Homesteading in Cebolla Canyon, New Mexico: Ethnicity Studies in Using Dendrochronology, Historical Documents, and Oral Histories

Summary

Cebolla Canyon, in the El Malpais National Conservation Area, New Mexico, was homesteaded extensively in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by Hispanic and Euro-American families. The local environment provided grazing resources for sheep and cows, and the ability to homestead in this area allowed families to pursue seasonal or year-round occupation. The regional histories of these migrants differ, but the exploitation possibilities of land and timber provided people with the promise of land ownership and sustainability with respect to their necessities and desires; these are strongly based on sociopolitical factors of the time. Focus here is on Hispanic and Euro-American homesteading sites, comparatively. Using dendrochronology we can provide target dates for felling events, and in combination with archaeological remains we can grasp the duration of occupation for homesteading sites. We can also identify methods in which ethnicity can be delineated in the historical archaeology record. Further insight is provided by historical documents, such as census records and homesteading patents that can give us an idea of how people institutionally- or self-identified as an ethnic group. Further, we can see how migrant groups were perceived by others by incorporating the use of oral histories.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

Keywords

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17245