Basketmaker II Warfare and Fending Sticks in the North American Southwest

Direct physical evidence and rock art, including head skin trophies, indicate that violence linked to warfare was prevalent among the preceramic farmers of the North American Southwest known as Basketmakers. The degree of intergroup conflict indicates that Basketmakers may have needed defense against atlatl darts. In the early 1900s archaeologists suggested that distinctive wooden artifacts served this purpose. Despite resembling Puebloan rabbit sticks, the first to report these S-shaped and flattened sticks with longitudinal facial grooves thought that hunting was not their purpose. Yet the sticks appear singularly inadequate for the task of atlatl dart defense. I evaluate the suggested function of these artifacts and their relationship to warfare in Basketmaker II society. I consider multiple lines of evidence to analyze stick function: ethnography, experiments, use-wear, bioarchaeological markers of violence, and prehistoric art. I conducted a detailed analysis of almost 500 prehistoric flat curved sticks and radiocarbon dated 63 of them. Some of the documented variation in this artifact class is geographically patterned, likely based on learning networks, but dating reveals that much of it is linked to an evident shift in tool function. The sticks become more like ethnographic rabbit sticks through time and exhibit a corresponding increase in traces of such a use. Yet, there are those with damage that seems indicative of atlatl dart defense. My experiments showed that a defender can knock aside atlatl darts from close range with these sticks. Some tribes in South America perform a similar feat in a duel-like context and Diego de Landa may have observed an analogous ritual in the 1500s among the Yucatec Maya. The fending hypothesis is most logical in a duel. Many of the analyzed prehistoric sticks come from a known Puebloan war god shrine in central New Mexico, where an informant identified one as symbol of membership in a warrior society. In addition to prowess as a man killer, war society membership in the distant past might have involved atlatl duels where dart defense with a stick displayed great skill and courage. Basketmakers may have considered S-shaped sticks as an ancient symbol of warrior status

The Relevance of Maize Pollen for Assessing the Extent of Maize Production in Chaco Canyon

Opinion is hardly unanimous, but many authors endorse the idea that Chaco Canyon is and was a marginal place for growing corn (Zea mays), a chief source of food energy for Puebloan groups in the Southwest. Poor soils with “toxic” levels of salts, inadequate and unpredictable precipitation, and a short growing season have all been identified as contributing to the agricultural marginality of the place (Benson 2011a; Bryan 1954; Force et al. 2002; Judd 1954:59–61). Benson has been the most vocal proponent of this view of late, and his research has culminated in the conclusion that “the San Juan Basin, including Chaco Canyon, appears to be the least promising area for dryland farming; that is, it is too dry and its soils are Npoor, saline and too basic (high pH values) for the production of maize” (Benson 2011a:49–50; Benson 2011b). The Chaco Project’s experimental maize fields in the late 1970s seem to bear out this statement: “Chaco, under modern conditions, is indeed marginal as a corn growing environment” (Toll et al. 1985:124). If Chaco Canyon is as marginal for farming as many claim, then the cultural achievements of the Puebloans that lived there are all the more remarkable, and this marginality has figured prominently in many interpretations about how and why Chaco Canyon developed as it did (Judge 1979, 1989; Schelberg 1981, 1982; Sebastian 1983, 1991, 1992; Vivian 1984, 1990). Chacoans had to import not only beams for building, pottery for cooking and storage, and stone for flaked tools but also even the staff of life—corn. And when you add in such exotics as turquoise, parrots, copper bells, and cacao, the potential “trade” deficit looms large. If Chaco Canyon did not provide even enough food for basic sustenance, what was it that made the place so special in the first place? More importantly, what literally fueled the obvious cultural fluorescence of Chaco Canyon and ts massive labor-intensive construction projects? Wills and Dorshow (2012:138) observe that “the popular perspective that Chaco was mysterious or enigmatic is largely a response to this view of the canyon as agriculturally marginal.” Yet, how do we know what the agricultural potential of the canyon was during the Bonito phase (ca. A.D. 850–1140) or that Chacoans could not provide for themselves? Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far toward a pessimistic assessment of the maize farming in and around the canyon. Certainly, Navajo farmers with considerable traditional knowledge and a real stake in the outcome successfully grew corn within Chaco Canyon (Judd 1954:52–59), and in 1898, George Pepper photographed Navajo fields on the floodplain of Chaco Canyon proper that produced a bountiful corn harvest ( Figure 1a). Since photo documentation is not anecdotal, it seems a sufficient counter to assertions that farming of the Chaco floodplain was impossible because of high salinity. Judd’s records of Navajo maize harvests evidently come from a time of more favorable precipitation and growingseason length, but this, too, could have characterized much of the Bonito phase. Figure 1b shows another Navajo field on the main floodplain at harvest time. Navajo farmers clearly experienced agricultural risk (Huntington 1914:81), but evidently the canyon proved a sufficient attraction to entice early settlement by them (Brugge 1986), perhaps precisely because of its productive potential. Farming potential was likely the prime motivation for initial Basketmaker settlement, a time when supplemental extra-local sources of maize were improbable. Since everything is relative, Chaco Canyon may have seemed like a small Eden in the context of the vast “dreary wastes” (Huntington 1914:81) of the San Juan Basin at large

Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush (\u3ci\u3eArtemisia tridentata\u3c/i\u3e Nutt.).

When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other highquality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of multiple assays from single features reveals that sagebrush can overestimate age more than even tree wood charcoal. A plausible cause of this appears to be persistence of the shrub on the ground surface for an extended interval after death, such that use as fuel almost invariably occurs hundreds of years after fixation of carbon. The potential for age discrepancy may decrease as population density increases because the demand for fuel wood would have resulted in a more rapid turnover of the fuel biomass. This is not true for Archaic period foragers of western North America when population levels were likely quite low and residential mobility quite high

The Kaiparowits Puebloans: Kayentan or Virgin Branch Migrants?

More than 50 years ago archaeologists identified a high-density of small Puebloan habitations on the Kaiparowits Plateau in southern Utah. Analysis of pottery from these habitations by James Gunnerson and Florence Lister resulted in conflicting interpretations of cultural affiliation. Gunnerson argued for a Virgin affiliation whereas Lister argued for a Kayentan affiliation. Lister’s interpretation triumphed and the Puebloan occupation of the Kaiparowits was attributed to a migration of Kayenta people from the south during the late Pueblo II period. A review of architectural and artifactual evidence fails to support a Kayentan migration. An expansion of Puebloan groups from the west and southwest better accords with the archaeological record on the Kaiparowits Plateau. Resumen: Hace más de 50 años, arqueólogos identificaron una alta densidad de pequeñas habitaciones Puebloan en la Meseta de Kaiparowits en el sur de Utah. La análisis de la cerámica de estas habitaciones por James Gunnerson y Florence Lister resultó en interpretaciones contradictorias de la afiliación cultural. Gunnerson abogó por una affilición Virgin mientras que Lister abogó por una affilición Kayentan. La interpretación de Lister triunfó y la ocupación Puebloan del Kaiparowits fue atribuyó a una migración de gente Kayenta desde el sur durante el periódo tarde Pueblo II. Una revisión de la evidencia sobre la arquitectónica y los artefactos no respalda una migración Kayentan. Una expansion de los grupos Puebloan desde el oeste y suroeste se adhiere mejor con el registro arqueológico en la Meseta de Kaiparowits

AMS Dating of Plain Weave Sandals from the Central Colorado Plateau.

AMS radiocarbon dates on plain-weave sandals from caves of the central Colorado Plateau are reported. The sandals range in age from about 6900 to 3200 B.P. (ca. 5700-1450 cal. B.C.). The findings strengthen a case for both population and cultural continuity during the Archaic period, and support a related argument that middle Archaic break in the occupancy of several important shelters such as Cowboy Cave resulted from settlement pattern change and not regional abandonment. The dates demonstrate that living accumulations within some shelters of lower Glen Canyon resulted from Archaic foragers and not Puebloan farmers as previously claimed. Benchmark Cave, in particular, emerges as a site with an important record of hunter-gatherer occupancy during the middle and late Archaic

