abstract: This study evaluates five different hypotheses potentially accounting for the prehistoric movement of vesicular basalt during the Hohokam occupation of the Salt-Gila Basin (ca. A.D. 700-1450): 1) direct procurement; 2) direct exchange; 3) down-the-line exchange; 4) market exchange; and 5) elite-controlled exchange. The plausibility of each hypothesis is assessed by examining the relative frequency of different vesicular basalt source types at sites as related to the geographic distance from their source; intra-site variance in vesicular basalt source type diversity; inter-site variance in vesicular basalt source type diversity; and temporal specificity and continuity in source preference. The study sample is comprised of 484 vesicular basalt artifacts recovered from nine Hohokam sites: Casa Grande, Gila Crossing, the Hospital Site, La Plaza, Las Colinas, Los Hornos, Lower Santan, Pueblo Grande, and Upper Santan. Geographic provenance data for artifacts are generated by comparing their chemical composition to a geochemical reference database composed of more than 700 vesicular basalt raw material samples from 17 different source areas in the Salt-Gila Basin. Geochemical data for both artifact and raw material samples were collected using a portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and a newly developed sampling procedure that provides an efficient, reliable, and nondestructive means of analysis. The results of the hypothesis testing found that direct procurement is a possible material provisioning practice for perhaps only a small number of households in the Salt-Gila Basin; specifically those located less than 10 km from a vesicular basalt outcrop. Direct exchange is also an unlikely explanation, though it cannot be rejected outright. The other exchange hypotheses, down-the-line, market, and elite-controlled exchange, as defined in this study, are all rejected as possible explanations. From these results, a new model of Hohokam vesicular basalt provisioning practices is developed for future testing. This model posits that vesicular basalt groundstone tools were produced by specialists in a handful of locations during both the Preclassic and Classic periods, and that finished tools were acquired through workshop procurement or local distributers. The implications of these findings for understanding the organization of Hohokam domestic and political economies are also discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2014

abstract: In the proposed project I simultaneously and reflexively identify and characterize social boundaries in the archaeological record by examining material culture distributions in novel ways to re-assess the scale of the Verde Confederacy, a proposed regional-scale multi-settlement alliance in Late Prehistoric central Arizona. I focus on boundaries between entities larger than villages, but smaller than regions or culture areas. I propose three innovations to better accomplish these goals. First, unlike previous conceptualizations of social boundaries as monolithic, I argue that they are better conceived of as a heterogeneous, multi-faceted phenomenon. Second, I investigate social boundaries by examining multiple lines of evidence. Previous researchers have tended to focus on one category of data at the expense of others. Third, I associate boundaries with relational and categorical collective social identification. An alliance requires regular collective actions including communication and coordinated action between large groups. These actions are most likely to emerge among groups integrated by relational networks who share a high degree of categorical homogeneity. I propose a plain ware ceramic provenance model. Seven reference groups represent ceramic production in specific geographic areas. The reference groups are mineralogically and geochemically distinct, and can be visually differentiated. With this provenance model, I reconstruct the organization of utilitarian ceramic production and exchange, and argue that plain ware distribution is a proxy for networks of socially proximate friends and relatives. The plain ware data are compared to boundaries derived from settlement patterns, rock art, public architecture, and painted ceramics to characterize the overall nature of social boundaries in Late Prehistoric central Arizona. Three regions in the study area are strongly integrated by relational networks and categorical commonality. If alliances existed in Late Prehistoric central Arizona, they were most likely to emerge at this scale. A fourth region is identified as a frontier zone, where internal connections and shared identities were weaker. As seen among the League of the Iroquois, smaller integrated entities do not preclude the existence of larger social constructs, and I conclude this study with proposals to further test the Verde Confederacy model by searching for integration at a broader spatial scale. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2016

abstract: This dissertation uses the narrative practice of chorography as a genre for assessing the history of placemaking in the Salt and Gila River region of central Arizona from the late seventeenth century through the mid-nineteenth century. Chorography concerns the descriptive representation of places in the world, usually of regions associated with a particular nation. Traditionally, chorography has served as a written method for describing geographical places as they existed historically. By integrating descriptions of natural features with descriptions of built features, such as ancient ruins, chorography infuses the physical landscape with cultural and historical meaning. This dissertation relies on a body of Spanish- and English-language chorographies produced across three centuries to interpret how Euro-American descriptions of Hohokam ruins in the Salt and Gila River valleys shaped local placemaking. Importantly, the disparate chorographic texts produced during the late-seventeenth, eighteenth, and early nineteenth centuries reflect ‘discursive continuity’—a continuity of thought spanning a long and frequently disregarded period in the history of central Arizona, in which ruminations about the ruins of ancient cities and irrigation canals formed the basis for what people knew, or thought they knew, about the little-known region. When settlers arrived in the newly-formed Arizona Territory in the 1860s to establish permanent settlement in the Salt and Gila River valleys, they brought with them a familiarity with these writings, maps, and other chorographical materials. On one hand, Arizonans viewed the ancient ruins as literal evidence for the region’s agricultural possibilities. On the other hand, Aztec and Cíbola myths associated with the ruins, told and retold by Europeans and Americans during the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries, offered an imaginative context for the establishment and promotion of American settlement in central Arizona. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation History 2017

