Agriculture, Mobility, and Human Impact in the Mimbres Region of the United States Southwest

Summary

The relationships among land use, population, and environment are not simple. Larger populations impact the environment more than do smaller populations, and environmental marginality promotes greater impacts from human action. While these two statements may be correct at a broad scale, the relationships are not linear. We examine the relationships among these variables using data from eleventh- through thirteenth-century villages and hamlets of prehistoric subsistence agriculturalists from the Mimbres region of southwest New Mexico. Regardless of population size, we find that the richest areas received the greatest impact. We argue that human perception of environmental potential plays a role in the extent to which land-use strategies are sustainable.

Cite this Record

Agriculture, Mobility, and Human Impact in the Mimbres Region of the United States Southwest. Michelle Hegmon, Margaret C. Nelson, Karen Schollmeyer, Michelle Elliott, Michael Diehl. In Managing Archaeological Data and Databases: Essays in Honor of Sylvia W. Gaines. Pp. 107-121. Tempe: Arizona State University (ASU). 2006 ( tDAR id: 391628) ; doi:10.6067/XCV8D50NT2

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Spatial Coverage

min long: -107.428; min lat: 32.927 ; max long: -107.356; max lat: 32.982 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Principal Investigator(s): Michelle Hegmon; Margaret C. Nelson

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Agriculture--Mobility--and-Human-Impact-in-the-Mimbres-Region-... 880.68kb Oct 23, 2013 12:40:23 AM Public

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