FIRE, CLIMATE, AND SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS IN THE ANCIENT SOUTHWEST: ALLUVIAL GEOARCHAEOLOGY AND APPLIED HISTORICAL ECOLOGY by Christopher Izaak Roos _____________________ Copyright © Christopher Izaak Roos 2008 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2008 3319841 Copyright 2008 by Roos, Christopher Izaak All rights reserved 3319841 2008 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Christopher Izaak Roos entitled “Fire, Climate, and Social-Ecological Systems in the Ancient Southwest: Alluvial Geoarchaeology and Applied Historical Ecology” and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Vance T. Holliday _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Barbara J. Mills _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Michael Brian Schiffer _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Jeffrey S. Dean _______________________________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Thomas W. Swetnam Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Dissertation Director: Vance T. Holliday ________________________________________________ Date: 28 April 2008 Dissertation Director: Barbara J. Mills 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Christopher Izaak Roos 4 ACKNOWLDEGMENTS There are too many people to adequately thank in such a limited space. My grandparents, Jim, Betty, Gervaise, and Lillian; my mother, Darlene; her husband, Richard; my father, Mike; my mother-in-law, Kitti; and my brother, Jesse, never waivered in their confidence in me. I owe special thanks to my dad for his editorial expertise. At home, my two ladies, Kacy and Nina, did their best to keep me sane (or at least comfortably insane) during the dissertation process. My love and my partner, Kacy, has always been my biggest supporter. She encouraged me to explore the implications of my work beyond ecosystems and into the lives of people in the past and the present. Finally, I cannot thank you enough, Kacy, for your domestic fortitude while I wrote. This project would not have been possible without the financial and logistical support of a number of people and agencies. The Silver Creek Archaeological Research Project; Fred A. Reicker Research Fund; Emil W. Haury Scholarship Fund; University of Arizona (UA) AMS Research Facility; the UA Laboratory of Environmental Isotopes; the UA Palynology Laboratory; Statistical Research, Inc.; Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests; and the White Mountain Apache Tribe Heritage Program all provided sponsorship or financial support for portions of this research. The International Arid Lands Consortium (Grant #05R-09) provided major financial support for this project. A National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and an ACLS/Andrew Mellon Foundation Dissertation Completion Fellowship also supported me during the analysis and writing stages. Many of my peers, friends, and colleagues were extremely helpful in discussions, fieldwork, analysis, and interpretation. I owe special thanks to Bill Reitze, Nick Laluk, Susan Mentzer, James Mayer, Francesco Berna, Mitch Pavao-Zuckerman, Paul Goldberg, Rich Macphail, Ilit Cohen-Ofri, Steve Weiner, Owen Davis, Chris Eastoe, Greg Hodgins, Tim Jull, Jeff Homburg, Andrew Kowler, the Cube Room gang, Bill Longacre, Jeremy Haines, Carl Kantner, Heidi Stober, Tiina Manne, Jess Munson, Gary Huckleberry, Alan Sullivan, Daniela Triadan, and Scott Van Keuren. Without the assistance (and insistence) of John Welch, I would not have been able to pursue this research in the Forestdale Valley on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation. Mark Altaha, Doreen Gatewood, and Nick Laluk picked up where John left off after his move to Canada. I owe additional thanks to the White Mountain Apache Tribal Council, who officially supported the project with Resolution No. 05-2005-142. Finally, I could not have completed such a complex project without an expert committee. My co-chairs, Vance Holliday and Barbara Mills, ably guided me through the process, from proposal development to revisions. Mike Schiffer has been the only consistent member of every committee of my graduate career and has never failed to give me solid advice, edits, or criticisms. I benefited greatly from the experience of Jeff Dean who provided precise and thorough comments throughout the dissertation process. Tom Swetnam has demonstrated unmatched professionalism in his patience with an interloper and occasional heretic, such as myself, and guided me ably into the challenging realm of climate change research, humans and fire. To my entire committee, I hope that this dissertation reflects your guidance and support. Thank you all. 5 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the White Mountain Apache Tribe. A’shoog. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................................................. 8 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................ 9 ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................... 17 Humans, climate, and environmental change .......................................................... 17 The “old normal” ........................................................................................................ 21 The anthropogenic burning controversy .................................................................. 25 The present study........................................................................................................ 31 Outline of the dissertation.......................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER 2. APPLIED HISTORICAL ECOLOGY, RESILIENCE, AND NICHE CONSTRUCTION............................................................................................................ 36 Historical ecology in humanist traditions................................................................. 36 Applied historical ecology in natural science traditions.......................................... 38 Resilience theory ......................................................................................................... 40 Niche construction and ecosystem engineering........................................................ 47 Discussion .................................................................................................................... 49 CHAPTER 3. STUDY AREA AND BACKGROUND .................................................. 53 The Eastern Mogollon Rim region ............................................................................ 53 Late Quaternary climate change, ponderosa pine forests, and fire ....................... 62 Archaeology of the Eastern Mogollon Rim region................................................... 66 Paleoindian and Archaic Periods (ca. 11,000 BC-AD 100)................................. 69 Early Pithouse Period (AD 100-600) ................................................................... 71 Late Pithouse Period (AD 600-1000) ................................................................... 73 Early Pueblo Period (AD 1000-1200) .................................................................. 74 Late Pueblo III Period (AD 1200-1275/1290)...................................................... 75 Early Pueblo IV Period (AD 1275/1290-1330) .................................................... 77 Late Pueblo IV Period (AD 1330-1390/1400)...................................................... 78 Tierra Despoblada (AD 1400-1550/1600)............................................................ 80 Protohistoric Athapaskan Occupation (AD 1550/1600-present) ......................... 81 Landscape fire in Western Pueblo societies ......................................................... 83 Landscape fire in Western Apache societies......................................................... 87 Summary...................................................................................................................... 89 CHAPTER 4. FOUNDATIONS