Report of the Spring 2005 Field Season: Legacies on the Landscape: Archaeological and Ecological Research at Agua Fria National Monument

Summary

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 analysis of ecological and archaeological data relevant to our over-arching research theme.

In planning our spring 2005 field season we identified two goals. Our primary

objective was to classify the Perry Mesa landscape with respect to agricultural field types (e.g., terraces, linear borders, and rock pile fields) and geomorphic features to use in concert with aerial photos and multi-spectral satellite photos. We had hoped to be able to identify the signatures of agricultural field types on satellite imagery so that we can measure the extent of prehistoric agricultural production on the mesa.

Our second goal for the project had been to complete the bonding and abutting

study begun in spring 2004 at Pueblo la Plata. Two-thirds of the pueblo had been mapped during that field season. By the end of the spring 2005 field season we had met and surpassed our second goal by completing the mapping at Pueblo la Plata as well as mapping the pueblo of Richinbar on Black Mesa.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Legacies on the Landscape

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 1200 to 1450

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Landowner(s): Bureau of Land Management

Sponsor(s): Arizona State University, Department of Anthropology

Repository(s): Arizona State University Museum of Anthropology

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