UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE ASPECTS OF LAND TENURE IN AN ANCIENT SOUTHWESTERN FARMING SOCIETY IN THE MEMBRES VALLEY, NEW MEXICO A Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By ROBERT JAMES STOKES Norman, Oklahoma 2003 UMI Number: 3107284 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3107284 Copyright 2004 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Robert James Stokes 2003 All Rights Reserved ASPECTS OF LAND TENURE IN AN ANCIENT SOUTHWESTERN FARMING SOCIETY IN THE MIMBRES VALLEY, NEW MEXICO A Dissertation APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY BY Q. mjL Patricia A. Gilman, Chairperson obert L Brooks Lesley RankiifcHill ^ Robert Rundstrom ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The completion of this dissertation could have not happened without the support of numerous people over the many long years it took to reach this point. My committee members were instrumental in providing their time, insight, instruction, and critical evaluation of my research. Dr. Patricia Gilman served as my chairperson and was generous with her support, guidance, and encouragement, in addition to always being ready to engage in discussions regarding the Mimbres people, pottery, mobility and sedentism, and Southwestern archaeology in general. Whenever my progress flagged. Dr. Gilman was always ready to offer her encouragement, which has finally paid off. Dr. Paul Minnis was never shy about providing his informed opinion regarding a variety of topics, nor about stepping on toes when necessary. Dr. Minnis’ own dissertation work in the Mimbres Valley provided much of baseline data used in this dissertation, and for that all researchers who study the Mimbres and social responses to food stress are indebted. Dr. Robert Brooks served in many ways as my mentor and biggest supporter during my many years working for him at the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey. Through Dr. Brooks and the Survey I learned much about Plains Archaeology and aspects of cultural ecology, conflict, and patterns of interaction across much broader areas than I was accustomed to. Much of what I learned helped to reshape many of my views of Southwestern archaeology. Dr. Lesley Rankin-Hill graciously accepted the role of committee member during my final semester at OU, and I am grateful for her patience, instruction, support, and friendship over the years. Finally, Dr. Robert Rundstrom of the Geography Department served as an excellent outside committee member. Anthropology and Geography ought to be more closely entwined academic disciplines. IV At the University of Oklahoma, numerous non-committee members were also vital to the completion of my research and dissertation, either for their knowledge and insights of archaeology, or for their friendship and support. These include my friends and instructors at the Oklahoma Archaeological Survey, Dr. Maqorie Duncan, Dr. Richard Drass, Dr. Lee Bement, Dr. Valli Marti (Powell), Charles Wallis, Larry Neal, and Lisa Whitman. I learned much at the Survey that I am now using in my cultural resource management work in Phoenix. I am also indebted to Dr. Susan Vehik for her superb ability to stimulate critical thinking; much of what I learned from her regarding cultural ecology, optimization strategies, and decision-making went into my dissertation research. My “cohort” of fellow graduate students was always supportive of me and each other, and without them I may not have succeeded. They include Jennifer Nisengard, Kari Schmidt, Steve Swanson, Scott Brosowske, Kris Dobschuetz, Jen Gordon, Karin Rebneggar, and Beau Schriever, among many others. We managed to have fun amid the hectic life of a student, especially at the Anthro house on the comer of Chautauqua and Lindsey. Outside of the OU community, fellow Mimbres researchers generously gave of their time, knowledge, and friendship over the years, including Dr. Barbara Roth, Dr. Cynthia Bettison, Dr. Darrell Creel, Dr. Harry Shafer, Dr. Peggy Nelson, Dr. Michelle Hegmon, and Jennifer Brady, among many others. Dr. Barbara Roth was especially significant; her support of my work and her friendship never faltered from the time of my first Mimbres field school at the Lake Roberts Vista site in 1992 to the completion of this dissertation. 