Dissertation Improvement: A Paleoethnobotanical Study of a Classic Hohokam Site

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Under the supervision of Dr. Gayle Fritz, Karla Hansen-Speer will analyze data gathered from the prehistoric Hohokam site of Marana in southern Arizona. The Hohokam were farmers who flourished in the Sonoran Desert between A.D. 200 and A.D.1450. The center of a prehistoric community, the Marana Mound site contains numerous walled residential areas and public spaces that facilitated community-wide interaction, with specialized agricultural fields nearby. It provides an excellent opportunity to examine aspects of the economy and social organization of an early Classic Hohokam community, as well as the impact that community had upon the surrounding landscape. The Hohokam people of the Classic Period (A.D. 1150-1450) lived in densely populated communities. The fate of their desert settlements was inextricably tied to the environment. While the environment imposed limitations, the Hohokam also manipulated it through agricultural practices. Discussions concerning the Hohokam acquisition of food in a desert environment often revolve around land use and agricultural technology. Systematic syntheses of Hohokam plant remains, however, have rarely been attempted. Such a study is needed to investigate the sometimes sweeping or speculative claims made about farming as the basis for models of economic and social organization. Because the Hohokam were farmers, much of their culture revolved around plants. Understanding the role of various types of plants, therefore, will illuminate elements of Hohokam society. To survive in an uncertain environment, people devise ways to manage risk. A portion of this research will look at a hypothesized strategy of risk management wherein the community spread risk by circulating crops among sites. To understand the role and movement of food at the Marana Mound site and within the larger community, one must examine the variability of plant remains across space. The project will use intra- and inter-site comparisons of plant material to study the economic and social dynamics of the site. This will provide a much needed synthesis of material that should clarify the role of plants in the early Classic period: was this a time of intensification, diversification, or stability in the use of plant resources? The research will then examine the question of how the Hohokam affected their environment and the plant resources available to them. This study aims to address these issues through the analysis of charred plant remains such as seeds from households, cooking fires, and trash heaps throughout the site.In addition to answering questions of interest to social scientists, this research has a broader impact by providing insight into human interactions with the environment. At a time when we, as a modern society, struggle with issues of conservation of the environment, the proposed research can help us to understand how a large, sedentary population affected the desert setting in which they lived, and how they prospered in a demanding environment. Lessons from the past about sustainability of resources may give us insight into environmental dilemmas of the modern world. This research is particularly pertinent to arid regions where agricultural resources must be carefully allocated.