Gary Huckleberry

Soil Evidence of Hohokam Irrigation in the Salt River Valley, Arizona

ABSTRACTHohokam irrigation in the Salt River Valley modified the chemical and physical properties of soils. Of these modifications, the accumulation of silts and clays at the surface is most resistant to post-depositional processes. Surprisingly, evidence for prehistoric, irrigation-affected soils in the Salt River Valley is not well-documented. The apparent paucity of prehistoric irrigation signatures in modem soils may be due to inadequate sampling or to cumulative irrigation at most locations being insufficient to leave a persistent soil signature. A preliminary strategy for identifying prehistoric irrigation-affected soils is suggested.

Floodwater Farming, Discontinuous Ephemeral Streams, and Puebloan Abandonment in Southwestern Colorado

Geoarchaeological study on the southern piedmont of Sleeping Ute Mountain in southwestern Colorado indicates the presence of discontinuous ephemeral streams that were the foci of episodic Puebloan occupation between A.D. 600s and 1280. Characterized by arroyos, discontinuous ephemeral streams contain alternating aggrading and degrading reaches and are well suited for ak chin floodwater agriculture. Episodic Puebloan abandonment of the southern piedmont correlates with periods of drought but does not appear to be linked to stream entrenchment. We question a priori assumptions of droughts correlated to stream entrenchment and urge caution in the use of drought-arroyo models for settlement shifts in alluvial flood plains without supporting stratigraphic or geomorphic evidence.

Stratigraphic Identification of Destructive Floods in Relict Canals: A Case Study from the Middle Gila River, Arizona

ABSTRACTIn this paper I provide stratigraphic descriptions of five historic canals in the Gila River Indian Community that have been damaged by floods. Stratigraphic evidence for uncontrolled flooding in canals includes deposits that extend laterally beyond the channel and textural sequences in the middle to upper strata in which coarse sediments have been deposited over fine ones. Sediment textural variability points to the complex nature of flooding and sedimentation in earthen canal systems. Such complexity precludes the creation of archetypal flood stratigraphy in canals. Despite this complexity, the geometry and granulometry of canal flood deposits in historic canals can be used as analogue data to identify evidence of past flooding in prehistoric canal systems. Such data are needed to improve stratigraphic interpretations of relict canals and test the hypothesis that floods played an important role in prehistoric culture change.

Assessing Hohokam Canal Stability through Stratigraphy

AbstractPrehistoric canals are common in the alluvial valleys of south-central Arizona and provide a means of understanding the region’s prehistory. Stratigraphy within the canals records operational dynamics and may be used to test the hypothesis that a period of increased flooding played a pivotal role in the Hohokam collapse in the 15th century. In this study, I analyze particle-size data from 45 prehistoric main canals located in three large systems, in the lower Salt River Valley. Overall canal sedimentology is similar among the three systems, and Markov chain analysis demonstrates that repeated depositional sequences are rare. This finding may be due to stratigraphic unconformities or a sampling strategy that emphasizes thick strata. In any event, unequivocal sedimentological evidence for uncontrolled flooding outside of flood plains is uncommon. Either floods were not the problem that the historical record suggests or flood deposits are poorly preserved and difficult to identify sedimentologically....

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY, PALEOENVIRONMENT, AND GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE PUERTO PEÑASCO AREA OF NORTHERN SONORA, MEXICO

Abstract Recent observations and archival research on the archaeology of the Puerto Peñasco area at the northern end of the Gulf of California, Sonora, Mexico, have provided additional insights into the prehistory of the region. The northern Gulf of California has long been recognized as the source of raw marine shell used in the production of shell ornaments by the Hohokam of southern and central Arizona. The most obvious archaeological manifestations in the area are the shell midden sites that occur along the margins of the ocean and estuaries of the region. Based on a small sample of diagnostic flaked stone and ceramic artifacts, a Late Archaic period through Late Ceramic period (Hohokam) use of the area is evident. A small number of independently derived radiocarbon dates appear to support this conclusion. We summarize archaeological, chronometric, environmental, and geomorphic data from the area. Abstract Observaciones recientes y la investigatión en archivos sobre la arqueología del área de Puerto Peñasco en el extremo norteño del Golfo de California, Sonora, México han proporcionado entendimientos adicionales en la prehistoria de la región. El área ha sido reconocida desde hace tiempo como la fuente de la cáscara marina cruda usada en la producción de ornamentos de cáscara por los Hohokam de Arizona. Las manifestaciones arqueológicas más obvias del área son los concheros que ocurren a lo largo de los márgenes del océano y de los esteros de la región. Además de cáscara, estos sitios contienen restos de crustáceos y otras especies marinas así como las ensambladuras pequeñas de artefactos prehistóricos incluyendo cerámicas, morteros, manos, metates, y lascas. De acuerdo con una muestra pequeña de artefactos diagnosticados, el uso del área es evidente durante un período del arcaico tardío al período cerámica tardío (Hohokam). Una pequeña cantidad de fechas radiocarbono derivadas aparecen apoyar esta conclusión. Resumimos también datos arqueológicos, cronométricos, medioambientales, y geomorfológico del área.

