This research addresses how interregional interaction changed between the Viejo period (AD 700-1200) and Medio period (AD 1200-1450) in northwest Chihuahua, Mexico. Non-locally procured or created artifacts, features, and iconographic elements are used as proxy evidence for past long-distance relationships. Data available in technical reports and other publications concerning these materials in Viejo period contexts and a sample of excavated Medio period sites are synthesized and presented. The data are used to create a geospatial dataset and distribution maps with quantities and contextual information for each of the nonlocal materials. I argue that interaction and social networks with long-distance neighbors were complex and widespread during both the Viejo and Medio periods. These intricate relationships morphed and altered in profound ways with the rise of the regional center Paquimé and the fluorescence of the Casas Grandes cultural tradition, but some of the fundamental relationships also remained the same.

The archaeological record indicates that there are differences in Viejo period (A.D. 700 or 900-1200/1250) and Medio period (A.D. 1200/1250-1400s) agricultural strategies and settlement distribution between the Casas Grandes River basin in northern Chihuahua and the Babícora Basin and upper Santa María River basin area in west central Chihuahua. During the Viejo period in the Casas Grandes region temporal, rainfed, agriculture is proposed and only a few settlements are associated with this system. In the Medio period irrigation and trincheras (stone terraces) were implemented increasing the land’s ability to support large populations and numerous settlements were aggregated around fields associated with these methods. For the latter two regions temporal agriculture is posited for both the Viejo and Medio periods. While populations thrived, the numerous settlements in each area are not aggregated but rather are dispersed across the landscape and on various topographic features. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate environmental and cultural influences as explanatory factors for the regional differences. Current environmental data indicate that the combinations of annual precipitation, soil types, and hydrology determine whether temporal or irrigation agriculture is possible. Temporal agriculture is not a viable option for the Casas Grandes region but irrigation is. The conditions in the Babícora Basin and the upper Santa María River basin are conducive to temporal farming while water for irrigation is not easily attainable. In that paleoenvironmental data demonstrate the antiquity of current environments then the agricultural options would have been similar in the past. Together, the archaeological and ethnographic data demonstrate the longevity of temporal agriculture in these areas. How temporal agriculture can be achieved and sustained is demonstrated in the tradition-based practices of modern farmers. The agency of modern farmers can be used as an analogy for agency in the past. When tested against the archaeological record the postulated temporal system and associated settlement patterns are indicative of a domesticated landscape structured for planting flexibility.

The archaeological record indicates that there are differences in Viejo period (A.D. 700 or 900-1200/1250) and Medio period (A.D. 1200/1250-1400s) agricultural strategies and settlement distribution between the Casas Grandes River basin in northern Chihuahua and the Babícora Basin and upper Santa María River basin area in west central Chihuahua. During the Viejo period in the Casas Grandes region temporal, rainfed, agriculture is proposed and only a few settlements are associated with this system. In the Medio period irrigation and trincheras (stone terraces) were implemented increasing the land’s ability to support large populations and numerous settlements were aggregated around fields associated with these methods. For the latter two regions temporal agriculture is posited for both the Viejo and Medio periods. While populations thrived, the numerous settlements in each area are not aggregated but rather are dispersed across the landscape and on various topographic features. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate environmental and cultural influences as explanatory factors for the regional differences. Current environmental data indicate that the combinations of annual precipitation, soil types, and hydrology determine whether temporal or irrigation agriculture is possible. Temporal agriculture is not a viable option for the Casas Grandes region but irrigation is. The conditions in the Babícora Basin and the upper Santa María River basin are conducive to temporal farming while water for irrigation is not easily attainable. In that paleoenvironmental data demonstrate the antiquity of current environments then the agricultural options would have been similar in the past. Together, the archaeological and ethnographic data demonstrate the longevity of temporal agriculture in these areas. How temporal agriculture can be achieved and sustained is demonstrated in the tradition-based practices of modern farmers. The agency of modern farmers can be used as an analogy for agency in the past. When tested against the archaeological record the postulated temporal system and associated settlement patterns are indicative of a domesticated landscape structured for planting flexibility.

The archaeological record indicates that there are differences in Viejo period (A.D. 700 or 900-1200/1250) and Medio period (A.D. 1200/1250-1400s) agricultural strategies and settlement distribution between the Casas Grandes River basin in northern Chihuahua and the Babícora Basin and upper Santa María River basin area in west central Chihuahua. During the Viejo period in the Casas Grandes region temporal, rainfed, agriculture is proposed and only a few settlements are associated with this system. In the Medio period irrigation and trincheras (stone terraces) were implemented increasing the land’s ability to support large populations and numerous settlements were aggregated around fields associated with these methods. For the latter two regions temporal agriculture is posited for both the Viejo and Medio periods. While populations thrived, the numerous settlements in each area are not aggregated but rather are dispersed across the landscape and on various topographic features. The objectives of this thesis were to investigate environmental and cultural influences as explanatory factors for the regional differences. Current environmental data indicate that the combinations of annual precipitation, soil types, and hydrology determine whether temporal or irrigation agriculture is possible. Temporal agriculture is not a viable option for the Casas Grandes region but irrigation is. The conditions in the Babícora Basin and the upper Santa María River basin are conducive to temporal farming while water for irrigation is not easily attainable. In that paleoenvironmental data demonstrate the antiquity of current environments then the agricultural options would have been similar in the past. Together, the archaeological and ethnographic data demonstrate the longevity of temporal agriculture in these areas. How temporal agriculture can be achieved and sustained is demonstrated in the tradition-based practices of modern farmers. The agency of modern farmers can be used as an analogy for agency in the past. When tested against the archaeological record the postulated temporal system and associated settlement patterns are indicative of a domesticated landscape structured for planting flexibility. / Graduate Studies, College of (Okanagan) / Graduate

The Casas Grandes region of northern Mexico is an understudied, though important, part of the culture area that has come to be known as the Northwest/Southwest (NW/SW). What studies have been conducted in the Casas Grandes region have focused on the Medio Period (approximately 1200-1450 AD) and the large site of Paquimé. Only a small amount of research has been conducted on the preceding Viejo Period (approximately 700-1200 AD). In this thesis, I create a clearing house of published Viejo Period architectural features excavated in the Casas Grandes region. I also analyze those features to develop our understanding of the materials and technological choices used to construct these features, and to evaluate the validity of sub-regional zones which have begun to develop within the archaeological literature from this area. These analyses include a qualitative analysis of the excavated architectural features as well as statistical clustering methods, a Principal Components Analysis, and a Correspondence Analysis of available architectural data. I ultimately propose revisions to the existing architectural typology for the Viejo Period and the abandonment of the concept of sub-regional zones within the Casas Grandes region. I also observe some emerging patterns within the architectural data and suggest that further research is needed to fully understand the distribution of architectural features throughout the region.