UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 8-1-2014 Ground Stone Technology and Household Activities at the Harris Site, Southwestern New Mexico Lauren W. Falvey University of Nevada, Las Vegas Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Archaeological Anthropology Commons Repository Citation Falvey, Lauren W., "Ground Stone Technology and Household Activities at the Harris Site, Southwestern New Mexico" (2014). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2178. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/6456408 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. GROUND STONE TECHNOLOGY AND HOUSEHOLD ACTIVITIES AT THE HARRIS SITE, SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO By Lauren W. Falvey Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2008 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts – Anthropology Department of Anthropology College of Liberal Arts The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2014 ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Copyright by Lauren W. Falvey, 2014 All Rights Reserved ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ THE GRADUATE COLLEGE We recommend the thesis prepared under our supervision by Lauren Falvey entitled Ground Stone Technology and Household Activities at the Harris Site, Southwestern New Mexico is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts - Anthropology Department of Anthropology Barbara Roth, Ph.D., Committee Chair Karen Harry, Ph.D., Committee Member Levent Atici, Ph.D., Committee Member Stephen Rowland, Ph.D., Graduate College Representative Jenny Adams, Ph.D., Additional Committee Member Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D., Interim Dean of the Graduate College August 2014 ii ABSTRACT This thesis examines household activities through an analysis of ground stone technology from the Harris Site (LA 1867), a Late Pithouse period (550-1000 CE) Mimbres Mogollon archaeological site. Ground stone technology is a category that includes a wide range of stone tool types used in a variety of processing and manufacturing tasks, as well as stone items that held intrinsic or ritual significance. Previous studies of ground stone technology in the Mimbres Valley have often focused on addressing questions related to subsistence practices. The object of this research is to move beyond a typological documentation of subsistence technology and examine how ground stone tools were manufactured, maintained, and used in various household tasks. In conjunction with contextual data, information gathered from these tools is used to determine what daily activities occurred at the site and discuss how these activities were organized within each household. In addition, this thesis explores how labor investment and the production of goods were organized at the household level and how this may reflect relations between households at the site. By examining how the inhabitants of the Harris Site organized their daily activities, a clearer picture emerges of how people interacted and negotiated social relationships during the Late Pithouse period. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank Dr. Barbara Roth for her guidance and patience. I feel privileged to have been involved in her research at the Harris Site. I would also like to thank all of the people who once called this little spot along the Mimbres River their home. Without them and the things they left behind, none of this research would have been possible. I would like to express my deep appreciation for Dr. Jenny Adams, who trained and mentored me in ground stone analysis and helped with particularly tricky artifacts. I also want to thank Dr. Karen Harry, Dr. Levent Atici, and Dr. Steve Rowland for their comments and support throughout this process. I am greatly indebted to Dr. Colleen Beck and the Desert Research Institute for funding me throughout my graduate program and for giving me the opportunity to gain invaluable work experience in archaeology. I also wish to thank the UNLV Graduate and Professional Student Association who helped me to fund and present portions of this research. I want to thank Danielle Romero, Ashley Lauzon, and the field school students at Harris for their help with processing the artifacts discussed in this thesis. Also, thanks to Dr. Brett McLaurin, Dr. Alyson Thibodeau, and Carlos Lavayén for their assistance with geologic sourcing and identifications. Many thanks to Tatianna Menocal, Alison Swallow, Anna Osterholtz, Justin DeMaio, and Jeff Parkin for their help with editing and for helping me retain my sanity these past few years. I especially want to thank my parents, Katherine and Ed, for their love, support, and good humor. Also, my father Patrick, the memory of whom inspires and motivates me each and every day. And lastly, I would very much like to thank my first anthropology professor, Dr. James Berry, for sparking my interest in anthropology in the first place. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND ......................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 4: METHODS ................................................................................................ 23 CHAPTER 5: RESULTS .................................................................................................. 40 CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................... 127 APPENDIX A: ATTRIBUTES ...................................................................................... 155 APPENDIX B: DATA TABLE ...................................................................................... 156 REFERENCES CITED ................................................................................................... 186 CURRICULUM VITAE ................................................................................................. 197 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Mimbres chronology. ......................................................................................... 9 Table 3.1. Pithouse clusters at the Harris Site. ................................................................. 22 Table 4.1. Pithouses included in sample. .......................................................................... 23 Table 4.2. Rock and mineral types recovered from the Harris Site. ................................. 35 Table 5.1. Artifact types from household contexts at the Harris Site. .............................. 41 Table 5.2. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 37. ................................................ 43 Table 5.3. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 38. ................................................ 47 Table 5.4. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 35. ................................................ 57 Table 5.5. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 36. ................................................ 60 Table 5.6. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 39. ................................................ 63 Table 5.7. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 40. ................................................ 67 Table 5.8. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 43. ................................................ 71 Table 5.9. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 48. ................................................ 77 Table 5.10. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 45. .............................................. 80 Table 5.11. Ground stone artifact types from extramural units outside Pithouses 45/48. 84 Table 5.12. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 49. .............................................. 87 Table 5.13. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 54. .............................................. 90 Table 5.14. Ground stone artifact types from Pithouse 41. .............................................. 97 Table 5.15. Ground stone artifact