1 can’t thank her enough! Robert Schiowitz at the Gila National Forest was always generous of his time and friendship and was always an enthusiastic supporter of my research efforts on the Forest. Of the people I have worked with on various Mimbres projects over the years, and who helped me with my survey and excavation work there, I must single out Carol McCanless, Marilyn Markel, Harold and Shari Chandler, Dave and Joan Jordan, Jeff Shuford, and Kris Kunkle, all of whom provided good company and friendship. Carol has been an especially great friend over the past 15 years and was with me at my very first archaeological field school when I was still a geology major at the University of Pittsburgh. In many ways, she kept me going over the years, from my B.A. at Pitt and M.A. at Eastern New Mexico University, through my Ph.D. work; it couldn’t have been an easy task for her. I have worked with many others over the years, and they are too numerous to name individually, but I thank you all. My research on McDermott Ranch could not have happened without the permission and support of the owner, Tom McDermott, a most unique man. Likewise, my research on Cooney Ranch was graciously permitted by the Stewart family (especially Henry Stewart, Jr.). I think we were all united in our belief that the Mimbres are a fascinating prehistoric society and that southwestern New Mexico is one of the most beautiful places in the Southwest. My formative archaeology years were shaped by many professors and friends at the University of Pittsburgh and Eastern New Mexico University. From both, I learned to appreciate the value of a scientific approach to archaeology and the necessity of studying society, culture, and environment as an intertwined set of systems. I must especially thank Drs. James Adovasio, Richard Drennan, and Ron Carlisle from my years at Pitt as VI an undergraduate, and Drs. Phil Shelley, Steve Durand, and John Montgomery at Eastern New Mexico University for guiding me through my M.A. work. Lastly, I cannot thank enough several people at my current place of employment. Archaeological Consulting Services, Ltd., in Tempe, Arizona. Dr. Margerie Green, owner, has been always extremely supportive and generous, and provided me the opportunity to take a month off of work to “get over the hump” with my first dissertation draft. It is not hyperbole when I say that this dissertation would never have been completed without her support; I was literally dead in the water at the time. Also at ACS, Dr. Shirley Powell provided constant support and friendship, as did Teresa Pinter, my immediate supervisor for the State Route 88 project in the Tonto Basin. I learned much about the intricacies of contract work, report writing, budgets, and Section 106 compliance from Teresa, and her friendship is greatly valued by me. Many others at ACS have also been supportive, especially Melanie Ryan, Michael Droz, and Linda Schilling, who with myself formed a support group to encourage each other to finish our dissertations and theses while working full-time in the world of contract archaeology, not an easy task. Lastly, I wish to thank my family, who have been supportive of my academic career over the years. I think many of them finally understand what archaeology is all about, after dragging them from ruin after ruin over the years. vn TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF FIGURES xiv CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION I Outline of the Dissertation 8 II. THEORY AND MODEL BUILDING FOR UNDERSTANDING LAND TENURE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRICULTURALLY PERIPHERAL COMMUNITIES 14 Overview of Cultural Ecology 16 Studies of Evolutionary Selection, Adaptation, and Systems Theory 21 The Concept of Adaptation 22 The Scale of Adaptation 25 Optimization Strategies: Territoriality and Land Tenure 26 Theoretical Background 27 Models of Territoriality and Resource Ownership 29 The Tragedy of the Commons 31 The Evolutionary Ecological Approach 32 Social Change, Settlement Patterns, and Symbolic/de Facto Land Tenure 34 Broader-Scale Applications of these Models 37 Central Place Theory 38 Operationalizing Central Place Theory 39 Humans and Central Place Theory 41 Economics, Geography, and Central Place Theory 42 Catchment Analysis, Land Use Issues, and the Southwest 44 Ethnographic Case Examples of Land Tenure and Agriculturally Peripheral Land Colonization 48 The Nahua (Aztec) of Amatlan Village, Veracruz, Mexico 51 The Hopi and Tewa of the American Southwest 57 The Egyptian Fellahin 63 Discussion of Ethnographic Examples 67