Dissertation: Large Mammal Resource Depression and Agricultural Intensification: A Test in the Mimbres Valley, New Mexico

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Under the direction of Dr. Donald Grayson, Mr. Michael Cannon will collect data for his doctoral dissertation. The focus of this archaeological research is a series of sites in the Mimbres Valley of New Mexico which span the time period from ca. 500 to 1,300 AD. This approximately 800 year span witnessed the development of complex society which is echoed in many other parts of the Southwest. Settlement patterns changed from small pithouse villages to large multistory pueblos and both population and cultural complexity increased significantly. In common with similar situations in many part of the world, this process was also accompanied on increased reliance on agriculture at the expense of traditional hunting and gathering. While this fact is well established, the reason for this shift is poorly understood. Some anthropologists argue that agriculture using traditional methods produces higher returns that hunting and gathering and that with increased population pressure forced change in this direction. Others believe that depletion of large game through increased sustained hunting rather than any intrinsic advantage in agriculture is the causal factor. In his study Mr. Cannon will evaluate these two alternative hypotheses. He will analyze faunal remains recovered from a series of Mimbres archaeological sites to determine changes in species composition over time. He will examine changes in ratio between larger more highly valued species vs. smaller ones with less caloric return. He will also reconstruct age distributions to determine hunting pressure and body part distributions which provide information on how far from a settlement hunters are forced to range. (As large game becomes scarce, the number of younger animals obtained increases; the further hunters go from camp the fewer less meaty parts from kills are carried back to it.) These data will be interpreted within a framework derived from optimal foraging theory. This research is important for several reasons. It will shed new light on an important aspect of the American prehistoric record and provide data of interest to many archaeologists It will yield new insight into the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture - a process which was repeated independently in many parts of the world. It will also assist in training a promising young scientist.