densities farther from the pueblo, where less human...

  • A Compositional Analysis of Plain Ware Pottery from Pueblo la Plata and Richinbar Ruin, Agua Fria National Monument, Arizona (2008)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Caitlin Wichlacz.

    Temper analysis of plain ware ceramics from Pueblo La Plata indicates that none of the pottery contains local sand. La Plata is located atop Perry Mesa in central Arizona, where basalt dominates the geology. Petrographic thin-section analysis confirmed the observation that basalt was not present, thereby implying that the tempering materials used to make the pottery were not locally obtained. Unless local potters went far afield to procure their temper, the pueblo residents probably obtained...

  • Corner Construction and Possible Construction Sequence for Room Blocks in Richinbar Ruin on Black Mesa at Agua Fria National Monument (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Michael Hoogendyk.

    Prior research as a part of the Legacies on the Landscape project has addressed architectural issues at Richinbar Ruin. In the spring of 2005, Karen Schollmeyer wrote a paper, Architecture Studies at Richinbar Ruin, which outlined the rationale for and the results of study into how Richinbar was built. Since that time, changes due to both wild fires and seasonal variation potentially made possible the acquisition of improved data in the same area. The purpose of this study was to obtain that...

  • Cultural Diversity and Social Identity atop Perry Mesa (2016)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell. Nanebah Nez.

    A brief introduction to the rock art of Perry Mesa and the ways in which the region's rock art can contribute to studies of movement and identity.

  • Dates Associated with Excavated Sites (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Chronometric dates obtained from excavations on Perry Mesa (after Fierro et al. 1980:259; Gummerman et al. 1975:31)

  • Ecology Needs Archaeologists: Archaeology Needs Ecologists (2006)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text John Briggs. Katherine A. Spielmann. Hoski Schaafsma. Keith Kintigh. Melissa Kruse. Kari Morehouse. Karen Schollmeyer.

    Over the past five decades, ecologists and archaeologists have dismantled two longstanding theoretical constructs. Ecologists have rejected the “balance of nature” concept and archaeologists have dispelled the myth that indigenous people were “in harmony with nature”. Rejection of these concepts poses critical challenges to both fields as current disciplinary approaches are inadequate to grapple effectively with real-world complexities of socioecological systems. In this review, we focus on the...

  • Eolian Deposition and Soil Fertility in a Prehistoric Agricultural Complex in Central Arizona (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Dana Nakase.

    Prehistoric farmers in the semi-arid American Southwest were challenged by marked spatial and temporal variation in, and overall low levels of, precipitation with which to grow their crops. One strategy they employed was to modify their landscape with rock alignments in order to concentrate surface water flow on their fields. A second challenge that has been less focused on by archaeologists is the need to maintain soil fertility by replenishing nutrients removed from the soil by agricultural...

  • Fiber Production of Three Varieties of Agave Found on Perry Mesa (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Uploaded by: Will Russell

    Agave has been exploited throughout time and space for its sap, edible flesh, and fibers. Cultivation of this productive, multi-purpose plant took place within what is now Agua Fria National Monument at the pueblos of La Plata and Pato on Perry Mesa and Richinbar on Black Mesa. At these sites, the heart of the plant was removed for roasting and, subsequently, consumption. This is an experimental archaeology project that examines another aspect of agave exploitation: the fiber processing...

  • Field Report for Excavation Unit 1E (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Excavation Unit 1E is one of six surface collection units around Pueblo LaPlata. The surface collection locations were determined by visually scanning the surface and selecting areas of high artifact concentration. Unit 1E is on the east side of the pueblo, approximately 7 meters from the extent of wall fall. The unit is slightly down slope in an area of high artifact concentration.

  • Field Report for the Legacies Project: February 6-7, 2004 (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine Spielmann.

    Four graduate students (Kruse, Lei, Horn, and Schollmeyer), two undergraduate students (Osgood and Wichlacz), Hegmon and Spielmann worked at Pueblo La Plata February 6 and 7. Hegmon directed the continuation of the bonding and abutting study while Spielmann directed the initiation of the midden excavations.

  • Final Report of the Spring 2007 Field Season - Legacies on the Landscape: Archaeological and Ecological Research at Agua Fria National Monument and Tonto National Forest (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine A. Spielmann.

