CULTURE HISTORY

Pedestrian surveys designed for cultural resource management projects such as this one are essentially non-collective and non-destructive. Assessments and interpretations must be made primarily on the basis of the surface distribution of artifacts. Ideal types of data such as diagnostic projectile points, decorated ceramics, and architectural features serve to locate cultural manifestations in time and space, but even when the cultural and/or temporal affiliation of artifacts or sites cannot be readily determined, in-field analysis of artifact assemblages increases our knowledge of such activities as settlement patterns, raw material procurement strategies, and differential exploitation of resources.

In this project, an attempt will be made to reconstruct diachronic patterns of human settlement, subsistence, and social organization. These patterns are expected to reflect the adaptive strategies of both prehistoric and historic populations to the changing environment of the region through time. This will be accomplished through the classification, recordation, and analysis of both feature and assemblage data.

Chronology

Temporal classification will be determined whenever possible by in-field analysis of diagnostic artifacts. Prehistoric diagnostic artifacts may include projectile points, ceramic types, and architectural and other features. Historic time markers include attributes of tin cans, bottles and glass items, items associated with homesteading, ranching, and/or farming, extant features and architectural remains, and information collected from archives and historical collections.

Mean Ceramic Date.

For Ceramic Period assemblages, South (1977) has made use of the mean ceramic date to better quantify temporal affiliation on sites with ceramic artifacts. The computational formula is as follows:

Local variables will be examined to determine the extent to which each might have contributed to variation in prehistoric subsistence, edentism, and resource procurement strategies in the study area, and how this may have changed over time. Analytical strategies include the recordation of lithic and ceramic attributes and raw material data in order to isolate patterning in (1) temporally diagnostic types, (2) the distribution of resources, and (3) manufacturing strategies and technological adaptations. This information is expected to yield useful information towards the identification and classification of area-specific technologies, as well as in the prediction of function-specific site locations.

Lithic sites of unknown affiliation constitute more than half of all recorded sites in southeastern New Mexico (Stuart and Gauthier 1988:266; Katz and Katz 1993). In-field analysis of all or a representative sample of the lithic artifact assemblage, including spatial relationships to features and/or landforms, is expected to suggest behavioural correlates that might be useful in the interpretation of Unknown Prehistoric activity loci. The frequency and distribution of artifact types is expected to provide indications of site function, the number and intensity of occupation, and the relative importance of specific site locations for both prehistoric and historic populations.

Lithic Density Index.

The potential utility of non-diagnostic lithic debris for the development of relative chronologies has been recognized by many researchers (for example, Carmichael 1983; Kermer and Kearns 1984; Katz and Katz 1985). The lithic density index developed by Carmichael (1983) computes a statistic which measures the ratio of chert to other material types by estimating the density of lithic raw material types within an assemblage against the diversity of chert colors found on a site. The LDI is expressed by the formula:

in which lithic density is expressed as a value, with 0.00 being no cherts, and 11.0 being the maximum number of chert colors and fewest non-chert material density. Carmichael used the LDI to test the proposition that the use of a variety of high quality (in this case, chert) material is a characteristic of earlier (i.e., Paleoindian through Archaic) prehistoric periods in the Tularosa Basin (1983:185). Carmichael's results suggest that there is an increase in the utilization of non-chert tools from the Paleoindian through the Mesilla Phase. Difference of means tests showed that the difference between Paleoindian and Archaic assemblages is clearly distinguishable from one another and from later phases (Carmichael 1983).

While the LDI could not distinguish within Ceramic Period phases, Carmichael suggests that the Mesilla Phase can be distinguished from later phases by an increase in the frequency of bifacially modified tools and scrapers, and the presence of fewer unretouched flakes. The index is properly applied only to single-component assemblages. As a chronologic tool, it has been demonstrated to be potentially useful in distinguishing between Archaic and Late Prehistoric sites lacking diagnostic artifacts (for example, Carmichael 1983; Katz and Katz 1985).

