Examining the Architectural Technology at Lava Ridge Ruin, Arizona

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Archaeology of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

One component of the archaeological record that can shed light on human behavior is architectural remains. Architectural studies in archaeology have mostly focused on evaluating the mechanical properties of construction materials, the amount of labor, time, and materials needed for construction, and room function to make inferences about the social context within which buildings were planned, constructed, and used. The present study builds on previous research, to investigate pueblo construction and use by the Virgin Puebloan people who lived on the westernmost edge of the Colorado Plateau. Specifically, this study focuses on Lava Ridge Ruin, a late Pueblo II/early Pueblo III period habitation site located on the southern Shivwits Plateau, Arizona. This study evaluates (a) the materials and methods needed for pueblo construction; (b) the labor requirements of its construction; (c) the season during which construction most likely occurred; (d) the function of the pueblo rooms; and (e) the implications of these data for understanding the inhabitants’ degree of sedentism and the nature of their social organization. To investigate these issues, this study utilizes a multi-pronged approach and relies on data obtained from the archaeological record, ethnographic sources, experimental science-based research, and the use of Building Information Modeling software.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Archaeology of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 23895