Why Conical Pots? an Examination of the Relationship Among Vessel Shape, Subsistence, and Mobility Claire K
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Anthropology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 5-1-2010 Why Conical Pots? An Examination of the Relationship among Vessel Shape, Subsistence, and Mobility Claire K. Helton-Croll Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Helton-Croll, Claire K.. "Why Conical Pots? An Examination of the Relationship among Vessel Shape, Subsistence, and Mobility." (2010). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds/29 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Electronic Theses and Dissertations at UNM Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Anthropology ETDs by an authorized administrator of UNM Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHY CONICAL POTS? AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG CERAMIC VESSEL SHAPE, SUBSISTENCE, AND MOBILITY BY CLAIRE KATHLEEN HELTON-CROLL B.A., Social Science, Troy State University 1997 M.A., Anthropology, University of New Mexico 2000 Dr. Patricia Crown, Dissertation Chair DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2010 ii © 2010, Claire Kathleen Helton-Croll iii DEDICATION For Mom and Dad Thanks for always betting on me. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This dissertation could not have been completed without the help and support of my professors at the University of New Mexico, colleagues, family, and friends. This research also would not have been possible without the financial support provided by Graduate Research and Development Fund (GRD) from the Graduate and Professional Student Association at the University of New Mexico, and the National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant. To my advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Patricia Crown, thank you for your unwavering support in what has turned out to be a very long process. Your advice and professionalism will continue to aid me as I continue my archaeological career. Committee members, Dr. James Boone, Dr. Eric Blinman, and Dr. Ron Towner contributed greatly to this research and it would not have been possible without your guidance and advice. My obsession with conical pots began in Jim’s Prehistoric Europe class and for that, I am grateful. I am also especially thankful to Eric who arranged with Robert Gallegos for access to the private collection of Navajo cooking vessels that was then in Mr. Gallegos’ possession. Other UNM faculty that have aided in this endeavor are Dr. Ann Ramenofsky, Dr. Wirt Wills, and Dr. Keith Basso. Without Ann’s unwavering support, I would not have finished even my first year of graduate school, much less this research. Thanks to Erika Gerety and Amy K. Hathaway for all their help and patience with my drop-in frantic visits. v The whole vessel and sherd analysis would not have possible without the help of museum staff at the Maxwell Museum (Dave Phillips, Dorothy Larson, and Catherine Baudoin); the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture; Laboratory of Anthropology; Museum of New Mexico (Julia Clifton, Tony Thibodeau, Melissa Powell, and Dodi Fugate); Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (James Krakker); the Museum of Northern Arizona; the Robert S. Peabody Museum; Phillips Academy (Melinda Blustain); and the Pecos National Historical Park (Tim Burchett). To my cohort and friends, thank you for being there throughout this process. Kari Schleher was always only a phone call away for encouragement in times of disillusionment and answers to the millions of random questions. I also owe thanks to my boss and good friend, Sean Larmore, for always being there to discuss ideas and read my chapters, and for letting me have time off to complete this research. My sincerest thanks go out to my family without whom I would not be where I am today. My parents, Jimmy and Cheryl Helton, and my in-laws, Bob and Ann Croll, have supported me throughout this process. My parents’ unfailing belief in me has given me the confidence and ambition to complete this research. I owe thanks to my mom for helping with the mathematics side of things. The experimental testing would not have been possible without help from my father-in-law, the family engineer. His aid in designing the testing equipment was instrumental. I owe a large thanks to my husband, Dave Croll, for putting up with everything involved in this process. He has been with me almost from the beginning of this and he has provided invaluable support, advice, and friendship. I can never thank him enough. vi Finally, thanks to my daughter, Cadence, without whom I might never have had the motivation to finish. vii WHY CONICAL POTS? AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG CERAMIC VESSEL SHAPE, SUBSISTENCE, AND MOBILITY BY CLAIRE KATHLEEN HELTON-CROLL B.A., Social Science, Troy State University 1997 M.A., Anthropology, University of New Mexico 2000 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico May 2010 viii WHY CONICAL POTS? AN EXAMINATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG CERAMIC VESSEL SHAPE, SUBSISTENCE, AND MOBILITY BY C. KATHLEEN HELTON-CROLL B.A., Social Science, Troy State University 1997 M.A., Anthropology, University of New Mexico 2000 Ph.D., Anthropology, University of New Mexico 2010 ABSTRACT This study examines the functional relationship between ceramic cooking vessel shape and subsistence and mobility using vessels from Navajo and Towa-speaking Puebloan groups from the Protohistoric period (A.D. 1450-1700) in the southwestern United States. Conical shape vessels are found in association with mobile foragers throughout the past. Navajo peoples produced Dinetah and Navajo Gray wares, both of which have conical bases. Towa-speaking Puebloan peoples from the Jemez and Pecos areas produced rounded-base cooking vessels. The Navajo and Towa-speaking Puebloans practice different subsistence and mobility strategies. The primary goal of this research was to determine if variation in cooking vessel form was the result of this cultural variation. This research employed reviews of available ethnohistorical and archaeological data, analysis of archaeological specimens, and experimental testing of reproductions. Ethnohistorical and archaeological data provide evidence for variation in types of food resources exploited, food preparation techniques, and mobility strategies. The seasonally mobile early Navajo depended heavily on wild plant resources and supplemented their diet with agricultural resources. The Towa-speaking Puebloan groups ix were primarily reliant on agricultural resources and occupied large year-round settlements with seasonal dispersal of a portion of the population to attend to agricultural fields. Analysis of archaeological specimens, using both whole vessels and sherds, showed substantive variation between the cooking vessels of the two groups that can potentially relate to transportability, thermal stress resistance, and thermal efficiency. Experimental testing of reproductions based on archaeological whole vessels also provided evidence for differences in strength, thermal stress resistance, and thermal efficiency. Results suggest that variation in cooking vessel form is more strongly related to variation in diet and cooking strategies than to mobility. Additional research is needed to further elucidate the cultural relationships examined here. x Table of Contents Figures............................................................................................................................... xii Tables............................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1: Introduction................................................................................1 Research Problem ........................................................................................................... 2 Mobility, Subsistence, and Conical Pots ........................................................................ 4 Preliminary Research.................................................................................................. 8 Organization of Dissertation........................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2: The Research Design................................................................11 Model Hypotheses and Expectations............................................................................ 12 Mobility..................................................................................................................... 13 Expectations.......................................................................................................... 15 Diet and Cooking Strategy........................................................................................ 18 Expectations.......................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3: Environmental and Cultural Overview .................................23 Athapaskan Migrations into Southwestern United States............................................. 25 Apachean Migration Routes ......................................................................................... 26 Navajo..........................................................................................................................