Changing Settlement Systems.
Several models have been developed that attempt to distinguish patterns of behaviour specific to hunter-gatherer groups. Binford's 1980 model makes explicit differences in settlement and procurement strategies between foragers and collectors that might be applied to the analysis of non-diagnostic artifact scatters. The model defines foragers as mobile, characterized by location-based activity loci, temporal incongruitites, expedient technologies, low within-site variability, and high contextual integrity with a fine assemblage-grain size. In contrast, collector-based strategies are characterized by semi-sedentism and the logistical mobilization of task groups, residential bases and field camps, spatial incongruities, curated technologies, greater within-site variability, and low contextual integrity with coarse assemblage-grain size (Binford 1980).

Bettinger and Baumhoff developed a similar model which explores the differences between travelers and processors (1983). The model identifies a number of variables and provides behavioural correlates specific to traveler- or collector-based subsistence strategies. Although not all of the variables suggested by Bettinger and Baumhoff are amenable to testing with pedestrian survey data, the model may be adapted to apply to surface assemblage and site spatial distribution information, as follows:

Variable											Travelers									Collectors

Duration of settlement						brief										extended
Distance between settlements				long										short
Population density								low										high
Sensitivity to demographic change		high										low
Resource selectivity							narrow spectrum						broad spectrum
Sex ratio											female poor								female rich
Major subsistence costs						travel, search							procurement, processing
Competitive fitness							low										high
Diet breadth										low										high
Handling costs									low										high
Dietary costs									low										high 

To further explore the variation between the temporal and cultural affiliation of samples, the concept of complexity will be examined. Based on aspects of the exploratory data analysis perspective (Tukey 1977), the complexity of a distribution as applied to archaeological assemblages is seen as a multidimensional matrix. The array of artifactual data are manipulated through an arithmetic formula designed to measure the overall complexity of the distribution, as well as control for sample size variation.

The formula is written as follows:

where CI represents the Complexity Index; and represents the artifact category frequencies, transformed through natural logarithmic translation. These values, called the artifact enumerations, are summed, multiplied by the kurtosis of the artifact enumerations, and then divided (to convert to a ratio format), by the geometric mean of the artifact enumerations.

The function of is to act as a measure in n-space of the artifact category. That is, if one site has a higher frequency of groundstone than another, then that site's category will have a greater spatial presence in n-space, expressed as a higher value. The total of the values will therefore have a value expressing the overall quantity and dispersion of the artifact complexity found at the site. The CI values are expressed as summary statistics, and the result is interpreted as a ratio value, with the lowest value representing the highest amount of complexity and the highest value representing the lowest.

A number of major adaptational changes have been postulated for southern New Mexico populations at the end of the Ceramic period. The protohistoric adaptation of the southern Plains appears to represent a return to a highly mobile subsistence strategy (Sebastian and Larralde 1989:102). Protohistoric sites are characterized by stone or "tipi" ring features. However, because of the sometimes ephemeral nature of these occupations, little is known about this period in the project area. A further goal of this research is to record observations on these features, if any, in order to determine what kinds of activities were carried out at these sites. Analytical procedures include recordation of the location and spatial dimensions of features, as well as attribute and raw material analysis of associated lithic and other artifacts.

The utility of a behavioural approach in the identification of Apache sites has been demonstrated (Seymour 1995). Utilizing ethnohistorical and cross-cultural analogies, chains of behaviour are made explicit for the types of material correlates that would be expected in circumstances where people well versed in war tactics and highly familiar with their environment were attempting not to be noticed, found, or followed. Such physical, spatial, and material correlates can then be used to to distinguish the remains of such types of behaviour from the background mosaic of isolated occurrences in the archaeological record (Seymour 1995).

Site Function.

The determination of site function based on surface artifact manifestations is made problematic by the various transformational processes which affect the contextual integrity of the archaeological record. Such taphonomic processes are defined as the various cultural and natural processes that condition the frequency and spatial associations of cultural material after it ceases to participate in a behavioural system (for example, Schiffer 1972, 1976, 1983, 1987). These include, but are not limited to, variables related to the topography, the nature of the depositional environment, climate, and disturbance from such natural agents as grazing, rodent activity, flooding, and wind erosion, as well as differential artifact preservation, structural deterioration, disturbance from human agencies including construction and development, resource extraction, irrigation, secondary occupation, curation, looting, and vandalism.

