THE ANGUS SITE: A LATE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT ALONG THE RIO BONITO, LINCOLN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO DOROTHY A. ZAMORA YVONNE R. OAKES MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES 276 2000 MUSEUM OF NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL STUDIES THE ANGUS SITE: A LATE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT ALONG THE RIO BONITO, LINCOLN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO by Dorothy A. Zamora and Yvonne R. Oakes Contributions by Nancy J. Akins Susan Moga Phil Alldritt James Quaranta David V. Hill Mollie S. Toll Richard G. Holloway Sonya O. Urban Pamela J. McBride C. Dean Wilson Submitted by Timothy D. Maxwell Principal Investigator ARCHAEOLOGY NOTES 276 SANTA FE 2000 NEW MEXICO ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY This report details the results of excavations carried out on two sites located in the Sierra Blanca region of south-central New Mexico. Both sites are within NMSHTD right-of-way acquired from privates sources. The Angus site (LA 3334) was partially excavated in 1956 by Stewart Peckham of the Laboratory of Anthropology, Museum of New Mexico, because of road construction activities at the intersection of NM 37 and 48 at Angus, near Ruidoso, in Lincoln County, New Mexico. In 1997, proposed reconstruction of the bridge over NM 48 was the impetus for further testing at the site because the existing right-of-way had not been fully excavated in 1956. The testing program (Zamora 1998) revealed evidence of buried cultural deposits and several utilized surfaces. The Little Creek site (LA 111747) seemed to represent a small lithic and ceramic scatter. The site was tested and also contained subsurface artifacts but no cultural features were located. Subsequent excavations revealed a lack of features. Based on the ceramics from the site, it dates to the mid-Glencoe phase at ca. A.D. 1100-1200. However, most of the site was found to lie under a commercial development, the extent of which indicates that it was once probably a moderate-sized community. Data recovery plans for the Angus site called for reopening the square kiva dug by Peckham in 1956 and locating any other cultural features. Besides the kiva, Office of Archaeological Studies (OAS) excavations uncovered five cobble-walled surface rooms, two shallow pit structures, an outside work area with a ramada, a large storage pit, and two areas of heavy trash deposits. One pit structure may date somewhat earlier than the kiva and associated rooms at ca. A.D. 1015. The other pit structure may date to ca. A.D. 1265. The main occupation of the site produced 15 radiocarbon dates with a mean date of A.D. 1310, placing it late in the prehistoric sequence for the Sierra Blanca region of New Mexico. Ceramics and architectural styles correlate with several of the phase designations used for the region. A minor Athabaskan occupation may also be present on the site as indicated by several Athabaskan Utility sherds and 14C dates in the 1400s. A wide variety of projectile points and grinding implements indicate that the subsistence economy was diversified. This report examines the implications of this diversity in terms of adaptations within the settlement system. MNM Project: 41.671 NMSHTD Project: TMP-BR-0048(16) CN 1245 Permit: State of New Mexico Archaeological Permit SE-138, expires Dec. 29, 1999 Submitted in Fulfillment of Statewide Archaeological Services Contract CO3783 between the New Mexico State Highway and Transportation Department and the Museum of New Mexico. CONTENTS ADMINISTRATIVE SUMMARY ................................................. ii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................. ix INTRODUCTION ............................................................1 ENVIRONMENTAL SETTING by Phil Alldritt ...................................3 Introduction ...............................................................3 Geology..................................................................3 Soils.....................................................................3 Plant and Animal Life .......................................................4 Climate...................................................................5 CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS IN THE SIERRA BLANCA REGION by Yvonne R. Oakes .....................................................7 Introduction ...............................................................7 Paleoindian Period..........................................................7 Archaic Period.............................................................7 Ceramic Period............................................................10 Evaluation of Sierra Blanca Cultural Sequences..................................15 Conclusions...............................................................28 Previous Work in The Area by Dorothy A. Zamora...............................28 THE ANGUS SITE (LA 3334) by Dorothy A. Zamora and Yvonne R. Oakes ............31 Introduction ..............................................................31 Site Setting ...............................................................31 Research Objectives........................................................31 Field Methods ............................................................35 Kiva (Area 100) ...........................................................36 Large Storage Pit (Area 300) .................................................41 Area 1000 ................................................................42 Area 2000 ................................................................47 Area 3000 ................................................................49 Area 4000 ................................................................54 Area 5000 ................................................................55 Roomblock (Area 7000) ....................................................59 Room 2..................................................................64 Room 3..................................................................71 Surface Room 5 ...........................................................79 Possible Jacal Area (Area 7500) ..............................................83 Area 8000 ............................................................... 83 Table of Contents iii THE LITTLE CREEK SITE (LA 111747) by Yvonne R. Oakes .....................91 Introduction ..............................................................91 Site Setting ...............................................................91 Research Objectives........................................................91 Field Methods ............................................................91 Artifacts.................................................................91 CHRONOLOGICAL PLACEMENT OF SIERRA BLANCA SITES by Yvonne R. Oakes ....................................................95 Introduction ..............................................................95 Dating of the Angus Sites ...................................................95 Dating of Other Sierra Blanca Sites............................................97 ANGUS CERAMIC ANALYSIS by C. Dean Wilson..............................101 Introduction .............................................................101 Descriptive Attributes .....................................................101 Ceramic Types...........................................................118 Examination of Ceramic Patterns ............................................129 Dating of Sites...........................................................129 Ceramic Trends ..........................................................132 Functional Trends ........................................................134 PETROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF SELECTED CERAMICS by David V. Hill.......135 Introduction .............................................................135 Methodology ............................................................135 Description of the Ceramics ................................................135 Discussion ..............................................................137 LITHIC ARTIFACT ANALYSIS by James Quaranta and Phil Alldritt................141 Introduction .............................................................141 Methodology ............................................................141 Lithic Debitage Analysis of LA 3334 .........................................141 Lithic Debitage Analysis of LA 111747 .......................................147 Conclusions.............................................................149 PROJECTILE POINT ANALYSIS by Phil Alldritt and Yvonne R. Oakes .............151 Projectile Point Distributions ................................................151 Projectile Point Material Types ..............................................151 Projectile Point Breakage Patterns ............................................151 Projectile Point Types .....................................................152 Conclusions.............................................................157 THE GROUND STONE FROM THE ANGUS SITE by Dorothy A. Zamora ..........159 Introduction .............................................................159 Method.................................................................159 Artifact Descriptions ......................................................159 Ground Stone Distribution ..................................................168 iv Table of Contents Temporal Issues..........................................................170 Mano Size and Corn