Determining the provenience of Kennewick Man skeletal remains through sedimentological analyses

We present the results of a sedimentological study of a 9300 calendar yr old disarticulated skeleton known as Kennewick Man. Micromorphological, granulometric, mineralogical, and chemical analyses were performed on sediments from the skeleton and streambank adjacent to where the bones were found. Our results support earlier estimates that the skeleton eroded out from an 80 cm section of Columbia River flood deposits. Fine-textured sediments from the burial site attached to the bones indicate a low energy, fluvial depositional environment. Given the taphonomic evidence that Kennewick Man was rapidly buried, we believe that the stratigraphic and sedimentological evidence support the hypothesis that the body was interred by humans in the ground rather than being quickly buried by overbank flooding.

Quantitative Assessment of a Field-Based Course on Integrative Geology, Ecology and Cultural History.

A field-based course at the University of Arizona called Sense of Place (SOP) covers the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. SOP was quantitatively assessed for pedagogical effectiveness. Students of the Spring 2008 course were given pre- and post-course word association surveys in order to assess awareness and comprehension of the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. Students who had previously taken SOP (2005–2007) and students who had never taken SOP also completed the survey. The survey consisted of 12 stimulus terms, all of which represent concepts integral to an understanding of environmental geography of the Tucson area. The students wrote words that they associate with each stimulus term. Differences between the pre- and post-course responses showed clear improvement in awareness and comprehension of the geology, ecology and cultural history of the Tucson area. Results from students who took SOP in past years indicate that long-term retention of course content is good. The word association technique proved to be effective for collecting data and evaluating the course. The field trips of SOP are described in the Appendix, which also contains the word association survey used in this research.

Coastal Adaptations During the Archaic Period in the Northern Sea of Cortez, Mexico

ABSTRACT This article integrates geological, biological, ethnographic, and archaeological lines of evidence to reconstruct fishing patterns between approximately 4100 and 500 BC in the northern Gulf of California. In addition to shell collecting along the coast, several species of fish were captured, mainly endemic sciaenids of the upper gulf. Our study focuses on the northern Sonoran coast where recent archaeological studies have discovered scores of otoliths (fish ear bones) in archaeological contexts. We report the species composition (chano, corvina, totoaba) and relative size of the prehistoric catch and discuss the modern biology of these species known to inhabit this area. Our evidence suggests that this area offered an important resource for Archaic hunters and gatherers who were drawn here to exploit fish at certain times of the year. Following sea level stabilization around 6,000 years ago, particular geomorphic settings provided opportunities to easily harvest large quantities of fish by spearing, netting, or hand catching them.

Archaic Period Shell Middens, Sea-Level Fluctuation, and Seasonality: Archaeology along the Northern Gulf of California Littoral, Sonora, Mexico

Abstract Five recent radiocarbon assays on wood charcoal within archaeological sites from the Puerto Peñasco area, Sonora, Mexico indicate use of the marine resources of the northern Gulf of California area during the Middle Archaic through the Late Archaic periods, ca. 3800 B.C.–A.D. 100. The archaeological shell middens of the region are generally thought of as remains associated with Ceramic period Hohokam marine shell collecting forays with there being little consideration given to the likelihood of an Archaic period component being present. The importance of these age estimates is that they are derived from carbonized botanical remains rather than shell. Because of considerable variability in the carbon reservoir effect, age estimates derived from marine shell from the northern Gulf of California have limited reliability. The seasonality of collection is also considered through a preliminary study of stable oxygen isotope ratios in two shell samples. The results suggests that these shellfish were collected in the late fall, winter, and perhaps very early spring.

Interdisciplinary and Specialized Geoarchaeology: A Post- Cold War Perspective

Geoarchaeology is both an interdisciplinary and specialized science. This dichotomy does not weaken the discipline, although it does lead to debates over its boundaries and definitions. Despite diverse theoretical and methodological orientations influenced largely by academic training, geoarchaeologists should recognize the value of their specialized and interdisciplinary heritage and use geoarchaeology to help blend the sciences and humanities. Such an application of geoarchaeology will play a large role in the success of the discipline in the 21st century as economic competition drives science funding, applied research increasingly overshadows basic research, and the public increases its demand for greater relevance of science to their everyday lives. By emphasizing the value of both interdisciplinary and specialized approaches, geoarchaeology will continue to grow and mature as a discipline. 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.