James A. Neely

Plausible ethnographic analogies for the social organization of Hohokam canal irrigation

This paper presents the results of a juxtaposition of archaeological findings on Hohokam irrigation and ethnographic research on the social organization of irrigation. There are no ethnographic or historic records pertaining to the Hohokam, so the comparative ethnographic approach is perhaps more productive than in other situations. Several forms of canal irrigation organization are considered, including politically centralized, acephalous, private, and several forms of communal. We find that politically centralized, acephalous, and private forms are implausible in the Hohokam context. Several of the communal forms are plausible. We find no ethnographic basis for positing a valley-wide management system.

An Archaeological Survey of the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico: A Test of Color Infrared Photography

Using data collected by NASA in the Tehuacan Valley, Mexico, tests were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of aerial color infrared film for archaeological reconnaissance. The study area was chosen primarily because MacNeishs Tehuacan Archaeological-Botanical Project (1960-1964) provided a convenient check of site visibility on the photographs, and because microenvironmental zones have been delineated in the valley allowing visibility of sites in different microenvironments to be determined. Our tests indicate that the type of cultural feature or its age are not as important as the environmental situation in distinguishing the site. The greatest archaeological value, however, of color infrared photography is in the delineation of microenvironmental zones and the construction of natural maps rather than the identification of cultural features. Center for Man and Environment

Calcified microbial mats date prehistoric canals—Radiocarbon assay of organic extracts from travertine

A methodology for radiocarbon dating of calcified microbial mats has been developed and successfully applied in establishing a preliminary chronology for the prehistoric carbonate-encrusted canals of the Tehuacan Valley of Puebla, Mexico. In contrast to traditional carbonate dating techniques, this method focuses on the organic carbon component of the calcareous sediments. This method is based on the assumptions that (1) the carbon being dated is derived from the organisms associated with travertine buildup on canals, (2) these organisms are incorporated into the travertine contemporaneous with calcite precipitation, and (3) this carbon is then sequestered from most subsequent contamination and secondary fractionation. Evidence supporting these assumptions includes δ13C values, cultural chronologies, and stratigraphic relationships consistent with expectations.

Functional analysis of water control features at Monte Alban, Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract Agricultural water distribution systems in the Highlands of Mexico have received considerable attention. Functional analysis of water control features at Monte Alban, Oaxaca demonstrates the potential of a classification system which treats both agricultural and residential‐civic public works, such as drains, filters, catchment structures, and reservoirs.

A contextual study of the ‘fossilized’ prehispanic canal systems of the Tehuacan Valley, Puebla, Mexico

Nearly three decades ago, Woodbury & Neely (1972) published the first analysis of the extensive and complex system of Prehispanic Canals found in the northern portion of the Tehuacan Valley of Puebla, Mexico. These springfed canals, functioning to supply waters for irrigation and domestic uses, were uniquely preserved in near entirety by natural processes. The canals have been ‘fossilized’ in place through a process of mineral deposition. They are clearly visible on the landscape for many kilometres and have aggraded in height, now standing 2 to 3 m high in several places. Time, funding and the archaeological methodology of the mid 1960s limited Woodbury & Neely’s fieldwork, and therefore the study did not fully investigate the system. Although a basic description and discussion of the technology and functioning of the system was accomplished, a detailed analysis of these aspects remained to be done. A schematic mapping of the system was accomplished, but an accurate mapping of the canals and associated habitation and administrative sites was lacking. The chronological placement of these canals was attempted by means of the cross-dating of ceramics on archaeological sites found bordering the channels, but an accurate chronological sequence of the system’s development was not attainable. A general climatic reconstruction of the valley was generated, but since the emphasis placed by the Tehuacan Archaeological and Botanical Project was on the earlier periods of habitation that focused on the development of maize domestication, the climatic contexts into which the canals were later constructed was not known.

A late paleo‐Indian/Early archaic water well in Mexico—Possible oldest water‐Management feature in the new world

A filled prehistoric water well discovered at the village of San Marcos Necoxtla, Puebla, Mexico, may be the oldest directly dated water-management feature in the Americas. The ∼10 m stratigraphic section exposed at this remarkable site records 18,000+ yr of deposition, erosion, water-table and hydrochemical fluctuations, and ≥10,000 yr of continual occupation. Temporal control is afforded by a multicomponent cultural chronology and radiocarbon assays by conventional and experimental techniques. The ∼10 m wide, ∼5 m deep well was excavated, utilized, maintained, and filled with cultural material between <9863 and ≫5950 yr B.P., a span of ≪3913 yr. Ages of other reported Late Pleistocene(?) to Middle Holocene wells in the New World are based on indirect or questionable dating, or are ≤6600 yr. Because of its age and continuity of occupation, the San Marcos Necoxtla well site may help define the nature of the peopling of the Americas and the advent of New World agriculture.

A Method for Distinguishing between Prehistoric and Recent Water and Soil Control Features

ABSTRACTRock alignments built for controlling the flow of water and its effects on soil, and known by a number of terms including check dams, terraces, linear borders, and trincheras, have troubled Southwestern archaeologists for years. Especially problematical are attempts to determine the ages of such features; recently built rock alignments can be easily confused with prehistoric ones. This paper identifies 13 morphological elements of rock alignments and discusses their value in determining age. It offers a method for distinguishing between prehistoric and recent water and soil control features when no other evidence is available.

Intrusive Anuran Remains in Pit House Features: A Test of Methods

ABSTRACTThe recognition of intrusive fauna in archaeological assemblages has been attempted through many methods, although no single technique can be applied in all situations. The high number of anuran remains recovered from the WS Ranch site in west-central New Mexico is problematic as regional archaeological and ethnographic discussions of this taxon are scarce. For this reason, a suite of methods has been used to assess the status of these remains. Anuran elements account for the highest frequency taxon from pit house floors and fill. Archaeological and taphonomic factors, supported by ethnographic data, indicate that these remains are not part of the cultural assemblage.

An Archaeological Survey on the Xoxocotlan Piedmont, Oaxaca, Mexico

Surface survey on the piedmont near the present village of Xoxocotlan, Oaxaca, Mexico, has revealed the pattern of prehistoric settlement around an irrigation canal that distributed water from a dammed reservoir located on the flanks of Monte Alban. Intensive systematic collection techniques have permitted quantitative statements to be made about the density of occupation and the contribution of the irrigation system to the food supply of Monte Alban.

New light on the prehistoric Purrón Dam Complex: Small corporate group collaboration in the Tehuacán Valley, Puebla, México

Abstract The 2003 and 2004 surveys at the Purrón Dam Complex (PDC) demonstrate the value of resurveying previously studied areas. Additional habitation sites, water management features, a cave with pictographs, and a major canal were discovered, increasing the number of recorded sites from eight to 57. From this survey, the collected ceramics and a synthesis of 12 chronometric dates suggest that water management was initiated in the complex by Early Formative times at ca. 1050–1100 b.c., and that the Purrón Dam was completed by the Middle Formative Period (ca. 650–450 b.c.), when settlements were small and decentralized. This challenges previous interpretations that place the PDC florescence during the Early Classic Period (ca. 150 b.c.–a.d.250), a period with larger aggregated communities displaying social ranking. The results of our survey have implications for understanding the links between political complexity and agricultural intensification, and support recent ethnographic and archaeological research discrediting the argument that increasing social complexity necessarily leads to the construction of large water management systems.