Museum of New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies
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MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES THE 0JO CALIENTE PROJECT: ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEST EXCAVATIONS AND A DATA RECOVERY PLAN FOR CULTURAL RESOURCES ALONG U.S. 285, RIO ARRIBA COUNTY,NEW MEXICO John A. Ware Macy Mensel with contributions by Nancy Akins Deborah Johnson John Johnson Mollie S. Toll Carl White Submitted by Timothy D. Maxwell Principal Investigator ARCWOLOGY NOTJ3S 99 SANTA FE 1992 NEW MEXICO " . ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY In November 1991, and February and March 1992, the Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, conducted archaeological test excavations at eight sites along U.S. 285, several miles north of its junction with U.S. 84, in southern Rlo Arriba County, New Mexico. The project was conducted at the request of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department, which plans to realign and reconstruct portions of U.S. 285 in the lower Ojo Caliente Valley. All the sites tested during this project are on privately owned land located adjacent to the present U.S. 285 right-of-way, and test excavations were conducted with the permission of the landowners. Sites investigated on this project include a single lithic artifact scatter (LA 831 lo), six lithic and ceramic artifact scatters (LA 83 107, LA 83 109, LA 831 11, LA 831 14, LA 831 18, and LA 83151), and two agricultural field complexes (LA 831 16 and LA 831 17). Dates of occupation and use range from Early to Middle Archaic through Late Archaic-Basketmaker I1 (ca. 4800 B.C.-A.D. 400), and from the Coalition and Classic periods through the early historic period (ca. A.D. 1250- 1750). Test excavations showed that important cultural information is contained within buried deposits at six sites in the study area (LA 83109, LA 831 10, LA 831 16, LA 831 17, LA 831 18, and LA 83151). Two sites (LA 831 11 and LA 831 14) were tested and found to consist primarily of redeposited surface material. These sites are not likely to yield important information and are not recommended for additional data recovery. Another site (LA 83107) is outside the construction zone and will not be affected by the present project. Project 41 302 NMSHTDMNM Project F-056-1[ 11 Submitted in fulfillment of Joint Powers Agreement DO4322 between the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department and the Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank, first of all, local residents in the Ojo Caliente Valley, and more specifically, landowners along the project route, who were extremely cooperative and provided valuable insights into contemporary subsistence practices and the location of sites of interest, including outlaw hangouts, in the area. Special thanks go to members of the Zegerelli family who kept a midnight watch over our test pits in progress. The authors would like to thank our field and laboratory crew for their untiring efforts and good humor despite inclement weather and frozen soil. Many thanks to John Johnson, Deborah Johnson (no relation), and Jennifer Yellen. The environmental section of this report was researched and written by John Johnson. Lithic artifact analysis was completed byDeborah Johnson, under the direction of James Moore, whose guidance in selecting analytic methods and relevant literature is much appreciated. The ceramic artifact analysis was completed andwritten up by Macy Mensel, who would like to acknowledge the generous assistance of Curt Schaafsma, Dean Wilson, and Daisy Levine. Mollie Toll analyzed the macrobotanical remains and Nancy Akins wasresponsible for the analysis and write up of the faunal material. Their expertise is greatly appreciated. The onerous job of data entry and editing was done by Deborah Johnson and John Johnson, who also washed, labeled, and inventoried the artifacts before analysis. Finally, the authors would like to thank Carl White, Glenna Dean, Sandra Turner, Jim Moore, Tim Maxwell, and Fairly Barnes for their contributions to a number of provocative discussions on the nature of prehistoric agriculture and agricultural landscapes in the Northern Rio Grande. We would like to thank Tim Maxwell for his review and helpful comments on this manuscript. The firstfew edits of the report were undertaken by Macy Menseland John Ware before they voluntarily passed the duty on to Robin Gould, who is much better at it. Illustrations were drawn by Ann Noble; artifact photographs were made by Nancy Warren. The final report was produced and published by the Production Department, Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, iii CONTENTS Administrative Summary ............................................ ii Acknowledgements ............................................... iii Introduction .................................................... 1 Project Environment ............................................... 3 Physiography and Geology ...................................... 3 Soils .................................................... 5 Climate .................................................. 5 Flora and Fauna ............................................. 5 Archaeological Overview ............................................ 7 History of Research ........................................... 7 Overview of Cultural History ......................................... 11 Early Hunters and Gatherers (10. OOO B . C . to A.D. 600) .................. 11 Early Farmers (A.D. 600 to 1300) ................................ 12 Classic Period Farmers (A.D. 1300 to 1600) .......................... 13 Historic Period ............................................. 15 Testing Objectives and Methods ....................................... 19 FieldMethods ............................................. 19 Laboratory Methods ......................................... 20 Lithic Artifact Analysis ....................................... 21 Ceramic Analysis ........................................... 22 TheSites ..................................................... 25 LA83107 ................................................ 25 LA83109 ................................................ 29 LA83110 ................................................ 33 LA83111 ................................................ 37 LA83114 ................................................ 47 LA83117 ................................................ 52 LA83118 ................................................ 57 LA83151 ................................................ 68 Summary of Testing Results and Recommendations ........................... 75 LA83107 ................................................ 77 LA83109 ................................................ 77 LA83110 ................................................ 77 LA 83111 and LA 83114 ...................................... 78 LA 83116 and LA 83117 ...................................... 78 LA83118 ................................................ 78 iv LA83151 ................................................ 79 Research Orientation .............................................. 81 Archaic Occupations ......................................... 81 Late Prehistoric Occupations .................................... 87 Historic Occupations ......................................... 98 Field and Analytic Methods ......................................... 101 Excavation .............................................. 101 Analysis ................................................ 105 Research Results .......................................... 107 References ................................................... 109 Appendix 1. Macrobotanical Remains from LA 831 18 by Mollie Toll .............. 123 Appendix 2 . Test Excavations in Borrow Pit A ............................. 125 Appendix 3. Policy on Collection. Display and Repatriation of Culturally Sensitive Materials 129 Appendix 4. Legal Descriptions and Site Locations .......................... 137 Figures 1. Project vicinity map ............................................. 4 2 . Major prehistoric sites in the Lower Rio Chama ............................ 8 3 . LA 83107. Cluster A on eroded slope in foreground ........................ 25 4 . Site map of LA 83107 ........................................... 26 5 . LA 83109. with primary lithic scatter in foreground ........................ 29 6 . Sitemap of LA 83109 ........................................... 30 7 . LA 83 110. main artifact cluster on eroded slope in foreground .................. 34 8 . Site map of LA 83110 ........................................... 35 9 . LA 831 11. wash bisects primary surface clusters .......................... 38 10. Sitemap of LA 83111 .......................................... 39 11. Test trench profiles; (a) LA 83 11 1.(b) LA 83 118. (c) LA 831 14 ................ 43 12 . Diagnostic projectile points ....................................... 46 13 . LA 831 14. main artifact cluster in foreground ............................ 47 14 . Sitemap of LA 83114 .......................................... 48 15 . LA 83 117. north edge of large gravel-mulched agricultural field ................ 53 16 . Site map of LA 83117 .......................................... 54 17 . LA 831 17. rectangular rock alignment inborrow pit depression ................. 55 18 . LA 83 118. primary site scatter in the foreground ......................... 57 19 . Sitemap ofLA 83118 .......................................... 58 20. LA 83 151. primary site scatter in the foreground ......................... 69 21. Site map of LA 83151 .........................................