    Final Report of the Spring 2007 Field Season - Legacies on the Landscape: Archaeological and Ecological Research at Agua Fria National Monument and Tonto National Forest

  • Graphs Comparing Nitrogen and Carbon Content in Soils from the Cave Creek and Perry Mesa Areas (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Two graphs that compare the levels of nitrogen and carbon in soils both on and off of prehispanic agricultural features, in the Agua Fria National Monument area and in the Cave Creek area

  • Graphs of Herbaceous Plant Data Comparisons (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Graphs of Herbaceous Plant Data Comparisons

  • Intersite Agave Variability among Pueblo La Plata, Pueblo Pato and Richinbar Pueblo in the Agua Fria National Monument (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Shana Leslie.

    It is widely recognized that prehistoric peoples of the American Southwest cultivated and utilized agave to a great extent. The occupants of three 13th-14th century sites, found on Perry and Black Mesas in Arizona’s Agua Fria National Monument, did just that. How and to what extent their agricultural actions have affected modern day agave populations is a topic of much interest. The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of intersite agave variability among Pueblo La Plata, Pueblo Pato,...

  • Keeping Track: Ceremonial Racetracks, Integration, and Change in Central Arizona (2009)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell.

    Beginning in 2006 and as part of Arizona State University’s Legacies on the Landscape Project (Spielmann et al. 2005), I undertook preliminary research regarding a small corpus of long, linear clearings in the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona. Coined “racetracks”, these had been recorded at the eight largest pueblos on Perry Mesa and neighboring Black Mesa. They had been noted by past archaeologists (e.g., Ahlstrom and Roberts 1995:37; Ahlstrom et al. 1992; North 2002; Wilcox et al. 2001;...

  • La Plata Transect Survey, 2004 (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine Spielmann. Lisa Baldwin. John Briggs. Kari Horn. Karen Schollmeyer. Caitlyn Wichlasz.

    While the archaeological work at Pueblo La Plata has begun to provide critical data concerning prehistoric demography, ceramic accumulations, and use of plants and animals, it was on the transect surveys that the collaboration between archaeological and ecological research came to fruition in the 2004 field season. This report discusses the data collection protocol that was developed to collect archaeological, small mammal, plant, and rock cover data on these transects, and presents preliminary...

  • Landscape Legacies of Prehistoric Agricultural Land Use in the Perry Mesa Region, Central Arizona (2010)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Hoski Schaafma. Katherine Spielmann. John Briggs.

    The Perry Mesa region in central Arizona was the location of a major pulse of residential occupation and extensive agricultural land use from about a.d. 1275 to a.d. 1450. Recent research carried out by a collaborative team of archaeologists and ecologists has documented the ways in which short-term and small-scale agricultural land use transformed ecological systems in the region over long periods of time. Results from recent analyses relating to different spatial scales of prehistoric...

  • Las Mujeres Architecture Study (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Cara Steiner Kiggins.

    The architecture of Las Mujeres (also known as Squaw Creek Ruin and NA 12555) was examined as part of the Legacies on the Landscape research project during the Spring 2007 field season. Room construction sequences, as indicated by bonded or abutted corners, are indicators of population growth. These patterns of bonded and abutted corners suggest whether a pueblo was built all at once or instead built incrementally through the gradual accretion of rooms. A gradual accretion of rooms could...

  • Legacies of Prehistoric Agricultural Practices Within Plant and Soil Properties Across an Arid Ecosystem (2013)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Sharon Hall. Jolene Trujillo. Dana Nakase. Colleen Strawhacker. Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Hoski Schaafsma. John Briggs.

    Closely integrated research between archaeologists and ecologists provides a long-term view of human land use that is rare in the ecological literature, allowing for investigation of activities that lead to enduring environmental outcomes. This extended temporal perspective is particularly important in arid lands where succession occurs slowly and ecosystem processes are mediated by abiotic, geomorphic factors. Numerous studies show that impacts from ancient human actions can persist, but few...

  • Legacies on the Landscape: A Field Guide to the Plants of Agua Fria National Monument (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Joanna Iacovelli.

    An illustrated guide to the plants found on the Agua Fria National Monument

  • Legacies on the Landscape: Agricultural Production on Perry Mesa, Agua Fria National Monument (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine A. Spielmann.