Sandal Types and Archaic Prehistory on the Colorado Plateau

Perishable artifacts provide an alternative to projectile pointsfor examining spatial patterns in Archaic material culture between northern and southern portions of the Colorado Plateau of the North American Southwest. This is so because they possess a potential great variety of specific construction and design attributes and can be directly dated to establish independent chronolo- gies of development. The analysis and dating of a collection of warp-faced plain weave sandals from Chevelon Canyon, Ari- zona demonstrates the potential utility of perishable artifacts to our understanding of prehistory. The collection provides an importantfirst sample of early Archaicfootwearfor the southern Colorado Plateau. AMS dating reveals that the oldest Chevelon Canyon sandal (8300 ? 60 B.P.) is 1,500 years earlier than the oldest directly dated sandal of this style on the northern Col- orado Plateau. Most of the Chevelon Canyon sandals date from 7500 to 6000 cal. B.C., contemporaneous with open-twined sandals on the northern Colorado Plateau. This study provides another contrast in forager material culture between southern and northern portions of the plateau during the early Archaic, prior to ca. 5700 cal. B. C. After this time, the plain weave san- dal style was adopted on the northern Colorado Plateau but not because of population replacement. Los artefactos perecederos proveen una alternativa a las puntas de projectil para examinar patrones espaciales en cultura mate- rial arcaica entre las porciones norte y sur de la Meseta de Colorado en el Suroeste norteamericano. Los artefactos perecederos potencialmente poseen una gran variedad de atributos de construcci6n y diseiio y pueden serfechados directamente para estable- cer cronologias independientes. El andlisis yfechamiento de una colecci6n de sandalias tejidas encontradas en el Canin Chevelon, Arizona, demuestran la utilidad de estos artefactos para entender la prehistoria. La coleccio\u27n provee una muestra importante de calzado arcaico en el sur de la Meseta de Colorado. Fechados de AMS revelan que la sandalia mds antigua en esta colecci6n (8300 ? 60 a.p.) es 1500 ailos mds temprana que aquilla de estilo similar datada en el norte de la Meseta de Colorado. La mayoria de las sandalias del Cani6n Chevelon datan entre 7500 y 6000 cal. a. C. y son contempordneas con sandalias de cordado abierto nortefias. Este estudio provee otro contraste en la cultura material de recolectores arcaicos entre estas regiones, antes de 5700 cal. a. C. Despuis de esta fecha, la sandalia de tejido liso de los llanos es adoptada en el norte de la Meseta de Colorado, pero no por reemplazo de poblacion

Age Discrepancies with the Radiocarbon Dating of Sagebrush (Artemisia Tridentata Nutt.)

When ancient hearths at open archaeological sites do not yield carbonized annual plant remains or other high-quality samples, wood charcoal is commonly used for radiocarbon dating. Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.), a shrub frequently used for fuel across much of the western United States, seems a potentially better candidate for 14C dating than tree wood since the possibility for significant age discrepancy might be less. A comparison of multiple assays from single features reveals that sagebrush can overestimate age more than even tree wood charcoal. A plausible cause of this appears to be persistence of the shrub on the ground surface for an extended interval after death, such that use as fuel almost invariably occurs hundreds of years after fixation of carbon. The potential for age discrepancy may decrease as population density increases because the demand for fuel wood would have resulted in a more rapid turnover of the fuel biomass. This is not true for Archaic period foragers of western North America when population levels were likely quite low and residential mobility quite high.The Radiocarbon archives are made available by Radiocarbon and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information.Migrated from OJS platform February 202

The Role of Basketry in Early Holocene Small Seed Exploitation: Implications of a ca. 9,000 Year-Old Basket from Cowboy Cave, Utah

Despite ranking at the low end of the continuum in net caloric benefit relative to other foods, small seeds assumed great dietary importance in many parts of the world, including western North America. In a series of publications, Adovasio (1970a, 1974, 1980, 1986) argued that coiled basketry technology was invented in the eastern Great Basin during the early Holocene as a specialized food-processing technique. Coiled baskets are indeed useful for collecting and processing seeds, but it does not necessarily follow that they were originally designed for this purpose. A whole basket recently discovered at Cowboy Cave in southeastern Utah returned an AMS radiocarbon assay of 7960 ? 50 B.P, making it currently the earli est directly dated coiled basket from the Americas. This basket is not a parching tray and. likely had nothing to do with har vesting seeds. We discuss the implications of this find with regard to tracking the temporal spread of coiled basketry technology in western North America and the role of coiled and twined forms in the initiation of small seed exploitation. Coiled and twined baskets for small seed processing may result from reconfiguration of existing technologies to create novel forms suited to a new food exploitation strategy. Apesarde localizarse en la parte inferior del rango calorico relativo a otros alimentos, pequehas semillas asumieron unpapel de gran importancia dietetica en muchas partes del mundo, incluyendo el oeste de Norteamerica. En una serie de publica ciones, Adovasio (1970a, 1974, 1980, 1986) sehala que la tecnologia de cesteria tejida en forma de espiralfue inventada en la parte oriental de la Gran Cuenca norteamericana durante el Holoceno temprano especificamente para secar semillas. De hecho, las cestas en espiral son utiles para el procesamiento de la semilla, pew no necesariamente fueron originalmente dis ehadas para este proposito. Recientemente, una cesta completafue descubierta en una cueva (Cowboy Cave) en el sudeste de Utah que arrojo un andlisis de radiocarbono de AMS 7960 ? 50 B.P, haciendola actualmente la cesta tejida en espiral mas antigua analizada directamente en las Americas. Esta cesta no cumplia una funcion para secar ni probablemente tampoco para cosechar semillas. Hablamos de las implicaciones de este hallazgo en relacion con el seguimiento de la expansion tem poral de la tecnologia cestera tejida en espiral en el suroeste estadounidense, y los papeles de estas formas espirales y tren zadas en el inicio de la explotacion de pequehas semillas. Cestas tejidas en espiral y trenzadas para el procesamiento de semillas pequehas podrian haber resultado de la reconfiguracidn de tecnologias ya existentes para crear nuevas formas estrategicas en la explotacion de nuevos alimentos

