Dissertation Research: Hohokam Ceramic Production, Distribution and Consumption

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9400239 Fish Under the direction of Dr. Paul Fish, Ms. Karen Harry will collect data for her doctoral dissertation. She will employ both neutron activation analysis and petrographic techniques to analyze potsherds collected at two Hohokam archaeological sites located in Arizona. She will use field surveys to locate clay sources and determine the trace element compositions of these as well. On this basis it will be possible to relate ceramic product back to raw material source. It will also be possible to examine the distribution of ceramic types within each of the two sites and between them. Ms. Harry can then use these data to reconstruct intra and intersettlement production, distribution and consumption patterns and thus gain insight into economic and social organization. The Marana and Los Robles settlement communities which form the basis for this study were occupied by Hohokam peoples during the early Classic period and date to between A.D. 1050-1300. The Hohokam are well known archaeologically for the large irrigation systems they constructed which permitted agriculture in low rainfall areas of the Arizona desert. They also occupied large sites with impressive platform mounds. These attest to the aggregation of large numbers of people and some form of centralized hierarchical control. Archaeologists wish to understand how such centralized societies develop and postulate that control and organization of trade may play a central role. Ms. Harry will examine this question. Because ceramics played a vital role in both subsistence and ritual, they provide an excellent insight into the social and economic lives of these communities. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide information of interest to many archaeologists. It will shed new light on U.S. prehistory and assist in the training of a promising young scientist. ***