Geochemical Evidence for Dispersed Ground Stone Tool Production at Hohokam Villages in the Middle Gila River Valley, Arizona.

Summary

A recent geochemical provenance analysis of Hohokam vesicular basalt grinding tools argued for the nucleated production of trough manos and metates during the Pre-Classic (A.D. 500-1100) and Classic (A.D. 1100-145) periods (Fertelmes 2014). One locus of production was suggested to have been the primary village of Upper Santan, which acquired vesicular basalt from the Santan Mountains and then distributed finished or nearly complete grinding tools to settlements across the Middle Gila River Valley. However, this model of vesicular basalt tool production is rejected in light of new research completed by the Gila River Indian Community – Cultural Resource Management Program (GRIC-CRMP). Additional sampling and geochemical analysis of vesicular basalt from the Santan Mountains has identified two spatially and geochemically distinct source groups. Differential consumption of these two source groups by local settlements indicates that the production of vesicular basalt grinding tools was not concentrated at Upper Santan. Resultantly, it is suggested that Hohokam vesicular basalt groundstone tool production in the Middle Gila River Valley is better characterized as dispersed and also that the nexus of production and distribution was organized at the household level.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Walls, Mounds, and Pots: Examining the Classic Period Hohokam

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 15587