2011 AAC Fall Conference Presentation Abstracts Friday, October 28, 2011 Arizona Historical Society M u seum Tucson, A Z
2011 AAC Fall Conference Schedule 7:30 - 8:30 am Registration and Continental Breakfast Welcome and Introductory Remarks 8:30 - 8:40 am Welcome and Introductory Remarks 8:40 - 10:00 am Paper Session 10:00 - 10:20 am Break 10:20 - 11:40 am Paper Session 11:40 am - 12:40 pm Board Meeting 12:40 - 2:20 pm Lunch 2:20 - 3:40 pm Paper Session 3:40 - 4:00 pm Break 4:00 - 5:00 pm Paper Session 1
Conference Presentation Abstracts Archaeology and Alluvial Chronology of San Cristobal Wash: A Radiocarbon Dated Patayan Occupation in the Western Papaguería, Southwestern Arizona. Jesse A.M. Ballenger and Jason D. Windingstad, Statistical Research, Inc. Geological investigations at Stoval Airfield in the San Cristobal Valley revealed a thick late Pleistocene-Holocene stratigraphic sequence. Limited archaeological testing of ephemeral "artifact scatters" led to the discovery of a buried pit structure and near-by pit. Radiocarbon dates indicate that these features were utilized around A.D. 1000. Ceramics collected from the project area indicate that Patayan groups frequented the site, with macrobotanical evidence for a summer occupation. These preliminary findings support previous interpretations that the San Cristobal Valley marked an important boundary between Hohokam and Patayan activities. Phenotypic Variability of the First Farmers in the Sonoran Desert Rachael M. Byrd and James T. Watson, University of Arizona Cranial phenotypic variability reflects the genetic diversity of Early Agricultural period (circa 2100 B.C.-A.D. 50) people living throughout the lowland desert southwest United States and northwest Mexico. Shared material culture, increasing sedentism, mixed foraging-farming subsistence, and long distance trade are found during this time throughout the region. Cranial morphometrics provide a method for understanding how microevolutionary processes affect phenotypic variation within and between site populations. Here we test the hypothesis that post-marital residence patterns and interactions through trade and migration occurring at Early Agricultural sites contribute to a widespread genetic diversity underlying a shared cultural continuity. The Unsettled Sedentary in Southern Arizona William L. Deaver, WestLand Resources, Inc. The Sedentary Period (A.D. 950 – 1150) is an unsettled time as people across southern Arizona abandon older settlements and move to new locations. This trend is coupled with the abandonment of ballcourt ceremonialism and changes in regional interaction. The Dragoon Culture appears within this milieu. This paper argues that the regionally unifying Colonial Hohokam cultural system collapses and is replaced by factionalism during the Sedentary period. This is evident at the settlement and regional levels. The Dragoon culture is presented as an example of displaced social groups retaining the Gila Basin Hohokam cultural pattern contrary to the regional trend. 2
Obsidian Procurement and Consumption at University Indian Ruin, Tucson, Arizona Paul R. Fish, University of Arizona; Suzanne Fish, University of Arizona; Chris Loendorf, Gila River Indian Community; and Craig M. Fertelmes, Gila River Indian Community EDXRF analyses of 214 obsidian artifacts from varied proveniences at the University Indian Ruin, Tucson, Arizona, provides insight into unusual aspects of resource procurement and consumption patterns during the late Classic period in southern Arizona. Although the study documents considerable diversity in utilized source areas, over 95% of the obsidian comes from four locations: Government Mountain, Los Vidrios, Sauceda, and Mule Creek/Antelope Creek/Mule Mountain. The use of a limited number of distant and directionally varied resources are examined in terms of context of recovery, regional exchange systems, circulation of finished products versus raw materials, and regional demographic heterogeneity. Continuity and Change in Late Hohokam and Mexico Interaction Suzanne Fish and Paul R. Fish, University of Arizona Mexican influences during the Preclassic are acknowledged frequently as setting the Hohokam apart from other Southwest cultures, particularly in religious practice and iconography. We contend that the Classic period Hohokam continued to incorporate primary ideological, institutional, and technological inspirations from their connections to the south. Differential incorporation of Mexican modes is examined from the perspectives of ideology and iconographic expressions, concepts of public and residential architecture, multi-step craft technologies, and novel ways of food preparation and consumption. We discuss the puzzling geographic gap that exists between Hohokam territory and the northernmost Mexican parallels. Regional Interaction and Culture Change in Flagstaff and Sedona, Northern Arizona Daniel Garcia, EcoPlan Associates GIS-based studies have the potential to shed light on broad patterns of ancient regional interaction and cultural change. Two examples from Northern Arizona are presented. The first example, which involves the spatial distribution of Sinagua, Cohonina, and Kayenta plain ceramic wares in the region surrounding Flagstaff, identifies changes that may represent shifts in ancient a territories, and suggests some startling evidence of aggression. The second example involves a study of 1,200 Archaic through Ethnohistoric archaeological site attributes and environmental variables in the region surrounding Sedona and sheds light on patterns of habitation and agriculture over 1,500 years of history. 3
Social Identity and Political Competition in a Culturally Diverse Landscape: Decorated Pottery from the Mescal Wash Site, Southeastern Arizona Christopher P. Garraty, Gila River Indian Community An analysis of Middle Formative period (A.D. 750-950) decorated sherds from the Mescal Wash Site in southeastern Arizona highlights the use of painted serving vessels as media fo r exp re ssin g social identity under conditions of political competition and instability. Southeastern Arizona was a culturally diverse landscape, and interaction among peoples of different backgrounds was recurrent, creating a heightened awareness of identity. A large excavated collection and fine-grained chronology permitted a detailed quantitative study of changes in decorated ceramic use, which suggests that social identities were fluid and ephemeral in response to rampant social change and disruption. Population Movement and Cultural Identity in Southeastern Arizona: A View from Upper San Pedro Village Maren Hopkins and Douglas B. Craig, Northland Research, Inc. Several Native American groups in the Greater Southwest ( e.g., O’odham, Hopi, Zuni, Apache) recognize the San Pedro River Valley of southeastern Arizona to be part of their ancestral homeland. The diverse, multi-cultural heritage of the San Pedro Valley is also reflected in the archaeological record. However, most of the archaeological examples of cultural or ethnic co- residence are from late prehistory. In particular, much attention has been paid to the displacement of Ancestral Puebloan populations from the northern Southwest after A.D. 1200, and their subsequent migration to the San Pedro Valley, where they are believed to have lived alongside Ancestral Desert (Hohokam) populations with deep historical roots. In this paper, we focus on the Pre-Classic or Formative period, ca. A.D. 700 to 1200, and discuss the evidence for population movement and ethnic co-residence at Upper San Pedro Village, a large habi tat ion sit e along the U.S.-Mexico border. Based on a consideration of the sit e’s domestic architecture, material culture, and mortuary remains, we argue that Ancestral Desert and Ancestral Puebloan groups were likely in co-residence much earlier than previously supposed. The evidence from Upper San Pedro Village further suggests that the site ’s residents made efforts to express and maintain their cultural identities over time and across large distances. 4
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