MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES ARCHAEOLOGICAL TESTING REPORT AND DATA RECOVERY PLAN FOR TWO HISTORIC SPANISH SITES ALONG U.S. 84/285 BETWEEN SANTA FE AND POJOAQUE, SANTA FE COUNTY, NEW MEXICO James L. Moore with contributions from Jeffrey L. Boyer C. Dean Wilson Nancy Akins Mollie S. Toll Pam McBride Submitted by Timothy D. Maxwell ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES 268 SANTA FE 2000 NEW MEXICO ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY Between September 20 and October 18, 1999, the Office of Archaeological Studies conducted testing at two historic sites, LA 160 and LA 4968, near Pojoaque, New Mexico. Five prehistoric sites were also tested, but they are discussed in a separate document. This project was conducted at the request of the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department in preparation for the reconstruction of U.S. 84/285 between Pojoaque and Tesuque, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. LA 160 is on Pueblo of Pojoaque land. LA 4968 has multiple owners, including private, Pueblo of Pojoaque, and state of New Mexico. Testing was conducted to assess the extent of remains at LA 160 and LA 4968 and determine whether they can provide important information on local history. Both sites appear to have been occupied during the Santa Fe Trail period (1821 to 1880), though there may also be a Late Spanish Colonial period component at LA 4968. Cultural sheet trash deposits and a possible trash pit were found at LA 160, and LA 4968 contains at least seven structures, a well, one or more trash pits, and sheet trash deposits. Both sites have the potential to yield information relevant to local history, and further work is recommended. MNM Project No. 41.678 (Pojoaque) NMSHTD Project No. AC-NH-HPP-084-6(55)16, CN 2606 NMCRIS Activity No. 65471 iii CONTENTS PROLOGUE ................................................................. x INTRODUCTION ............................................................. 1 CULTURAL HISTORY OVERVIEW ............................................. 3 Exploration Period (1539 to 1598) ............................................. 4 Early Spanish Colonial Period (1598 to 1680) .................................... 4 Pueblo Revolt Period (1680 to 1693) ........................................... 6 Late Spanish Colonial Period (1693 to 1821) ..................................... 6 Santa Fe Trail Period (1821 to 1880) .......................................... 10 Railroad Period (1880 to Present) ............................................. 12 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT, by James L. Moore.................................. 15 Physiography and Geology.................................................. 15 Climate ................................................................. 15 Soils.................................................................... 17 Flora and Fauna........................................................... 17 TESTING FIELD METHODS .................................................. 19 Preparation for Testing ..................................................... 19 Testing Procedures ........................................................ 19 TEST EXCAVATIONS AT LA 160, by James L. Moore ............................. 23 Previous Studies of LA 160.................................................. 23 Questions concerning the Nature of Archaeological Remains at LA 160............... 26 Testing Procedures ........................................................ 27 Auger Holes.............................................................. 28 Test Pits................................................................. 32 Mechanically Excavated Trenches ............................................ 33 Summary of Site Stratigraphy................................................ 38 Artifacts Recovered during Testing at LA 160................................... 38 Summary of Testing Results................................................. 39 TEST EXCAVATIONS AT LA 4968, by Jeffrey L. Boyer and James L. Moore ........... 43 The Site Record of LA 4968 ................................................. 43 Description of LA 4968 ..................................................... 46 Identification of LA 4968 ................................................... 48 Questions concerning Archaeological Remains at LA 4968 ......................... 50 Questions concerning Documentary and Ethnohistoric Records of LA 4968 ............ 50 Testing Procedures ........................................................ 51 Testing Results ........................................................... 51 Summary of Testing Results................................................. 65 DATING THE SITES ......................................................... 67 Euroamerican Artifacts..................................................... 67 Native Ceramic Assemblage ................................................. 72 Summary of Site-Wide Temporal Trends....................................... 73 Dating Structures and Features at LA 4968 ...................................... 73 Summary................................................................ 76 v RESEARCH ORIENTATION ................................................... 77 Adaptations to the New Mexico Frontier ....................................... 77 The Frontier as Place and Process ............................................. 77 The Frontier as a Dynamic Process ............................................ 79 Socioeconomic and Cultural Change on Frontiers ................................ 80 A Model of Frontier Acculturation............................................ 82 Research Questions ........................................................ 84 Data Required to Test the Model.............................................. 87 DATA RECOVERY FIELD METHODS .......................................... 89 General Excavation Procedures............................................... 89 Specific Excavation Methods ................................................ 92 Collection of Botanical Samples, by Mollie Toll, Pam McBride, and James L. Moore .... 94 Special Situations ......................................................... 95 ANALYSIS METHODS AND ARTIFACT-SPECIFIC INQUIRIES, by James L. Moore, Nancy Akins, C. Dean Wilson, Mollie Toll, and Pam McBride ...................... 97 Chipped Stone Artifacts .................................................... 97 Ground Stone Artifacts ..................................................... 98 Ceramic Artifact Analysis.................................................. 100 Faunal Remains.......................................................... 110 Euroamerican Artifacts.................................................... 116 Botanical Remains........................................................ 118 Chronometric Samples .................................................... 119 Analysis of Architectural Materials........................................... 123 Human Remains ......................................................... 124 Research Results ......................................................... 124 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................... 127 REFERENCES CITED ....................................................... 129 APPENDIX 1: SITE LOCATION INFORMATION ................................ 143 APPENDIX 2: POLICY ON COLLECTION, DISPLAY, AND REPATRIATION OF CULTURALLY SENSITIVE MATERIALS................................ 145 Figures 1. Project location map.......................................................... 2 2. Sketch plan of LA 160....................................................... 24 3. Location of auger transects at LA 160 ........................................... 30 4. Map of LA 160 showing locations of mechanically excavated trenches ................. 34 5. Plan of LA 4968, showing locations of excavation units ............................. 47 6. Plan of LA 4968, showing locations of cultural deposits defined by testing .............. 53 7. Site location map (removed from copies for public distribution) ..................... 144 vi Tables 1. Auger holes at LA 160....................................................... 28 2. Mechanically excavated trenches at LA 160...................................... 35 3. Artifacts recovered during testing at LA 160...................................... 39 4. Auger holes along the 500E grid line at LA 4968 .................................. 54 5. Auger holes along the 520E grid line at LA 4968 .................................. 54 6. Auger holes along the 472E grid line at LA 4968 .................................. 55 7. Auger holes along the 500N grid line at LA 4968 .................................. 56 8. Auger holes along the 520N grid line at LA 4968 .................................. 57 9. Auger holes along the 530N grid line at LA 4968 .................................. 58 10. Auger holes on the east side of the highway at LA 4968 ............................ 59 11. Dateable Euroamerican pottery types and their distributions at LA 4968 ............... 67 12. Approximate date ranges for Euroamerican pottery types from LA 4968 between 1750 and 1900 ............................................................ 69 13. Approximate thicknesses (in inches) of window glass ............................. 69 14. Window glass thicknesses (in inches) by date range ............................... 70 15. Chronological analysis of window glass from LA 4968 ............................ 71 16. Comparisons of ceramic type proportions by time period and component at LA 160