The Zooarchaeology of Great House Sites in the San Juan Basin of the American Southwest
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THE ZOOARCHAEOLOGY OF GREAT HOUSE SITES IN THE SAN JUAN BASIN OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST by Shaw Badenhorst B.A., University of South Africa, 200I B. A. Honours, University of South Africa, 2004 DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of Archaeology © Shaw Badenhorst 2008 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Fall 2008 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Shaw Badenhorst Degree: Ph.D Title ofThesis: The Zooarchaeology of Great House Sites in the San Juan Basin of the American Southwest Examining Committee: Chair: Mark Collard Associate Professor, Archaeology Jonathan Driver Senior Supervisor Professor, Archaeology Dana Lepofsky Supervisor Associate Professor, Archaeology John Welch Internal Examiner Associate Professor, Archaeology Kathy Roler Durand External Examiner Associate Professor, Anthropology & Applied Archaeology, Eastern New Mexico University Date Defended/Approved: ii SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Declaration of Partial Copyright Licence The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection (currently available to the public at the "Institutional Repository" link of the SFU Library website <www.lib.sfu.ca> at: <http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/112>) and, without changing the content, to translate the thesis/project or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. While licensing SFU to permit the above uses, the author retains copyright in the thesis, project or extended essays, including the right to change the work for subsequent purposes, including editing and publishing the work in whole or in part, and licensing other parties, as the author may desire. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada Revised: Fall 2007 ABSTRACT This dissertation considers animal remains from great houses in the San Juan Basin of the American Southwest. The archaeofauna from an outlying great house, Albert Porter Pueblo in the central Mesa Verde region, occupied between Pueblo II and III (AD. 1020-1280), indicates that turkey increased in importance over time compared to cottontails. Artiodactyls are not common in the assemblage, suggesting continuous hunting pressure on large game. Only subtle differences were noted between faunas from the great house when compared to residential units. Most notably, turkeys are more common in the great house during all time periods compared to surrounding residences. Ritual animals were located in all contexts, suggesting that everyone in the settlement had access to ceremonies. The mounds from Pueblo Bonito, a great house in Chaco Canyon dating to Pueblo II (AD. 1050-1] 05) were recently re-excavated by reopening Neil Judd's excavations from the 1920s. The fauna from the mounds is dominated by cottontails. The frequency of deer in the assemblage is similar to other Classic Bonito faunas from Chaco Canyon. The overall composition of the fauna is similar to other great houses and small sites within Chaco Canyon. Most of the artiodactyl remains are from young animals, a pattern that is consistent with intensive hunting. A regional overview of faunas dating from Basketmaker II to Pueblo III (AD. 1-] 300) indicates that cottontails increased over time, whereas artiodactyls decline. Turkey became important in the northern San Juan Basin during Pueblo III. A number of processes resulted in variations in animal usage over time. Highly prized artiodactyls were intensively hunted as human populations grew over time. Some taxa are associated with particular environments. For example, conditions in the northern San Juan Basin favour cottontails and turkeys, whereas in the drier southern portions, jackrabbits are more common. Economic and ritual usage of animals at great houses in the San Juan Basin was similar to that at contemporaneous settlements. No evidence was found to contradict the interpretation that farming communities in the San Juan Basin were organised by a peer-polity form of interaction during Pueblo II and III. Keywords: Pueblo Indians Zooarchaeology Archaeology San Juan Basin Chaco Great House Basketmaker Subsistence Pueblo Bonito Albert Porter Pueblo III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study would not have been possible without the support of various people and institutions. I am particularly grateful to my senior supervisor, Dr. Jonathan C. Driver for the opportunity to study under his guidance. He not only provided financial support, but also a great deal of encouragement. He let me share in his enviable knowledge of zooarchaeology. I am also grateful to my committee members; Drs. Dana Lepofsky, John Welch (Simon Fraser University) and Kathy Roler Durand (Eastern New Mexico University, Portales) for comments and support of this study. I received financial support over the course of three years, without which this study could not have been completed. A grant to Dr. Jonathan Driver from the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funded most of this research between 2005 and 2008. For 2006-2007, the Ada and William Steele Memorial Scholarship from Simon Fraser University, a Graduate Fellowship and a President's PhD Research Stipend, both for 2008, allowed me to complete this research. I am grateful for receiving all this financial support. Staff from Crow Canyon Archaeological Center not only provided archaeological information on Albert Porter Pueblo and answered all my queries, but also made my stay comfortable and enjoyable. They also provided maps for usage in this dissertation. Their interest and encouragements are also gratefully appreciated. In particular, I would like to thank Mark Varien, Susan Ryan, Scott Ortman, Jonathan Till, Jamie Merewether and Robin Lyle. Mary Etzkorn handled the copyright of some figures that I used. Drs. P. Crown and W.H. Wills from the University of New Mexico, who excavated Pueblo Bonito, provided me with archaeological information on the site which I sincerely appreciated. Faculty, staff and fellow students of the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University provided encouragement and support. Many discussions were held with many people over the course of many years, especially on Thursday evenings after the weekly seminar; too many to list. The technical staff, in particular Shannon Wood, Heather Robertson and Peter Lochner came to the rescue on more than one occasion as I experienced computer difficulties. The staff of the library at Simon Fraser University was helpful as ever. During my studies, I visited numerous museums, universities and libraries. Staff from these institutions was always willing to provide assistance. These include the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle, Crow Canyon Archaeological Center and the archaeological offices of Nancy and Larry Hammack both in Cortez, the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores, Salmon Ruins in Bloomfield, the Historic Preservation Division, the Laboratory of Anthropology both in Santa Fe, the Maxwell Museum at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, the Zuni Cultural Resource Enterprise in Zuni, and the Department of Anthropology, University of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. In South Africa, family, friends and colleagues provided support IV throughout my studies there and in Canada. In particular I would like to thank my former supervisor, Dr. Ina Plug, as well as staff of the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria. v TABLE OF CONTENTS APPROVAL ii ABSTRACT .iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .i v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF FIGURES xvii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH DESIGN I Introduction 1 Ongoing Debates in the San Juan Basin 2 Background 2 Social Relations 2 Great Houses 3 Causes of Variation in Subsistence Patterns .4 Research Questions 7 Albert Porter Pueblo 8 Pueblo Bonito 9 Regional Faunal Review 10 Summary 10 CHAPTER 2: NATURAL AND CULTURAL SETTING OF THE SAN JUAN BASIN II Introduction 11 Natural Setting of the San Juan Basin 11 Environmental Changes and Variation .13 Current Conditions 13 Prehistoric Climatic Changes 14 Vegetation 15 Paleoindian and Archaic Periods 15 Villages and Potters: Basketmaker