    This document presents the scope of work proposed for Spring 2005 at Agua Fria National Monument. The research is one phase of an on-going project concerned with the long-term effects of prehistoric agriculture on contemporary ecosystem structure and function at Agua Fria National Monument (see Kruse et al. 2004; Schollmeyer 2004; Schollmeyer et al. 2004). Accompanying this document is a copy of our recently submitted NSF proposal that provides more detail on the overall research plan. This...

  • Legacies on the Landscape: Overview of the 2003-04 Pilot Study (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Karen Schollmeyer.

    In 2003-04, the Legacies on the Landscape project began research concerning the long-term legacies of prehistoric and modern human land use in the desert grassland environment of the Agua Fria National Monument. This project is a collaborative effort between archaeologists and ecologists. During the first year of project research, faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates from the Department of Anthropology and the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University worked with...

  • Legacies on the Landscsape: The Enduring Effects of Long-Term Human Ecosystem Interactions (2011)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine Spielmann. Hoski Schaafma. Sharon Hall. Melissa Kruse-Peeples. John Briggs.

    The Legacies on the Landscape Project is an ongoing collaboration between ecology and archaeology faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students at Arizona State University. The project was born out of the recognition that strongly integrated interdisciplinary research was essential for understanding human-ecosystem interactions. Our particular case study is focused on understanding the long-term legacy of prehistoric human land use on the ecology of semi-desert grasslands in the Southwestern...

  • The Legacy of Terracing (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Sarah Ventre.

    When trying to analyze human impact on the environment one of the first questions that comes to mind is what long-term effects agriculture has on the land. This research examines the effect of agricultural terracing in terms of soil content and fertility. Specifically, does prehistoric agricultural terracing affect the number and type of seeds in the soil, and thereby the soil’s fertility? Soil fertility is a complex question and studies have been done to analyze the chemical content of soils...

  • Linear Ground Features Upon and Adjacent to Perry Mesa, Yavapai County, Arizona (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell.

    Although not ubiquitous, unique cultural features known as “racetracks” are characteristic (Ahlstrom et al. 1992) of the Perry Mesa Tradition (Fish et al. 1975), which existed in Central Arizona’s mesa and canyon complex between ca A.D. 1300 and 1400 (Ahlstrom et al. 1992) . Prior to this season’s research, eight racetracks had been identified at pueblos upon Perry Mesa and neighboring Black Mesa (Wilcox et al. 2001). As a result of research this semester, the number of confirmed and likely...

  • Material Evidence of Immigrant Diversity within the Perry Mesa Tradition, Central Arizona (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell. Nanebah Nez.

    Poised between the Sonoran Desert and Colorado Plateau, Perry Mesa and Black Mesa constitute a rugged landform split by the Agua Fria River of central Arizona. This landscape was largely unoccupied prior to the late thirteenth century but witnessed a steady and rapid stream of immigrants beginning around A.D. 1250-1275. Today, the region is enjoying newfound archaeological attention, much of which is focused on why immigrants chose this place as a destination and how they survived after...

  • P.C. in the PIII: Ceremonial Racing as an Integrative Stategy in the PIII-PIV Communities of Central Arizona (2008)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell. Hoski Schaafsma. Katherine A. Spielmann.

    Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, prehistoric people used running and racing as a means of religious expression, personal sacrifice and community cohesion. In such context, the physical location of racing was often unimportant and constructed facilities were relatively rare. In the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona, however, manufactured “racetracks” were highly formalized and represent the only form of communal architecture in this area. We studied these features...

  • Patterns of Defense on Perry Mesa: Implications for Prehistoric Legacies (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse.

    A common issue of the Legacies on the Landscape project in the Perry Mesa region in Central Arizona is determining if the differences in the landscape are the result of prehistoric land use or if these differences in ecosystem structure represent a preexisting landscape patchiness that attracted prehistoric people to certain locales. This analysis investigates the settlement patterns of Perry Mesa as they relate to warfare and/or the perceived threat of warfare in the region. Perry Mesa...

  • Plan Map of Agricultural Terraces at Bull Tank Farm (2010)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples.

    Plan map of agricultural terraces at Bull Tank Farm, Perry Mesa.

  • Pollen Analysis of Agricultural Terraces on La Plata Mesa, Agua Fria National Monument, Yavapai County, Arizona (2007) (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Susan J. Smith.