Hearths, fire-cracked rock concentrations, and other thermal features will be evaluated in order to distinguish possible links to environmental features and the procurement of specific resources (i.e.: agave processing). Evidence of morphological changes in such features (for example, the accumulation or dispersion of hearth debris) will be analyzed in order to determine the occupational history of the site, as well as the kinds of transformational processes which might have impacted the feature/activity area. In addition, the spatial dimension of artifact distributions will be examined in order to determine landscape use (e.g., Beck and Schermer 1981; Foley 1981; Isaac 1981; Kemrer and Kearns 1984; Ebert 1986).

Prehistoric artifacts, including isolated manifestations, will be evaluated in order to discover possible relationships of spatial distribution from which to infer cultural activity patterns. Analysis of lithic raw material sources, the presence or absence of heat treatment, and the frequency and distribution of lithic flakes representing different stages of reduction is expected to yield information about local versus non-local lithic procurement, processing, manufacturing, and utilization strategies.

Obsidian Characterization.
Volcanic glass is characterized by a phenocryst-free matrix and a highly developed conchoidal fracture, making it an excellent raw material for lithic tools (Findlow and Bolognese 1982). For most sources, obsidian occurs as nodules between 5.0 and 20.0cm diameter that have been water-washed and redeposited in recent alluvium or streambed gravels (Findlow and Bolognese 1982). The material is not naturally occurring within the project area. The nearest major sources of obsidian are located to the west and north of the Rio Grande, from places as far away from the project area as Red Hill/Mule Creek, Antelope Wells, Gwynn Canyon, Mount Taylor, and the Valles/Toledo Caldera complex in the Jemez Volcanic Field area (Findlow and Bolognese 1982; Shackley 1995). Minor sources occur within Rio Grande gravels near Socorro, at Kilbourne Hole in Otero County, and just over the Texas boundary near El Paso. These minor sources, while locally exploited, were not involved in patterned exchange prehistorically (Findlow and Bolognese 1982). Most geologic sources of obsidian are homogeneous in their trace element composition, yet demonstrate sufficient intersource variability that individual sources can be distinguished (Shackley 1995).

Because of the megascopic similarity between New Mexico obsidians, it has been suggested that variation in the pattern of prehistoric exchange around each source locality was a product of cultural rather than geologic factors (Findlow and Bolognese 1982). Geochemical characterization, using X-ray fluorescence techiques, of obsidian samples obtained from archaeological contexts, can suggest direction of contact between prehistoric populations. Such analyses can provide valuable information about the specific prehistoric behavioural and environmental procurement variables that led to the archaeological distribution of the artifacts in relation to their geologic sources (i.e., Ericson 1981; Hughes 1978, 1990; Hughes and Bettinger 1984; Skinner 1983; 1995).

At the site level, spatial source patterning of characterized obsidian artifacts may suggest the presence of specific activity areas, of single-tool manufacturing events, or, in special cases, may point to differential access of goods and the existence of non-egalitarian social structures (Skinner et al. 1995:1-2). At the regional level, the geographic patterning of obsidian artifacts can provide information about such variables as seasonal procurement ranges, the curational value of particular sources of formal artifact types, the presence of trade and exchange systems, and the existence of intergroup interaction (Skinner et al. 1995:1-2).

Heat-treatment.
The presence or absence of heat treatment may suggest clues as to the skill and experience of prehistoric flintworkers, and suggest whether lithic resources were being processed locally or not (Crabtree 1975; Shelley 1993, personal communication). Lithic material is generally heat treated to improve its workability. Thermal alteration allows some material to flake more easily and with a cleaner fracture, resulting in smoother fracture planes, sharper edges, and fewer step and hinge terminations (Whittaker 1994).

