Solid Earth, 2, 75–93, 2011 www.solid-earth.net/2/75/2011/ Solid Earth doi:10.5194/se-2-75-2011 © Author(s) 2011. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Native American lithic procurement along the international border in the boot heel region of southwestern New Mexico K. E. Zeigler1, P. Hogan2, C. Hughes2, and A. Kurota2 1Zeigler Geologic Consulting, 14500 Oakwood Place NE, Albuquerque, NM, USA 2Office of Contract Archeology, MSC 07 4230, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA Received: 5 November 2010 – Published in Solid Earth Discuss.: 1 December 2010 Revised: 15 April 2011 – Accepted: 3 May 2011 – Published: 14 June 2011 Abstract. Multidisciplinary field projects can be very useful Additionally, a dramatic change in distribution of sources for to a more fundamental understanding of the world around geologic materials occurs between one pre-Spanish site and us, though these projects are not as common as they should one post-Spanish site that are adjacent to one another. be. In particular, the combination of archeology and geology combines our understanding of human behavior and human use of the landscape with an intimate knowledge of geologic processes and the materials available for human use in order 1 Introduction to gain a broader understanding of human-Earth interaction. Here we present data from a cross-disciplinary project that Lithic procurement strategy in the Boot Heel region of south- uses a common dataset, archeological artifacts, to explore western New Mexico has largely gone untreated in the ar- the anthropological and geologic implications of useage pat- chaeological literature. This is primarily because there has terns. Archeological excavations and surveys conducted by been relatively little archaeology done in this area in recent the Office of Contract Archeology in 2007 along the route years, but is also due to a lack of documentation of the lithic of the proposed international border fence reveal patterns of raw material sources in the area. Here we provide a descrip- use of geologic materials by Archaic, Formative and Proto- tion of the lithic resources in and around the Boot Heel and historic Native Americans in the Boot Heel of southwestern use this information to examine patterns of lithic procure- New Mexico. Thousands of artifacts were recorded in mul- ment among the Archaic, Formative and Protohistoric pe- tiple sites from Guadalupe Pass in the southern Peloncillo riods of the area. Data were collected from sites recently Mountains to the Carrizalillo Hills west of Columbus. We recorded by the Office of Contract Archeology (OCA) for the identified the lithologies of artifacts, ranging from projectile proposed tactical barrier fence to be constructed on the US- points to groundstones, and then constructed material move- Mexico international border by the Department of Homeland ment maps based on either known procurement sites (“quar- Security. Lithic material types that were utilized at these sites ries”) or outcrops identified as the closest source to a given are identified and described in detail and possible source lo- site for each lithology. Not unexpectedly, the majority of calities for these materials are identified. The relative propor- the rock types utilized by native peoples are local siliceous tions that these sources were utilized on the sites assigned to volcanic materials. However, several artifacts constructed the temporal periods in question are then analyzed to deter- from obsidian were transported into the region from northern mine similarities and differences among them. Mexico and eastern Arizona, indicating long-distance travel The artifacts under analysis in this chapter were compiled and/or trade routes. We also examine useage pattern dif- from three separate project areas related to the border fence ference between Archaic, Formative and Protohistoric sites. project. These projects ranged from the Dog Mountains in the southeastern Boot Heel to the Carrizalillo Hills in the East and included the eastern border of the Boot Heel (Figs. 1, 2). Correspondence to: K. E. Zeigler The broad project areas are referred to in this chapter, from ([email protected]) west to east, as HV 5-8, Three Sites and Nineteen Canyon. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 76 K. E. Zeigler et al.: Native American lithic procurement K l Colorado Plateau Province on di ke H il ls 191 Datil-Mogollon Coyote Highlands Hills C ed Pleasanton L a i r t t Hachita M l 70 e tn Tres s H . Hermanas ) a t . t c Mtns. f t h A Obsid. i 180 c e p t a R c e M h Lower e S e t H Safford n i Carrizalillo Playas s l Columbus d l n . s Hills r B n Valley a e o si Silver a 108 n r Sierra an City h t Rica d G R Hachita an 70 u g Qtzite o o i Valley e P B 191 r S i o R g v ( in H ce at ch et Deming M I-10 tn Willcox Lordsburg Animas Mtns. s. Upper 11 Playas Alamo Benson 9 32o Valley Hueco 3 Sites/19 Canyon Mtns. 80 San Luis Whitewater Apache 108o Mtns. Mtns. Dog Mtns. Palomas o 338 Antelope 108.5 nd Wells 81 2 HV 5-8 Obsid. 