    Agricultural terraces from two sites on Perry Mesa (La Plata and Bull Tank) and one site at the north edge of Black Mesa (Richinbar Ruin) were investigated using pollen analysis. The samples are listed in Table 1 by site and context. The sites are located on mesas bounding canyons containing the headwaters of the Agua Fria River. Native populations of Agave parryi grown on the mesas and around sites grow hybrid agaves (Agave chrysantha x A. parryi) that are living artifacts of pre-Columbian...

  • Prehistoric Agriculture at La Plata: Exploring Soil Texture Changes across Features (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Stacey McGee.

    Numerous factors affect soil composition, including the parent rock, time, rainfall, wind, and animal burrowing and wastes, but human activities undoubtedly cause the most extensive change in soil properties over the shortest periods of time. At Pueblo La Plata, intensive agricultural practices were utilized for just over 200 years, and yet, six centuries later, the legacies created on the landscape are still as visible. This paper will focus on the effects of prehistoric agriculture on soil...

  • A Preliminary Evaluation of the Verde Confederacy Model: Testing Expectations of Pottery Exchange in the Central Arizona Highlands (2010)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Sophia Kelly. David Abbott. Gordon Moore. Christopher Watkins. Caitlin Wichlacz.

    Regional demographic movements during the mid 13th-14th centuries signaled corresponding changes to social and economic networks throughout the American Southwest. In the high mesa country of central Arizona large, masonry pueblos were constructed around AD 1250–1300 overlooking the vertical walls of Perry Mesa, in the Bloody Basin, and along the middle Verde River valley. As these settlement clusters coalesced, a 45 km expanse of empty land opened between the upland pueblos and the densely...

  • Pueblo Corner Construction Data (Pueblo de las Mujeres, Pueblo la Plata, and Richinbar Ruin) (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Room corner construction data for the sites of Pueblo de las Mujeres, Pueblo la Plata, and Richinbar Ruin

  • Pueblo la Pato Agave Analysis (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    A data table pertaining to 100 agave plants at Pato Pueblo, Perry Mesa.

  • Pueblo la Plata Agave Analysis (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    A data table pertaining to 231 agave plants at Pueblo la Plata, Perry Mesa.

  • References for the Agua Fria National Monument Area (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Bibliographic references for research in the Agua Fria National Monument area

  • Report of the 2007 Archaeological Survey of Northwestern Portions of Perry Mesa within the Agua Fria National Monument, Yavapai County, Arizona (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Will Russell. Hoski Schaafsma. Colleen Strawhacker. JoAnn Wallace.

    In the Spring and Summer of 2007 Arizona State University (ASU) conducted pedestrian survey of approximately 300 hectares of the northwestern portion of Perry Mesa region in Yavapai County, Arizona. All survey areas were located within the Agua Fria National Monument (AFNM) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). All survey areas and located archaeological features are within the Perry Mesa National Register District. During this field season, archaeological survey efforts were focused...

  • Report of the Spring 2005 Field Season (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Melissa Kruse-Peeples. John Briggs. Katie Johnson. Leshana Leslie. Todd Passick. Angela Ruggles. Hoski Shaafsma. Karen Schollmeyer.

    The document begins with an overview of the Legacies Project spring 2005 fieldwork. Subsequent chapters include: Agave Types and Distributions, Agricultural Impacts on Soil Compaction and and Settlement Size at Agua Fria National Monument, Legacy Effects on Herbaceous Plants on Agua Fria National Monument, Transect Survey Report at Richinbar, Architectural Studies at Richinbar Ruin, and an Agricultural Site Survey.

  • Report of the Spring 2005 Field Season: Legacies on the Landscape: Archaeological and Ecological Research at Agua Fria National Monument (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Katherine A. Spielmann. John Briggs. Katie Johnson. Melissa Kruse. Leshana Leslie. Todd Passick. Angela Ruggles. Hoski Schaafsma. Karen Schollmeyer.

    The Legacies project is a long-term, collaborative research and teaching project between archaeology and ecology faculty and students at Arizona State University. The goal of the project is to document and understand the long-term ecological impacts of the prehistoric occupation of the semi-arid landscape of Agua Fria National Monument in central Arizona. The field research is organized through a seminar in which ecology and archaeology faculty jointly engage students in the collection and...