While heat treatment is a relatively simple process, its use and application do require some energy investment, including knowledge of the physical properties of raw materials, appropriate and sufficient fuel with which to provide the necessary heat, and an extended time period in which to generate the high temperature and slow cooling time required for the process to work correctly (Whittaker 1994). The heat treatment process may be done quite adequately by building a fire to a maximum temperature range of 200 to 425ø C (400 to 800ø F), depending on the raw material, and burying the materials in the sand beneath it, slowly increasing the heat of the fire and letting it cool down slowly until the materials can be dug out bare handed (Whittaker 1994).

It is generally better to heat treat flakes or partially finished tools than large nodules or cores. Not all raw materials can be effectively heat-treated, and some, like obsidian, basalt, rhyolite, and quartzite, cannot be heat treated at all (Whittaker 1994). The best returns are yielded by such cryptocrystalline materials as chert and chalcedony. Ceramic Characterization. Ceramic period assemblages will be evaluated in order to determine local strategies of settlement/subsistence adaptation. A corollary goal of this research is to gather data on the extent and direction of contact between prehistoric Formative Period populations. Prehistoric ceramic types will be classified in order to determine the presence and distribution of intrusives, and specific ceramic attributes will be analyzed in order to determine temporally significant trends that might be reflected in the archaeological record as variation in sources of raw material or manufacturing technology through time.

The Eco-Cultural Zonation Model.
The eco-cultural zonation model is based on the proposition that behavioral correlates exist between environmental and cultural variables that are reflected in the spatial patterning of prehistoric sites. A relationship between site location, chronology, slope direction, and number of features has been proposed for the prehistoric agricultural populations of the Mimbres area (Rice 1979) and the Tularosa Basin (Wimberly and Rogers 1977). Based on observations derived from field research and documented rainfall data (Martin and Plog 1973; Cordell 1979), Stuart and Gauthier have proposed a model for the Jornada Mogollon area which we have termed the Eco-Cultural Zonation Model (1988:185).

The model predicts that populations affected by a winter-dominant rainfall pattern will select for site locations characterized by a south or southwest facing slope and a higher mean elevation, and will have a higher incidence of hearths. Summer rainfall pattern occupations will be characterized by an east or north facing slope, a lower mean elevation, and a fewer number of hearths (Stuart and Gauthier (1988:185; 216). Chronology. Martin and Plog have documented a decline in effective rainfall for the central southwest region beginning around AD 870 (1973:51). This trend corresponds with a slight downhill shift in site location starting at about AD 900 in the Tularosa Basin (Wimberly and Rogers 1977).

Stuart and Gauthier suggest that by AD 1000, as a response to the continued trend in summer-dominant precipitation, sedentary populations practicing horticulture would have moved site location significantly downhill in order to maximize their growing season (1988:217). Likewise, spring soil moisture would have been maximized by selecting for site locations near streams or alluvial fans, perhaps below east slopes, where the snowmelt above is likely to have occurred relatively late (1988:217). By AD 1100, with the summer-dominant pattern established, populations would have moved to basin floors in areas of major drainages.

Around AD 1125, the amount of rainfall appears to have increased slightly, and the pattern of precipitation become temporarily more bimodal in distribution. At this time, the trend would have been to shift site locale upwards again. The model suggests that sites occupying the highest elevations would have bimodal dates of occupation, one between AD 850-900 and the other between AD 1200-1250 (1988:218).

Maize.
The model also explores the relationship between the cultigens associated with sites at different elevational zonations and the intensity of cultivation. As microbotanical data indicative of the selected crops and the degree of agricultural intensification were not collected by survey, the analysis utilizes such relative horticultural correlates as the presence or absence of ground stone tools, ceramics, and thermally altered rock.

Elevation.
Elevation is identified as the primary ecological/environmental independent variable suggested by the model. The hypothesis predicts that differences of elevation will be significantly correlated with patterns of temporal affiliation and site orientation. Variation in elevational zones between components of Archaic and Mogollon affiliation might also be interpreted as evidence of functional variation. Nomadic or semi-sedentary Archaic populations might be expected to select for site locational attributes which would increase the fitness of seasonal subsistence strategies primarily associated with hunting.