Similar projectile point types were used by groups living over a wide geographic region in central and southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries A.D. Substantial changes that occurred in southeastern Arizona at this time include population aggregation, the arrival of northern migrant groups, and an increase in obsidian use. An analysis focusing on two sub-regions, the Tucson Basin and the San Pedro Valley, was conducted to explore how social, technological and environmental factors influenced projectile point technology during the Classic period (A.D. 1150–1450) in southeastern Arizona. Projectile point metric and morphological attributes and obsidian source data were used for comparisons within both of the sub-regions. Despite differences in social relations, obsidian exchange networks, and access to large game, comparisons between sites in the northeastern and northwestern Tucson Basin did not reveal significant differences in projectile point types. However, a good deal of variation in base morphology is evident regardless of type among the Tucson Basin sites. Projectile points from Kayenta enclaves in the Lower San Pedro Valley are overwhelmingly made of obsidian, but do not possess significantly different attributes from those used by local groups. Notable variation was seen in the small sample from the Upper San Pedro Valley, which may be attributed to the lack of influence from groups living to the north. Overall, the similarities in projectile point forms correspond with the growth of social networks during the Classic period. Although the small size of these points restricts their usefulness for signaling group identity, variation in base morphology, serrated blade edges, and other small details may continue to inform on the learning traditions or cultural preferences of groups in the region. Future research should expand the study area to include the Upper Gila region of New Mexico, where groups were living close to the extensive Mule Creek obsidian source.

As global temperatures rise, cultivation of C3 and C4 crops in arid and semi-arid regions will face major challenges in producing biomass for billions of people. Conventional agricultural techniques that require copious irrigation will need to be complemented with dryland-farming techniques and drought-tolerant crops, such as those from the Agave genus, which use CAM photosynthesis. In the past and present, humans from arid and semi-arid regions of America have maintained a symbiotic relationship using and cultivating Agave (Agavoideae, Asparagaceae). In pre-Columbian times, Native Americans from arid regions relied on Agave cultivation as a subsistence crop to produce food, medicine, and fiber. The Hohokam in the Sonoran Desert cultivated Agave plants using rock mulching, also known as rock piles. This technique enabled the Hohokam to extensively cultivate Agave despite the limited rainwater available in the harsh Sonoran Desert. Although there are several decades of archaeological research for documenting the history of rock piles and Agave in the region beginning in the late 1970s, few studies have addressed the modern application of rock piles to cultivate Agave. Our research employed a multidisciplinary approach to bridge the historic use of rock piles to cultivate Agave with the potential application of rock piles for modern cultivation. In addition to summarizing what is known about the archaeology of Hohokam rock piles, we compiled an extensive review of the literature available on the agroecology, physiology, and natural history of Agave. We described key aspects associated with the hydrology and physical properties of Hohokam rock piles that can bolster Agave CAM photosynthesis in dry regions. We found that the use of rock piles is a feasible means of cultivating Agave under hot and dry conditions in arid regions. In addition, we used an ecological niche modeling approach and field data from Hohokam rock-pile sites and current Agave fields to assess the potential environments where rock piles could be used to cultivate Agave plants in Arizona, USA and Sonora, Mexico. We also combined an experimental archaeology approach with experimental plant physiology where we surveyed Hohokam rock-pile fields at archaeological sites to collect information about the composition of rock piles. We then created a rock-pile field where we evaluated and observed the effects of rock piles on Agave CAM utilization, mainly nocturnal CO2 uptake of Agave. Our results indicated that rock piles provide direct insulation to root systems, which indirectly benefited Agave carbon uptake and reduced temperature and drought stress. Although more agronomic research about rock pile use is needed, our research suggests that rock piles can be applied to cultivate Agave because of the physiological benefits provided such as increasing nocturnal total CO2 uptake. In addition, the suitability of rock piles in the U.S borderlands indicates that rock piles can be applied beyond the regions where they were used by the Hohokam in pre-historic times.

"Downum's book provides a comprehensive overview of prehistoric settlement patterns within the Los Robles region of southern Arizona. . . . An important contribution to understanding the prehistoric patterns of settlement for the project area and surrounding region."—Journal of the West "Downum's carefully done volume is an important contribution to Hohokam archaeology. . . . Clearly written and illustrated."—AM Indian Quarterly

Hunting by horticulturalists in the Southwest examines the impact of horticulture on hunting behavior and animal exploitation among late Archaic and Hohokam Indians in south-central Arizona. A model incorporating ecological and ethnographic data discusses the impact horticulturalists had on the environment and the ways in which that impact affected other aspects of subsistence, specifically hunting behavior. The model is then evaluated using a regional faunal data base from Archaic and Hohokam sites. Five major patterns supporting the model are observed: (1) a reliance on small and medium-sized mammals as sources of animal protein, (2) the use of rodents as food, (3) the differential reliance on cottontails (Sylvilagus) and jack rabbits (Lepus) at Hohokam farmsteads versus villages, (4) the relative decrease in the exploitation of cottontails versus jack rabbits as a Hohokam site was occupied through time, and (5) the recovery contexts of artiodactyl remains, which indicate their ritual and tool use as well as for food.

