Museum of New Mexico
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO . OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION AT LA 59497, ALONG STATE ROAD 264, MCKINLEY COUNTY, NEW MEXICO by Stephen S. Post Contributions by Elizabeth M. Garrett Richard G. Holloway Linda Mick-O'Hara Mollie S. Toll Submitted by David A. Phillips, Jr. Principal Investigator ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES 85 "- . .. SANTA FE 1993 NEW MEXICO ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY Between May 1987 and May 1988, the Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, excavated a portion of LA 59497 and LA 55647 and conducted an ethnohistorical study on LA 55647, the Wildcat Springs Trading Post site, for the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department. Portions of the sites were within the right-of-way for a proposed widening project of State Road 264 in McKinley County. This report describes the excavations at LA 59497. LA 55647 is described in a separate report (Post and York 1992). LA 59497 is a late Pueblo I1 masonry pueblo with anextensive midden deposit that extends into the highway right-of-way. The excavated portion of the midden yielded a large amount of discarded prehistoric artifacts, two extramural features, two formal humanburials, and the scattered and mixed remains of four other individuals. Specialized artifact and sample analyses provided detailed information with which to interpret the artifacts and human remains in light of research questions proposed in the data recovery plan. Submitted in fulfillment of Joint Powers Agreement F00490 between the Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, and the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department. MNM Project No. 41.401 NMSHTD Project No. F-036-1(2)/ST-F-O361(202) Navajo Nation Antiquities Permit No. 8805 .. 11 CONTENTS ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY ....................................... ii INTRODUCTION ....... ............ ..... ........ ..... .... .... ... 1 ENVIRONMENT ................................................. 3 Physiography ................................................. 3 Geology and Ground Water ........................................ 3 Climate ..................................................... 5 Flora and Fauna ............................................... 5 PREHISTORICBACKGROUND ....................................... 7 Prehistory ................................................... 7 Pueblo11 .................................................... 7 Pueblo111 .................................................. 10 DATA RECOVERY RESEARCH ORIENTATIONAND GOALS ................. 13 DESCRIPTION OF LA 59497 ........................................ 17 Excavation Methods ............................................ 17 Stratigraphy ................................................. 19 HUMAN REMAINS FROM BURNED DEATH WASHby Linda Mick-O’Hara ......... 25 Feature2 ................................................... 25 Feature5 ................................................... 26 Feature4 ................................................... 26 Summary ................................................... 28 SITE DATING .............. .. .... .... .... ......... ......... 29 CERAMICANALYSIS ............................................ 31 The Descriptive Study ........................................... 31 Analytical Methods ............................................ 31 DeVdiled Analysis Definitions and Discussion ............................ 31 Type Descriptions ............................................. 35 Summary ................................................... 42 The Assemblage .............................................. 43 Whole and Partial Vessels ........................................ 48 Comparison with McKinley Mine Ceramic Assemblages..................... 52 PETROGRAPHIC STUDY OF CERAMICS FROM LA 59497 AND MCKlNLEY MINE SOUTH by Elizabeth M . Garrett ............................. 55 Introduction ................................................. 55 Methods ................................................... 55 Geology of the Area ............................................ 59 iii Findings ................................................... 62 ResearchQuestions ............................................ 73 Potters and Manufacturing Sources ................................... 74 CERAMICREFIRING ............................................ 77 Methods ................................................... 77 General Assumptions ........................................... 77 Test Hypotheses .............................................. 79 Ceramic Firing Results .......................................... 80 LITHIC ARTIFACT ANALYSIS ...................................... 83 AnalyticMethods .............................................. 