Does Mastication Damage Cultural Resources? A New Mexico Perspective

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Mastication refers to the mechanical thinning of tree cover such as piñon-juniper woodlands and mixed conifer forests in order to reduce fuels and fire hazards, prevent erosion and improve understory development. Mastication utilizes heavy machinery to shred standing vegetation and may involve significant ground disturbance. Though mastication is a cost-effective treatment, its effects on existing soils, vegetation, and wildlife species are variable and depend on several factors, including the type of machinery used, soil composition, and existence of surface or buried deposits. To better understand the effects of mastication on cultural resources we randomly selected areas within several thinning projects and noted the location and characteristics of selected artifacts before and after treatments. The results of this investigation will communicate to interested parties the consequences of such treatment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24164