Extensive analyses of faunal material recovered from the sites of Bailey Ruin and Pottery Hill have yielded data useful to understanding the causes and consequences of shifting settlement organization in the Silver Creek region during the 13th and 14th centuries. The faunal records of the larger, aggregated site of Bailey Ruin (200 rooms) and the smaller, earlier site of Pottery Hill (50 rooms) indicates that population aggregation was accompanied by changing patterns of faunal exploitation. Questions of changes in species diversity and abundance during this transitional period are also discussed.

The Silver Creek area has been the focus of archaeological research since the late nineteenth century. Many of the theories resulting from this work have incorporated estimates of population, either explicitly or implicitly, into the fabric of their arguments. Topics such as sociopolitical structure, migration, aggregation, and social integration require population reconstructions as a foundation for understanding the processes of culture change. Numerous population reconstructions have been presented in the past for the Silver Creek area; however, much of the data incorporated in the present study was unavailable for the previous reconstructions. In this study, several models based on numerous plausible assumptions are presented to determine if a best fit can be found. The results show that there was a major increase in population in the Silver Creek area between A.D. 900-1100, and population declined steadily after about A.D. 1100-1150 until the region was abandoned by about A.D. 1400.

This analysis of nearly 1500 ground stone tools collected during five years of excavation in the Silver Creek area of East-Central Arizona is aimed at addressing four research goals: (1) raw material selection; (2) occupational histories; (3) the organization of labor and intensity of production; and (4) migration. Four excavated sites span the time period from A.D. 1050 to 1330. These research domains are investigated by examining technological change and variation in use-wear in the ground stone assemblage. Evidence suggests that although raw material selection was generally consistent throughout this period, there were significant changes in the use of ground stone tools. These changes are especially pronounced in grinding equipment and pottery polishing stones, possibly representing changes in the organization of subsistence and craft production. A comparative approach to assessing the possibility of Kayenta Anasazi migration to the area is also presented.

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