Recent Research Along the Lower Colorado River: Proceedings from a Symposium Presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Anaheim, California, April 1994

Recent Research Along the Lower Colorado River: Proceedings from a Symposium Presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Anaheim, California, April 1994

Year: 1994

Summary

The papers in this volume—an outgrowth of the symposium presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology—reflect the growing interest in the prehistory and protohistory of this area, which is perhaps the most poorly understood region in the greater American Southwest. They further reflect an increasing concern on the part of archaeologists, Native Americans, and federal land managers regarding modern human activity that has adversely impacted many of the cultural resources along the lower Colorado River. It is within the dual context of cultural resource management and anthropological research that the symposium (and, therefore, this volume) came into being.

Part 1 reflects the diversity of types of interactions with cultural resources that occur when anthropologists, Native Americans, and federal land managers become active participants in the preservation, protection, and research protocol of cultural resources. John E. Peterson H provides a brief history of the Bureau of Reclamation's Lower Colorado Region Office program and commitment to study and protect significant cultural resources and stresses the benefits of the development of meaningful communication between client and consultant in the arena of cultural resource management, as well as the need to develop research contexts for evaluating management strategies for protecting fragile resources. Lorey Cachora offers a Ouechan view of the importance of these resources to the descendants of their creators, and likewise stresses the need for cooperative programs of protection and preservation. Michael Baksh provides an ethnographic/ethnohistoric case study that focuses on the intaglios of the Quien Sabe/Big Maria Terrace region, which is north of Blythe, California. His interactive use of ethnographic literature, early accounts of Yuman-speaking peoples, and information acquired from modern informants, enhances our understanding of the significance of many of these intaglios.

Four archaeological case studies are provided in Part 2. Jeffrey H. Altschul and Joseph A. Ezzo draw on ethnographic as well as archaeological data to infer aspects of ceremonialism associated with major centers, such as Pilot Knob and Ripley, and smaller, local centers, such as Senator Wash. William G. White focuses on a petroglyph panel at Palo Verde Point that appears to have significance as a calendrical device. Jerry Schaefer undertakes the formidable task of sorting out a number of difficult issues regarding ceramic chronology along the lower Colorado River; his effort includes an exhaustive treatment of the literature. Finally, Joan S. Schneider presents a behavioral analysis of milling-implement quarries, a topic she has investigated more extensively than anyone who has worked in the region.

Part 3 offers three regional and/or comparative perspectives on the lower Colorado River. Julian Hayden reflects upon his remarkable experience in the Southwestern deserts to evaluate recent archaeological research along the lower Colorado River. Bruce A. Jones has been studying nonriverine settlement in southwestern Arizona for a number of years; we invited him to contribute to the volume to provide some insight into the nature of the relationship between riverine and nonriverine settlements. His paper focuses on research undertaken in the Lechuguilla Desert, with particular reference to the prehistoric shell trade. Persis B. Clarkson concludes the volume with a comparative treatment of the current state of research of the lower Colorado River and Nasca regions, and a discussion of future research possibilities.

Cite this Record

Recent Research Along the Lower Colorado River: Proceedings from a Symposium Presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Anaheim, California, April 1994. Joseph A. Ezzo. Technical Series ,51. Tucson, AZ: SRI Press. 1994 ( tDAR id: 425928) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8425928