Exploring Migration and Social Identity in the Albuquerque Area During the Late Developmental to Coalition Period Transition Dorothy L
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University of New Mexico UNM Digital Repository Anthropology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations 7-1-2013 Albuquerque the Frontier? Exploring Migration and Social Identity in the Albuquerque Area During the Late Developmental to Coalition Period Transition Dorothy L. Larson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds Part of the Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Larson, Dorothy L.. "Albuquerque the Frontier? Exploring Migration and Social Identity in the Albuquerque Area During the Late Developmental to Coalition Period Transition." (2013). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds/40 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]. Dorothy L. Larson Candidate Anthropology Department This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication: Approved by the Dissertation Committee: Dr. Patricia L. Crown, Chairperson Dr. James L. Boone Dr. Richard Chapman Dr. Joyce. M. Szabo i ALBUQUERQUE THE FRONTIER? EXPLORING MIGRATION AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA DURING THE LATE DEVELOPMENTAL TO COALITION PERIOD TRANSITION BY DOROTHY L. LARSON B.A. Anthropology, University of Denver, 1986 M.A., Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 2001 DISSERTATION Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Anthropology The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico July, 2013 ii DEDICATION to my daughters, Erin and Sarah, and my mother, Genevieve iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank Dr. Patricia Crown for her unwavering guidance and support for all of these years; she is truly an inspiration both professionally and personally. I want to also express appreciation for my committee members, Dr. James Boone, Dr. Richard Chapman, and Dr. Joyce Szabo for their insightful, yet succinct and exacting comments, as well as their expeditious review that allowed me to meet my deadline. Dr. Keith Prufer lent his portable x-ray fluorescence machine (PXRF), along with the expertise of his student, Shannon Lucernoni. Shannon ran the PXRF samples to evaluate the chemical composition of some of the paints. I would like to acknowledge all of my fellow Maxwell Museum staff for their support and for allowing me the necessary flexibility to complete my research; more specifically I would like to thank Dr. Bruce Huckell for encouraging me to continue my archaeological research, Dr. Dave Phillips for providing both access and storage space for the collections, Dr. Heather Edgar for advice on the use of x-ray technology to examine structural differences in the vessel walls, and Catherine Baudoin for providing photographs of whole vessels and pottery making in action. Julia Clifton and Tony Thibodeau from the Museum of New Mexico (MNM) provided access to and loans of the collections from the MNM. Dr. Jeffery Ferguson and Dr. Michael Glascock oversaw the Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis at the Archaeometry Laboratory at the University of Missouri Research Reactor; Dr. Ferguson also conducted analysis of the data. Dr. Peter McKenna generously provided me with his data on the ceramics from the site of Two Dead Junipers. iv The members of the “sherd herd” at the University of New Mexico supplied excellent feedback in preparing for my defense and gave me a lot to think about (along with a lot of laughter) in our ceramic theory seminar. My friend and fellow caffeine addict, Erika Gerety, guided me through the bureaucratic forest so that I could meet the university’s requirements for graduation. I could not have completed this dissertation without the professional feedback and personal support of Dr. Kari Schleher. Funding was provided by the National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Program, the Hibben Trust, and various programs at the University of New Mexico including the University of Graduate Resource Development Fund, Student Research Allocations Committee, Anthropology Department Travel Fund, Student Conference Award Program, Research Project and Travel Grants, and the Broilo- Basehart Memorial Endowment Fund. I also received an SRI Foundation Doctoral Research Grant. I would particularly like to thank Dr. Carla Van West of SRI for her moral support during this process. Finally, last but not least, I want to thank my daughters, Erin and Sarah, for their patience, love, and support. v ALBUQUERQUE THE FRONTIER?: EXPLORING MIGRATION AND SOCIAL IDENTITY IN THE ALBUQUERQUE AREA DURING THE LATE DEVELOPMENTAL TO COALITION PERIOD TRANSITION BY DOROTHY L. LARSON B.A. Anthropology, University of Denver, 1986 M.A. Anthropology, University of New Mexico, 2001 Ph.D., Anthropology, University of New Mexico 2013 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the issue of how migration and identity can be illuminated through the study of material culture. Specifically, this research focuses on the late Developmental to Coalition period transition (~AD 1050-1300) in the Albuquerque area and examines variation in ceramic technological and decorative style. This area was chosen because it is frequently portrayed as a “frontier” or boundary between the Socorro District to the south and the Santa Fe District to the north. This perception is largely driven by changes in ceramic technology during this time period, which included a shift from a mineral-paint technology to carbon paint. The research tests four models of social change: (1)technofunctional model: a new technology was adopted by existing groups primarily for functional reasons; (2)social alliance model: social identities or alliances shifted from the south to the north ; (3)large-scale migration model: local people were displaced by northern migrants; and vi (4)small-scale migration model: small groups of northern migrants co-existed with local groups. Each model has different implications for change in ceramic technological and decorative style. Low-visibility attributes of pottery can be used to identify migration of people. While migrant potters may easily copy highly visible attributes of local pottery, typically, the way that potters manufacture a pot—their “learned” tradition— is resistant to change. Therefore, migrant pottery can be distinguished from local traditions through intensive research. Attributes reflective of the entire production process, and including chemical and mineralogical data to determine location of production, were collected and analyzed in order to evaluate these models. Results of analysis show differences between mineral-painted and carbon-painted vessels for all stages of pottery production— this variation encompasses decorative and technological traits as well as attributes reflective of the initial learning context. In addition, although there are temporal changes in these characteristics, the changes cross- cut temporal categories—i.e., they differ even when time is controlled. Therefore, I argue that the results constitute clear evidence for production of mineral-painted and carbon-painted ceramics by different potters with different learned practices. Because there is no evidence for population replacement, the results are consistent with implications for model #4, small-scale migration. In addition, chemical compositional analysis show strong ties between the Albuquerque area and the Rio Puerco region to the west during both the late Developmental and Coalition periods. The data suggest that migrants (either individuals or small groups) arrived from the Rio Puerco region rather than from the Santa Fe area to the north. vii Data are inconclusive as to whether or not Albuquerque constitutes a frontier (defined by the movement of new groups into unoccupied areas) or a cultural boundary area. Based on available data, I argue that Albuquerque had a lengthy in situ occupation that was continuous, although populations were quite mobile. Frequent small-scale migration was also probably likely for all time periods, particularly from the Rio Puerco area. However, I agree with an argument made by Franklin and Murrell (2010) that the ancient inhabitants of Albuquerque should not be characterized as simply passive consumers of the products and cultural traditions of surrounding regions. Nevertheless, being situated along a boundary, or a “cultural” frontier, it is likely that ceramic production was characterized by more open social learning networks, which may be why Albuquerque District ceramics do not fit well into established typologies. These data are also consistent with theoretical expectations for boundaries, where identities are more frequently renegotiated. This social flexibility may have been part of a long-term adaptive framework for Albuquerque populations. This research is broadly significant because it builds on existing models of the relationship between material culture and identity to more fully consider the visibility of an attribute in the context(s) of its production. Previous studies have focused largely on attribute visibility in the consumption or use of a ceramic vessel, while visibility of production processes has largely been overlooked. Ethno-archaeological work supports the idea that production processes that are more public are more likely to change as a result of changing interaction spheres or social identity; production contexts would have provided important opportunities