Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: Prehistoric Agricultural Productivity in the Perry Mesa Region, Central Arizona

在凯瑟琳·斯皮尔曼博士的指导下，梅丽莎·克鲁斯-皮普斯将对亚利桑那州中部佩里梅萨地区的古代农业系统进行调查。佩里梅萨位于凤凰城以北90英里处，大约在公元1275-1450年间，居住在大型聚落村庄的史前农民占据了该地。农业土地利用的重点是径流，这是一种战略，即在强风暴期间，农田被放置在从缓缓山坡上流下的径流中获得额外水输入的位置。建造垂直于斜坡的小梯田，通过捕捉从斜坡上冲下来的有机碎屑和沉积物，最大限度地保持水分并恢复肥力。该地区有大量这些史前农业系统的遗迹。目前尚不清楚佩里梅萨广阔的农田是反映了农业潜力很大，还是反映了耕作困难，需要在景观上进行大量投资，以提高生产率。此外，史前田地的密度可能表明，这些农民需要实行土地面积大的耕作战略，包括频繁轮作，以保持土壤肥力。以史前占领佩里·梅萨为例，克鲁斯-皮尔斯将采取跨学科的方法，利用考古学和生态学来了解干旱地区农业的长期生产力和可持续性。该项目将对史前聚落和耕作系统的考古调查与土壤养分分析和土壤水分测量的生态学方法相结合。分析包括：(1)调查梯田系统在捕获和保留地表径流方面的有效性，(2)通过对农业土壤和径流的养分分析来确定土壤肥力和更新，(3)模拟模型，以确定随着作物提取养分和地表径流管理更新肥力随时间的土壤肥力动态，(4)地理信息系统分析，以记录佩里台地上景观变化的分布，以及(5)根据考古遗址的大小重建史前人口，以确定支持这些社区所需的土地数量。总而言之，这些分析将描述佩里梅萨地貌的农业潜力，评估梯田等技术和径流管理等做法与农业生产力的关系。Kruse-Peeples将利用这些信息来确定佩里梅萨地区的农业土地利用是否可持续，以及潜在的景观枯竭是否是该地区在被占领不到200年后最终被放弃的一个因素。这项研究将有助于研究生培训，并继续进行考古学家和生态学家之间正在进行的跨学科合作，重点是了解西南部史前土地利用的长期后果，以及当代干旱土地农业的可持续解决方案。一名本科生将作为现场助理参与研究，并将接受考古学和土壤生态学的跨学科培训。此外，还将组织一次关于这项研究的公开研讨会，向佩里梅萨地区(土地管理局和美国林业局)的联邦土地管理人以及附属于该地区的美洲原住民社区传播研究结果。

Under the direction of Dr. Katherine Spielmann, Melissa Kruse-Peeples will conduct investigations of ancient agricultural systems in the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona. Perry Mesa, located 90 miles north of Phoenix, was occupied by prehistoric farmers living in large aggregated villages from approximately A.D. 1275-1450. Agricultural land use focused on runoff, a strategy in which fields are placed in locations that receive additional inputs of water from runoff flowing down gentle hillslopes during intense storms. The construction of small terraces perpendicular to the slope maximizes water retention and renews fertility by capturing organic debris and sediments washing down slope. The region abounds with the remains of these prehistoric farming systems. It is not clear whether the extensiveness of agricultural fields on Perry Mesa reflects high agricultural potential or the fact that farming was difficult, requiring significant investment in the landscape to improve its productivity. In addition, the density of prehistoric fields could indicate that these farmers needed to practice a land-extensive cultivation strategy that involved frequent rotation of fields to maintain soil fertility. Using the prehistoric occupation of Perry Mesa as a case study, Kruse-Peeples will take an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on archaeology and ecology to understand the long-term productivity and sustainability of agriculture in arid regions. This project integrates archaeological investigations of the prehistoric settlements and farming systems with ecological methods of soil nutrient analysis and soil moisture measurements. Analyses include (1) investigation of how effective terrace systems are at capturing and retaining surface runoff, (2) determination of the soil fertility and renewal through nutrient analysis of agricultural soils and runoff , (3) a simulation model to determine the dynamics of soil fertility over time as crops extract nutrients and management of surface runoff renews fertility, (4) a GIS analysis to document the distribution of landscape modifications on Perry Mesa, and (5) reconstruction of the prehistoric population based on the size of archaeological sites to determine the amount of land required to support these communities. Together, these analyses will provide a characterization of the agricultural potential of the Perry Mesa landscape that assesses how technologies such as terracing and practices such as management of runoff relate to agricultural productivity. Kruse-Peeples will use this information to determine if the agricultural landuse in the Perry Mesa region was sustainable, and if potential landscape depletion was a factor in why the area was eventually abandoned after less than 200 years of occupation. This study will contribute to graduate student training and continue on-going interdisciplinary collaborations between archaeologists and ecologists focused on understanding the long-term consequences of prehistoric landuse in the Southwest, and sustainable solutions for contemporary arid land agriculture. An undergraduate student will participate in the research as a field assistant and will gain interdisciplinary training in archaeology and soil ecology. Additionally, a public symposium about the research will be organized to disseminate the results to federal land managers of the Perry Mesa area (Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service) as well as Native American communities affiliated with the region.