The Relevance of Maize Pollen for Assessing the Extent of Maize Production in Chaco Canyon

Opinion is hardly unanimous, but many authors endorse the idea that Chaco Canyon is and was a marginal place for growing corn (Zea mays), a chief source of food energy for Puebloan groups in the Southwest. Poor soils with “toxic” levels of salts, inadequate and unpredictable precipitation, and a short growing season have all been identified as contributing to the agricultural marginality of the place (Benson 2011a; Bryan 1954; Force et al. 2002; Judd 1954:59–61). Benson has been the most vocal proponent of this view of late, and his research has culminated in the conclusion that “the San Juan Basin, including Chaco Canyon, appears to be the least promising area for dryland farming; that is, it is too dry and its soils are Npoor, saline and too basic (high pH values) for the production of maize” (Benson 2011a:49–50; Benson 2011b). The Chaco Project’s experimental maize fields in the late 1970s seem to bear out this statement: “Chaco, under modern conditions, is indeed marginal as a corn growing environment” (Toll et al. 1985:124). If Chaco Canyon is as marginal for farming as many claim, then the cultural achievements of the Puebloans that lived there are all the more remarkable, and this marginality has figured prominently in many interpretations about how and why Chaco Canyon developed as it did (Judge 1979, 1989; Schelberg 1981, 1982; Sebastian 1983, 1991, 1992; Vivian 1984, 1990). Chacoans had to import not only beams for building, pottery for cooking and storage, and stone for flaked tools but also even the staff of life—corn. And when you add in such exotics as turquoise, parrots, copper bells, and cacao, the potential “trade” deficit looms large. If Chaco Canyon did not provide even enough food for basic sustenance, what was it that made the place so special in the first place? More importantly, what literally fueled the obvious cultural fluorescence of Chaco Canyon and ts massive labor-intensive construction projects? Wills and Dorshow (2012:138) observe that “the popular perspective that Chaco was mysterious or enigmatic is largely a response to this view of the canyon as agriculturally marginal.” Yet, how do we know what the agricultural potential of the canyon was during the Bonito phase (ca. A.D. 850–1140) or that Chacoans could not provide for themselves? Perhaps the pendulum has swung too far toward a pessimistic assessment of the maize farming in and around the canyon. Certainly, Navajo farmers with considerable traditional knowledge and a real stake in the outcome successfully grew corn within Chaco Canyon (Judd 1954:52–59), and in 1898, George Pepper photographed Navajo fields on the floodplain of Chaco Canyon proper that produced a bountiful corn harvest ( Figure 1a). Since photo documentation is not anecdotal, it seems a sufficient counter to assertions that farming of the Chaco floodplain was impossible because of high salinity. Judd’s records of Navajo maize harvests evidently come from a time of more favorable precipitation and growingseason length, but this, too, could have characterized much of the Bonito phase. Figure 1b shows another Navajo field on the main floodplain at harvest time. Navajo farmers clearly experienced agricultural risk (Huntington 1914:81), but evidently the canyon proved a sufficient attraction to entice early settlement by them (Brugge 1986), perhaps precisely because of its productive potential. Farming potential was likely the prime motivation for initial Basketmaker settlement, a time when supplemental extra-local sources of maize were improbable. Since everything is relative, Chaco Canyon may have seemed like a small Eden in the context of the vast “dreary wastes” (Huntington 1914:81) of the San Juan Basin at large