Carbon Legacies of Dryland Agricultural Features in the Ancient Southwest
Author(s): Nicholas Kessler
Year: 2018
Summary
This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis of soil organic carbon measurements associated with pre-Columbian dryland agricultural fields in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico. In aggregate, rock alignments and terraces are associated with significantly higher organic carbon concentrations, and this effect is pronounced in sandy parent material. The results support a hypothesis that resource conserving features constructed by indigenous farmers continue to influence the ecology of drylands by enhancing plant productivity in the most water limited settings.
Cite this Record
Carbon Legacies of Dryland Agricultural Features in the Ancient Southwest. Nicholas Kessler. Presented at The 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC. 2018 ( tDAR id: 442846)
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Keywords
General
Ecological Legacies
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Environment and Climate
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Geoarchaeology
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Hohokam
Geographic Keywords
North America: Southwest United States
Spatial Coverage
min long: -124.365; min lat: 25.958 ; max long: -93.428; max lat: 41.902 ;
Record Identifiers
Abstract Id(s): 21488