The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of the Liberal Arts SMALL ANCESTRAL PUEBLO SITES IN THE MESA VERDE REGION: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION A Dissertation in Anthropology by A’ndrea Elyse Messer ©2009 A’ndrea Elyse Messer Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2009 This dissertation of A’ndrea Elyse Messer was reviewed and approved* by the following: George Milner Professor of Anthropology Dissertation Advisor Chair of Committee David Webster Professor of Anthropology Dean Snow Professor of Anthropology Christopher Duffy Professor of Civil Engineering Nina Jablonski Professor and Head, Department of Anthropology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii ABSTRACT A basic theoretical issue in settlement archaeology is the effect that environment on the one hand, or large centers on the other, have on the placement of small habitations. A key methodological issue is whether old survey data, collected at a time when today’s questions had not yet been formed, can still prove useful. This dissertation investigates the viability of old survey data, some of the environmental influences – landform, elevation, temperature, precipitation – and settlement population density, on site location choice in the Mesa Verde Southwest. I also investigated the effects of large sites on small site location and looked at all these factors with respect to reinhabited sites versus pristine sites. My results suggest a method to determine which old surveys can be used, and which cannot. The site populations in the mesa surveys are similar but differ from the site populations of the non-mesa surveys, indicating a possible difference in settlement pattern between mesas and other areas. Site population in general increased through time. Wetherill Mesa is the only location where Late Pueblo III site population dipped dramatically, probably due to movement into aggregated cliff locations. Mesa-top sites remained the majority through time, but population pressure caused people to move sites to the talus slopes. No large site influence pushes sites up or down in elevation, but population pressure does expand the range of elevations inhabited. Distances to large sites from small sites do not change the appearance of large sites. Small sites move away from or toward large sites without pattern. The environment appears to influence small site locations far more than proximity to large sites. While large sites might have influenced the myriad small-site inhabitants by altering their social and political life, they did not seem to alter the locations people chose for their homes. Population pressure seems to be the largest influence on the settlement patterns in the Mesa Verde area. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ......................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................. xiii Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ..................................................1 Variables ..................................................................8 Rehabitation of Sites ........................................................10 Old Data .................................................................13 Study Area ...............................................................15 Ancestral Puebloan World – Mesa Verde .........................................18 Mesa Verde Archaeology ....................................................22 Organization of Chapters .....................................................28 Chapter 2. THE SURVEYS ..................................................31 Approach to Survey Data ....................................................32 Chapin Mesa Survey ........................................................34 Wetherill Mesa Survey .......................................................37 Mockingbird Mesa Survey ....................................................41 Sand Canyon/Goodman Point Survey ...........................................42 Mesa Verde Area Study 2000 Survey ...........................................44 Database Structure .........................................................45 Chronology and Its Problems ..................................................50 Normalization of Cultural Phase Lengths ........................................56 Chapter 3. SITE POPULATIONS ..............................................58 Broad Time Scales – BM, PI, PII, PIII. .62 Narrow Time Scales – BM, PI, EPII, MPII, LPII, EPIII, LPIII ........................68 The Chapin Mesa Problem ....................................................71 Chapter 4. LANDFORMS ....................................................73 Broad Time Scales ..........................................................76 Narrow Time Scales ........................................................80 Comparison of Landforms ....................................................84 The Chapin Mesa Problem ....................................................87 Chapter 5. ELEVATION AND CLIMATE .......................................91 Broad Time Scales ..........................................................95 Narrow Time Scales ........................................................99 Temperature and Elevation ..................................................105 iv Temperature Analysis ......................................................108 Broad Time Scales .............................................108 Narrow Time Scales. ...........................................114 Precipitation Analysis ......................................................119 Broad Time Scales. .............................................119 Narrow Time Scales. ...........................................124 Chapter 6. DISTANCE TO LARGE SITES .....................................129 Large Sites ..............................................................130 Wetherill Mesa Survey ......................................................137 Sand Canyon/Goodman Point Survey ..........................................145 Mockingbird Mesa Survey ...................................................154 Chapter 7. REINHABITED SITES ............................................163 Population ...............................................................163 Landforms ...............................................................169 Elevations ...............................................................175 Distance to Large Sites .....................................................181 Chapter 8. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ..................................186 Ancestral Puebloan World – Mesa Verde ........................................187 Site Populations ...........................................................188 Landforms ...............................................................189 Elevation ................................................................190 Distance to Large Sites .....................................................191 Reinhabited Sites ..........................................................192 Old Surveys ..............................................................194 Future Work .............................................................196 Conclusions ..............................................................198 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................200 Appendix A. MODIFIED DATABASE OF MOCKINGBIRD MESA SURVEY, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT – HABITATION SITES ONLY ....................214 Appendix B. MODIFIED DATABASE OF SAND CANYON STUDY AREA SURVEYED SITES – HABITATION SITES ONLY .............................219 Appendix C. MODIFIED DATABASE OF PENN STATE MESA VERDE AREA SURVEY – HABITATION SITES ONLY ..........................................227 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Phases and dates in the Mesa Verde Southwestern U.S. ...................7 Table 2 General survey information ........................................32 Table 3 Site counts of surveys used ........................................38 Table 4 Distribution of sites by site type ....................................41 Table 5 Variables Used in Survey Databases .................................47 Table 6 Pecos classifications ............................................51 Table 7 Dates and phases used in the Wetherill Mesa Survey .....................53 Table 8 Phases and Dates Currently in Use in the Mesa Verde Southwestern U.S. .....54 Table 9 Comparison of dates across surveys .................................55 Table 10 Phase lengths and multipliers for normalization of data ...................56 Table 11 Landform categories by survey. ....................................73 Table 12 Student T test of Pueblo I elevations vs. Pueblo II elevations .............103 Table 13 Student T test of Pueblo II elevations vs. Pueblo III elevations ............103 Table 14 Student T Test of Early Pueblo III Elevations vs. Late Pueblo III Elevations . 104 Table 15 Sites with 50 or more rooms in survey areas. .........................131 Table 16 Numbers of pristine and reinhabited sites in Pueblo III ..................163 Table 17 Distribution of Pueblo III sites between pristine and reinhabited sites, percentages. ..................................................164 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Map of the Four Corners area. Enclosed area approximately encloses the range of surveys discussed (MapSource 1999) .........................14 Figure 2 Major