80 Guadalupe Bisbee Obsid. AZ NM Victoria Fig. 2. Physiographic map of southwestern New Mexico. o Guzman 110 109o 2 Agua Prieta Nogales 2 1st Ascension Obsid. Cananea use raw material proportions for the individual site clusters Tij. Chih. to begin tracking the movements of groups during the differ- ent time periods. This last objective was not fully achieved, Cow Canyon obsidian source 25 miles Province boundary in large part because it appears that the groups were predomi- Sierra Fresnal obsidian source Interstate Highway Beartooth Quartzite source US or State Highway nantly using the local sources of tool stone and carrying little Antelope Wells obsidian source with them as they moved from one site cluster to another. These results are consistent with other observations suggest- Fig. 1. Location of the study area in regional context. Known loca- ing that lithic procurement strategies will vary depending on tions for distinct geologic materials are indicated by shaded areas. the availability of lithic raw materials (e.g., Andrefsky, 1994) but the behavior could not have been anticipated until we had mapped potential lithic sources in the study area. Nearly all of the lithic materials on the sites were likely procured from the major geologic features of the region. The Boot Heel of New Mexico, as well as southeastern Ari- 2 Methods zona and northern Mexico are part of the Basin and Range Province of western North America, which is characterized 2.1 Material recording by extensional faulting, producing uplifted blocks of Pale- ozoic and Mesozoic strata and intervening basins with pre- The artifacts and raw materials used here were recorded by dominantly Quaternary sediments. In addition, the San Juan several individuals in two different settings. All of HV 5– volcanic field extends along the Arizona-New Mexico bor- 8 were recorded in the field during pedestrian survey. Ap- der from northern Mexico into southwestern Colorado and is proximately 10 recorders (including CH) made designations comprised of Tertiary-aged silicic igneous flows and domes. of material type for lithic artifacts based on their accumu- This exploration of human behavior was necessarily lim- lated knowledge, a common practice during cultural resource ited given the preliminary nature of the data set. Our first survey. The remaining artifacts were recovered during the objective was to assess the availability and quality of lithic data recovery phase and were recorded in the OCA labo- raw materials in the Boot Heel area to provide baseline data ratory. Artifacts were washed with water and toothbrushes for this and future studies of lithic procurement activities and upon their return to lab. Material recording was then con- mobility strategies. Second, the Average Minimum Distance ducted by three individuals with some level of lithic analysis (AMD) statistic was formulated by CH to assess the relative training (including CH), occasionally with the aid of a low- mobility of resident groups during the Archaic, Formative, powered microscope. and Protohistoric time periods. The relative mobility of For- A representative sample of specimens was selected and ex- mative groups was of particular interest as some groups in amined by a professional geologist (KZ) and described in de- southern New Mexico were sedentary agriculturalists, while tail. These included recovered artifacts and source samples others continued to derive a significant proportion of their that were analyzed in-hand and specimens in high-resolution diet from hunting and gathering. A third objective was to photographs from survey. Munsell colors for recovered Solid Earth, 2, 75–93, 2011 www.solid-earth.net/2/75/2011/ K. E. Zeigler et al.: Native American lithic procurement 77 specimens are from the 1991 Geological Society of Amer- 2.2.2 Formative ica Rock-Color Chart. Items that are tentatively identified from high resolution photographs are described only by ba- The Formative period for southwestern New Mexico is re- sic lithotype and Munsell colors for these specimens are esti- garded as being occupied by the Mimbres Mogollon tradi- mated as a range of color possibilities. Inferences made from tion between AD 200 and AD 1400. This period is typically these examinations were selectively applied to the recorded characterized by sedentism at the village level and higher, artifact data mentioned in the previous two paragraphs in or- intensive agriculture and the presence of ceramics. This pe- der to fix observed errors in the database. riod ends when these sedentary people exit the archaeologi- The geologic base map for the Boot Heel region was con- cal record.