84 The Assemblage .............................................. 85 Comparison with McKinley Mine ResidentialSites ......................... 95 Miscellaneous Artifacts .......................................... 98 IDENTIFIED FAUNAL REMAINS FROM LA 59497 by Linda Mick-O’Hara......... 101 CONCLUSIONS ............................................... 103 Subsistence Practices at LA 59497 .................................. 103 Social and Economic Interaction. Local and Regional ...................... 106 Pottery and People ............................................ 106 LA 59497 and the Chaco/Anasazi System .............................. 110 REFERENCESCITED ........................................... 113 APPENDIX 1. Ceramic Analysis Format for Bulk Study ...................... 121 APPENDIX 2 . Debitage Analysis Format ................................ 127 APPENDIX 3 . Human Remains Inventory Forms (illustrations removed from copies in general circulation) ......................................... 131 APPENDIX 4 . Pollen Analysis of LA 59497 by Richard S . Holloway .............. 145 APPENDIX 5 . Flotation from Burned Death Wash by Mollie S . Toll ............... 157 APPENDIX 6 . Auger Hole Data ..................................... 163 APPENDIX 7 . Radiocarbon Results ................................... 165 APPENDIX 8 . Legal Description and Site Location (removed from copies for general circulation) ......................................... 167 Fimres 1 . Project vicinity map ............................................. 2 2 . Map of region showing major Pueblo11-111 site locations ...................... 4 3 . McKinley and Gamerco Mine leasesand Black Creek ........................ 8 4 . Site map. LA 59497 ............................................ 18 5 . (a) North profile of grids 105N/123-128E; @) east profile of grids 94-98N/138E ...... 20 6 . Profiles of Features 1 and 3 ....................................... 22 7. Double cylinder jar from Feature 5 ................................... 50 iv 8 . Canteen from Feature 5 .......................................... 51 9 . Olla from Feature 5 ............................................ 52 10. McKinley Mine South sites and LA 59497. showing proportion of agricultural lands .... 56 11 . Gray Indented Corrugated. LA 59497. petrographic analysis ................... 63 12 . Gray Indented Corrugated. LA 59497. petrographic analysis ................... 64 13 . Puerco Black-on-white sherds. LA 59497. petrographic analysis; Utility and decorated wares. LA 59497. petrographic analysis ......................... 67 14 . Puerco and Gallup Black-on-white. LA59497. petrographic analysis; Puerco Black-on-white sherds. LA59497. petrographic analysis ..................... 68 15 . Gallup and Carbon Black-on-white sherds. LA 59497. petrographic analysis; Gallup Black-on-white sherds. LA 59497. petrographic analysis ................. 70 16 . Gallup Black-on-white sherds. LA 59497. petrographic analysis; Gallup and Chaco Black-on-whitesherds. LA 59497. petrographic analysis .......... 71 17 . Bar graph of utilized flake edge angles ................................ 94 18 . Material type distributions for LA 59497 and McKinley Mine sites ............... 97 19 . LA 59497 and McKinley Mine Southtlake use ........................... 98 20 . Debitage frequencies for LA 59497 and McKinley Mine sites .................. 99 21 . Flake types for LA 59497 and McKinley Mine sites ........................ 99 Tables 1 . Frequencies of components for four quads: Tse Bonita School. Twin Lakes. Samson Lake. and Gallup West...................................... 7 2 . Ceramic type references and dates ................................... 29 3 . Ceramic type frequencies. bulk study ................................. 44 4 . Vessel forms by ware ........................................... 45 5 . Vessel portion by ware .......................................... 47 6 . Temper types by ware ........................................... 48 7 . Petrographic sample by type and project area ............................ 57 8 . Possible manufacture sources by type ................................. 65 9 . Retired colors by type. source of manufacture. and project area ................. 81 10 . Debitage type by material type ..................................... 87 11 . Material type by cortex .......................................... 88 12. Debitage type by dorsal cortex ..................................... 89 13 . Debitage type by platform ........................................ 89 14 . Mean whole flake dimensions by material .............................. 91 15 . Utilized debitage by material. edge outline. andedge damage .................. 92 16. Faunal remains identitled from LA 59497 ............................. 101 17 . Cross-tabulation of slip texture by design element