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The Descriptive Paleontology and Applied Ichthyoarchaeology of the Ponsipa Fauna

The archaeology of the Northern Rio Grande region of New Mexico has recently received an increased amount scholarly attention. In particular, understanding past trends in demographics, agricultural productivity, violence, and social networks have been primary goals of archaeological research. Understanding patterns in animal exploitation has, however, received far less attention due to a small yet growing regional zooarchaeological database. Through the identification of animal remains from a site called Ponsipa (occupied ca. A.D. 1300 to 1600), this thesis adds one large dataset to this growing database. In addition, this thesis expands on the pre-impoundment distribution of an endangered native freshwater fish species in the state of New Mexico called the blue sucker (Cycleptus elongatus). The blue sucker is a unique fish that is currently experiencing range reduction across all of its known North American distribution due to anthropogenic habitat fragmentation and degradation. Skeletal remains that were identified from Ponsipa represent the farthest known northern record of its occurrence in the state of New Mexico and highlight the extent of range restriction of the species in the area. The data concerning the historical biogeography of the blue sucker from Ponsipa have implications for the effective conservation and restoration of blue sucker located in the Rio Grande Basin.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc799491
Date05 1900
CreatorsDombrosky, Jonathan
ContributorsWolverton, Steve, Nagaoka, Lisa Ann, Ferring, C. Reid
PublisherUniversity of North Texas
Source SetsUniversity of North Texas
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis or Dissertation
Formatv, 104 pages : color illustrations, maps (some color), Text
CoverageUnited States - New Mexico
RightsPublic, Dombrosky, Jonathan, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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