  • Report on the 2009 Legacies on the Landscape BLM Scope of Work (2009)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text David Abbott. Sophia Kelly. Melissa Kruse-Peeples. Dana Nakase. Katherine Spielmann.

    Report on the 2009 Legacies on the Landscape BLM Scope of Work

  • Richinbar Agave Analysis (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    A data table pertaining to 75 agave plants at Richinbar Ruin, Black Mesa.

  • Rocks in Space (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Steven Metzger.

    Data tables pertaining to rock coverage along transects at Pueblo la Plata, Perry Mesa

  • Seasonality and Ecosystem Response in Two Prehistoric Agricultural Regions of Central Arizona (2011)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Jolene Trujillo.

    Around the globe, prehistoric agriculture has impacted the environment in ways that are observable today. Prehistoric farmers in the Southwestern US modified the landscape with rock alignments to support rain fed agriculture in this semi-arid region. Numerous studies have shown that former agricultural fields are ecologically different than areas that have not been farmed. This thesis explores the independent effects of the manipulation of rocks into alignments, prehistoric farming, and season...

  • Small Site Analysis in the Southwest: A Comparative Analysis of Two Communities on Perry Mesa, Arizona (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Colleen Strawhacker.

    Landscapes across the American Southwest are littered with prehistoric structures of less than 10 rooms used for a variety of functions – from seasonal field houses, to storage, to year-long residences, to boundary markers. These structures, while largely ignored in much of the archaeological literature, can provide information on the human impact across an entire landscape, instead of simply focusing on the pueblo itself or on the agricultural fields. How, then, can these small architectural...

  • A Spatial Analysis of the Level of Constructedness of the Small Sites around Pueblo la Plata and Pueblo Pato (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Colleen Strawhacker.

    The level of constructedness of archaeological sites can provide insight into the amount of planning, labor and time invested into building structures. Further understanding into the time, labor and planning invested into architecture can allow for inferences to made on the residential mobility of the population, intensity of surrounding land use and social importance assigned to each pueblo (Cameron 1999). This paper will explore and compare the architectural constructedness of small sites...

  • Spring 2004 Architecture Studies at Pueblo La Plata (2004)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Karen Schollmeyer.

    Studies of the architecture of Pueblo La Plata, particularly room construction sequences, formed one component of the Legacies on the Landscape project research in 2004. The goals of this portion of the project were to improve our understanding of how the pueblo was built, and to gain a sense of population size and changes over time. In particular, we wished to determine whether a sizeable core area of rooms (representing the first construction phase of the pueblo) was visible, and whether the...

  • Summary of Extant Collections from Excavations on the Agua Fria National Monument (2012)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Legacies on the Landscape Project, Arizona State University.

    Basic data concerning collections from excavations by various projects on the Agua Fria National Monument

  • Toward Common Ground: Racing as an Integrative Strategy in Prehistoric Central Arizona (2011)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Will Russell. Hoski Schaafsma. Katherine Spielmann.

    Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, indigenous peoples have used running and racing as means of religious expression, environmental control, personal sacrifi ce, and community cohesion. In such contexts , the physical location of racing w as often unimportant, and manufactured facilities were relatively rare. In the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona, ho wever, constructed racetracks were highly formalized and elaborated. Along with their associated plazas, they represent...

  • The Walls Still Stand: Reconstructing Population at Pueblo la Plata (2005)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text Sara Mapes.

    The Agua Fria National Monument, a 71,000-acre parcel of land encompassing two mesas and a river valley, is a region rich with human prehistory. The landscape is freckled with sites dating to the 13th and 14th centuries, ranging in size from a single agricultural field to pueblos of one hundred or more rooms. One particular Pueblo, Pueblo La Plata, was the focus of my research as I attempted to reconstruct its changing population through the remains of its residential structure.

  • Woody Vegetation Expansion in a Desert Grassland: Prehistoric Human Impact? (2007)
    DOCUMENT Full-Text John Briggs. Hoski Schaafsma. Demitar Trenkov.

    Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and savannas is a global phenomenon with undisputed environmental and economic consequences. In central Arizona, the location of our study, it is well known that mesquite, juniper, and cacti account for the majority of the woody plant expansion into arid grasslands. Using aerial photographs (1940 and 2001), we quantified an increase in woody vegetation in this area. We estimated that from 1940 to 2001, the amount of woody vegetation at our study site...