THE SENESCENT MIMBRES POPULATION: AN APPLICATION OF THE TRANSITION ANALYSIS TO THE NAN RANCH RUIN SKELETAL SAMPLE A Thesis by ALINE A. LOVINGS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS December 2011 Major Subject: Anthropology The Senescent Mimbres Population: An Application of the Transition Analysis to the NAN Ranch Ruin Skeletal Sample Copyright 2011 Aline A. Lovings THE SENESCENT MIMBRES POPULATION: AN APPLICATION OF THE TRANSITION ANALYSIS TO THE NAN RANCH RUIN SKELETAL SAMPLE A Thesis by ALINE A. LOVINGS Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Approved by: Chair of Committee, Lori Wright Committee Members, Suzanne Eckert Rogelio Saenz Head of Department, Cynthia Werner December 2011 Major Subject: Anthropology iii ABSTRACT The Senescent Mimbres Population: An Application of the Transition Analysis to the NAN Ranch Ruin Skeletal Sample. (December 2011) Aline A. Lovings, B.A., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Lori E. Wright This study uses Transition Analysis on the Mimbres skeletal remains of the NAN Ranch Ruin to provide a more complete picture of its demography. Previous attempts to reconstruct the demographic structure of prehistoric populations have been hindered by aging methods that provide biased age distribution. Early methods had a tendency to produce age distribution similar to that of the reference sample that was used to create them. In addition, they often overlooked sexual dimorphism and left out the senescent portion of the population which in turns produced inaccurate population structures. Transition Analysis is a multifactorial approach to estimate the age-at-death of adult skeletons that focuses on the cranium, the pubic symphysis and the auricular surface of the ilium. The method relies heavily on the Bayesian probability that a given trait or a given combination of traits is displayed at a given age; it recognizes sexual dimorphism, performs well on fragmentary skeletons and allows for the age estimation of older individuals. The NAN Ranch Ruin sample consists of over 240 individuals, including 185 from the Classic Period. A previous study focused on the 81 individuals from the Classic iv period that were collected during the first five years of excavations. Following age estimation of adult skeleton I constructed composite abridged life tables. For the Classic Period, I found a high infant mortality rate (47%) and low life expectancy at birth (21.14 years) as expected. However, this analysis produced different mortality patterns than older demographic studies, where mid adult mortality increases only slightly, decreases in late adulthood (40-55 years old) and increases again in senescence (55-80 years old), instead of increasing steadily in adulthood to culminate at age 50. This difference is a consequence of the aging methods that have been used to analyze other southwestern prehistoric samples. Finally, while I was not able to confirm different mortality patterns between males and females, I found that people from the east roomblock enjoyed greater longevity than those from the south roomblock, though the difference is not statistically significant. v DEDICATION To my parents Jean-Marie and Geneviève Villeminey for their eternal love and unconditional support. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my committee chair, Dr. Lori Wright for her guidance and support throughout my undergraduate years and through the course of this research. I am also very grateful for my committee members, Dr. Suzanne Eckert and, Dr. Rogelio Saenz, for their feedback and valuable advice. I also want to extend my gratitude to Dr. David Carlson for his availability and Willa Trask for introducing me to hazard models. Thanks also go to my friends and colleagues and the department faculty and staff for making my time at Texas A&M University a great experience. Especially, Lauren Butaric, Juliet Brophy, Larkin Kennedy, Shannon Bowman, Christine Jones, Nanda Grow, Rachael Bible, Charlotte Pevny and Ashley Smallwood, you have all inspired me and supported me one way or another in class, in the field and in life in general. Last but not least, thanks to my mother and father for their encouragement and to my husband for his patience. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION .......................................................................................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xii CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 Research Goals ............................................................................... 1 Organization of the Thesis ............................................................. 3 II MIMBRES ARCHAEOLOGY ............................................................ 5 History of Mimbres Archaeological Studies .................................. 7 Chronology ..................................................................................... 8 Subsistence ..................................................................................... 12 Settlement Patterns and Architecture ............................................. 16 Mimbres Crafts and Material Culture ............................................ 22 Mortuary Practices ......................................................................... 33 Social Organization ........................................................................ 37 Mimbres Connectivity and Movement ........................................... 52 Mimbres and Southwest Paleodemography ................................... 61 III PALEODEMOGRAPHY ..................................................................... 69 Definition ....................................................................................... 69 Assumptions in Paleodemography ................................................. 70 Challenges in Paleodemography .................................................... 74 Recent Advances in Paleodemography ………………………….. 95 Conclusion ……………………………………………………….. 102 viii CHAPTER Page IV THE SAMPLE ..................................................................................... 103 NAN Ranch Ruin ........................................................................... 103 The Skeletal Sample ....................................................................... 111 NAN Paleodemography ................................................................. 117 V TRANSITION ANALYSIS AND AGE ESTIMATES ……………... 124 Methods .......................................................................................... 124 Skeletal Observations and Scoring ................................................. 124 Results ............................................................................................ 126 Exclusions ...................................................................................... 129 VI NAN RANCH DEMOGRAPHY ......................................................... 136 Expectations ................................................................................... 136 Building Life Tables ....................................................................... 137 NAN Life Tables ............................................................................ 145 Summary ........................................................................................ 157 VII DISCUSSION ...................................................................................... 159 NAN Ranch Demography .............................................................. 159 Intrasite Comparison ...................................................................... 164 VIII SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ..................................................... 175 LITERATURE CITED ............................................................................................. 180 APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................... 210 APPENDIX B ........................................................................................................... 214 APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................... 225 APPENDIX D ........................................................................................................... 226 APPENDIX E ............................................................................................................ 229 ix Page VITA ......................................................................................................................... 233 x LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1 Location of the Mimbres region within the major North American Southwest cultural traditions ...................................................................... 6 2 Major Mimbres sites