These activities suggest selection for higher elevations which would provide good vantage points from which to watch for game, and valley views overlooking the drainage where game might be expected to gather. Sedentary, horticultural Mogollon populations might be expected to select site locations which would maximize the length of the growing season and which are in proximity to water.

Test of the Eco-Cultural Zonation Model.
Eco-cultural zonation is defined as the pattern resulting from the interrelationships of the environment (including temperature and precipitation regimes), site location, and site function which are predicted by the model. Test of the model will attempt to correlate environmental and cultural variables from data collected by survey.

IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL RESOURCES

The second major research goal of this project is to explore the relationship between site location and the physiographic and environmental contexts in which they occur. Site locational models based on such information will be useful in assembling a regional database for cultural resource management that can help both regulatory agencies and the private sector to plan ahead during construction and other major ground disturbing activities.

Site Location.

This project provides an opportunity to address questions of changing patterns of land-use and subsistence strategies through time in this portion of New Mexico. One basic premise of this research design is that sites will exhibit patterning with respect to landform and distance to water and other resources. This implies that suitable areas will show evidence of multiple occupations through time.

A corollary premise is that historic land-use patterns have impacted the prehistoric record in different ways. Some of these ways include the building of homesteads, farming, grazing, and artifact collecting activities by the early homesteaders and settlers.

The location of historic isolated manifestations may offer clues to their depositional history. In some instances, the occurrence of cans and other lightweight items in floodplains and in deflated areas adjacent to drainages might be interpreted as the result of redeposition by water, wind, or other erosional processes.

Historic period cultural activity loci are common in the project area. The earliest historic sites occur as ranches or homesteads, and are associated with large-scale land management and ranching features. Historic period remains in the area are expected to be dispersed rather homogeneously over a wide area, and to document activities related to ranching, farming, and homesteading.

As with the prehistoric sites, these historic sites are expected to exhibit patterning with respect to landform and distance to water sources. Therefore, it is expected that in many cases historic sites will occur as later occupations of multicomponent sites. This suggests that prehistoric sites in the area will have been directly impacted by homesteading and other domestic and agricultural activity, as well as indirectly by processes of bioturbation, mechanical and chemical weathering caused by farming practices, increased alluvial disturbance from irrigation, and increased aeolian erosion due to environmental degradation.

The project area is primarily used for livestock grazing. Bioturbation as a result of this and other farming/ranching activities has impacted, and continues to impact, surface artifact assemblages. These processes contribute to the fragmentation and loss of potentially useful analytical data which is the primary source of information collected by pedestrian surveys designed to implement cultural resource management goals. In addition, artifact collections in the possession of area residents and those on display at the My House of Old Things Museum in Ancho suggest that the surface archaeological record has been heavily impacted by collection activities. In the case of isolated prehistoric manifestations present in historic sites, a determination must be made as to whether they represent primary or secondary (i.e., curated) deposition.

Site Significance.
An important interpretative goal of this research is the assessment of the degree of contextual integrity remaining in the surface/subsurface deposits of identified cultural resources. Site integrity will be determined through observations on the geomorphology, the erosional/depositional nature of the site setting, and the types and extent of the natural/cultural disturbance processes that are currently impacting or are known to have impacted the site in the past.

Observations on site surface conditions will be coupled with trowel probe information to determine the site's potential to yield significant data beyond that collected by recordation, mapping and in-field artifact analysis. In addition, an attempt will be made to determine the cultural/temporal associations, if any, of both the prehistoric and historic components of sites that are in close spatial relationship with each other. With these data, direct recommendations will be made regarding each site and its eligibility for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places.

As of 1989, no homesteads or railroad camps were listed on the National Register (Sebastian and Larralde 1989:124). However, archival research suggests that the potential for historic sites associated with important persons and/or events (criteria a and b) in the study area may be high. A final goal of this research is to provide enough detailed recording of physical remains and/or consideration of contextual data to adequately evaluate the significance of such sites. In the case of surface trash scatters, analytical strategies include attribute recordation of diagnostic historic artifacts in order to determine the temporal range of occupation and the type of land use associated with the artifactual remains.