No description available.

Les Hohokam et leurs descendants les Akimel O'Odham ont exploité et irrigué la basse vallée de la Salt et la moyenne vallée de la Gila dans le bassin semi-désertique de Phoenix en Arizona depuis presque deux millénaires. Leur histoire culturelle repose sur une interaction constante de ses membres avec une ressource rare, l'eau. Pour comprendre les dynamiques socio-environnementales, résultats de cette interaction sur la longue durée, nous avons adopté une approche géoarchéologique, chronologique et paléoenvironnementale des systèmes hydrauliques et des formations alluviales, approche affinée par les méthodes géophysiques et micromorphologiques. La reconstruction de l'agro et de l'hydrosystème met en relief un développement de l'irrigation autour de 300 apr. J.-C. lors de conditions environnementales stables mais sèches. De 300 à 1050 apr. J.-C. (période pré-Classique), l'agrosystème Hohokam est caractérisé par une irrigation efficace de la plaine alluviale et des basses terrasses, qui s'exhaussent puis se stabilisent entre 850 et 1000 apr. J.-C. (Petit Optimum Climatique Médiéval) Un épisode d'élargissement puis d'incision est enregistré entre 1050-1150 apr. J.-C. Malgré un entretien poussé des structures hydrauliques, l'organisation du territoire évolue. Les basses terres sont abandonnées, de nouveaux systèmes d'irrigation sont construits et les pratiques agraires se diversifient. L'exhaussement du lit est à nouveau attesté à partir du 13ème s. et le fonctionnement de l'irrigation est optimal entre 1150 et 1450 apr. J.-C. (période Classique). Le bassin de Phoenix est toutefois abandonné jusqu'au 17ème s. Cette déprise agraire est associée à une phase de stabilité du paysage, entre 1450 et 1600 apr. J.-C, puis par une reprise rapide de l'aggradation associée à une forte mobilité fluviale jusqu'en 1870 (Petit Age Glaciaire), date après laquelle le système s'incise à nouveau. L'agrosystème Akimel O'Odham fonctionne de façon optimale du 17ème jusqu'à l'arrivée massive des pionniers (circa 1870), après laquelle il évolue de façon presque irréversible (réduction de la superficie irrigable, coupe du bois, pratique de l'agriculture sèche). Ces résultats permettent d'aborder les modalités de la morphogénèse en contexte semi-aride mais également les concepts de rupture et de stabilité socio-environnementale. Nous réfutons l'hypothèse d'un déclin d'origine environnementale autour de 1450 apr. J.-C. Par contre, une crise environnementale autour de 1000-1150 apr. J.-C., associée à des conditions climatiques contraignantes (changements climatiques rapides avec épisodes El Niño) conduisant à des migrations massives et une surexploitation du territoire dans un milieu déjà fragilisé car trop spécialisé, pourrait être responsable du lent déclin de la communauté d'irrigation Hohokam, 200 à 300 ans plus tard. Le système socio-environnemental des Akimel O'Odham au 19ème s. semble reproduire le même schéma sur une échelle spatiale et temporelle plus réduite.

Since the 1970s, the Tucson Basin has been the focus of an increasing number of research and cultural resource management archaeological projects. A vast body of data has been accumulated relevant to the prehistoric environment and culture history of the basin. One research area that has received special attention in the last two decades is Hohokam settlement patterns. This study was designed to examine that issue, in addition to producing an overview of the cultural and environmental setting of the basin. The study area consists of a 5-kilometer-wide corridor along the Santa Cruz River between the towns of Marana and Continental. In order to provide the necessary background for the settlement pattern research, data first were compiled on the environmental setting of the basin, including geological, climatic, biotic, and hydrological aspects. The environmental overview that is provided in Chapter 2 is the first such study, of this scale, to be produced for the Tucson Basin. In conjunction with the environmental overview, a cultural overview was developed that encompasses the Paleo-Indian through Protohistoric periods. Current thoughts relevant to the Tucson Basin temporal sequence were synthesized to produce a chronology and culture history, which is presented in Chapter 3. The culture history is accompanied by a research history of Tucson Basin archaeology in Chapter 4, which classifies prior research into four major periods and discusses current research trends. The main body of the study, presented in Chapters 5 and 6, contains Hohokam site distribution and settlement pattern data, which are discussed in relationship to the environment and other relevant factors. The study area as a whole is examined in Chapter 5, whereas a subset of the data, consisting of southern Tucson Basin Hohokam sites, is discussed in Chapter 6. The study concludes with a comparative review of cultural-environmental studies that have been conducted on the Colorado Plateau. A settlement pattern model, known as the AnaAnzi adaptation model, that uses a dynamic disequilibrium approach to understanding settlement pattern change, is examined and its applicability to an analysis of Hohokam settlement patterns is discussed.