Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:53:49.889Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Basketmaker II Subsistence: Carbon Isotopes and Other Dietary Indicators from Cedar Mesa, Utah

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

R. G. Matson  and
Brian Chisholm
R. G. Matson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 2B2
Brian Chisholm
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 2B2
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Four separate lines of evidence show that the Cedar Mesa Basketmaker II were dependent on maize horticulture: the settlement pattern of the mesa-top Basketmaker II; stable carbon-isotope analysis of Basketmaker and other skeletal remains from the Cedar Mesa area; and two different analyses of coprolites and midden constituents from the Turkey Pen Cave site (a Basketmaker II site in Grand Gulch, which drains parts of Cedar Mesa). All of these analyses concur with a dependence on maize horticulture for the Cedar Mesa Basketmaker II, a dependence not differing significantly from later Pueblo inhabitants of Cedar Mesa and elsewhere. Whether other Basketmaker II variants were as reliant on maize is uncertain, but there are good indications that at least some, and probably all, were. By 2,000 years ago the Basketmaker II peoples on Cedar Mesa were not modified hunters and gatherers, but relied on maize.

Résumé

Résumé

Cuatro líneas de evidencia demuestran que la población de la fase Basketmaker II en Cedar Mesa dependía de la horticultura del maíz. Estas líneas son: el patrón de asentamiento en Cedar Mesa durante la fase Basketmaker II; el análisis isotópico de carbón estable de restos de esqueletos de este y otros períodos provenientes del área de Cedar Mesa; y dos análisis de coprolitos y restos obtenidos en basureros del sitio Turkey Pen Cave (un sitio Basketmaker II en el Grand Gulch que riega parte de Cedar Mesa). Todos estos análisis indican que la población Basketmaker II en Cedar Mesa dependiá del maíz, una dependencia similar a la observada en las fases Pueblo más recientes en Cedar Mesa y otros lugares. No está claro si otras poblaciones Basketmaker II dependían tanto del maíz, pero existen indicaciones de que estefue el caso. En Cedar Mesa, aproximadamente 2.000 años atrás la población Basketmaker II no era cazadora-recolectora sino que dependía del cultivo de maíz.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 56 , Issue 3 , July 1991 , pp. 444 - 459
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References Cited

Aasen, D. K. 1984 Pollen, Macrofossil and Charcoal Analyses of Basketmaker Coprolites from Turkey Pen Ruin, Cedar Mesa, Utah. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.Google Scholar
Bender, M. M. 1968 Mass Spectrometry Studies of Carbon 13 Variations in Corn and other Grasses. Radiocarbon 10 : 468–472.Google Scholar
Bender, M. M. 1971 Variations in the 13C/12C Ratios of Plants in Relation to the Pathway of Photosynthetic Carbon Dioxide Fixation. Phytochemistry 10 : 1239–1244.Google Scholar
Bender, M. M., Barreis, D. A., and Steventon, R. L. 1981 Further Light on Carbon Isotopes and Hopewell Agriculture. American Antiquity 46 : 346–353.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berry, C. F., and Berry, M. S. 1986 Chronological and Conceptual Models of the Southwestern Archaic, in Anthropology of the Desert West, edited by Condie, C. J. and Fowler, D. D., pp. 243–327. Anthropological Paper No. 110. University of Utah, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Berry, M. S. 1982 Time, Space and Transition in Anasazi Prehistory. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Chisholm, B. 1986 Reconstruction of Prehistoric Diet in British Columbia Using Stable-Carbon Isotope Analysis. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby.Google Scholar
Chisholm, B., and Matson, R. G. 1990 Basketmaker II Utilization of Maize at Cedar Mesa, Utah. Ms. in possession of authors.Google Scholar
Chisholm, B., Koike, H., and Nakai, N. 1988 Tanso-antei-doitaihiho ni yoru kodaishosei no kenkyu (Study of Paleodiet Using Stable-Carbon Isotopic Analysis). Kokogaku to Shizen Kagaku 20 : 7–16.Google Scholar
Cordell, L. S. 1984 Prehistory of the Southwest. Academic Press, Orlando.Google Scholar
Creel, D., and Long, A. 1986 Radiocarbon Dating of Corn. American Antiquity 51 : 826–837.Google Scholar
Decker, K. W., and Tieszen, L. 1989 Isotopic Reconstruction of Mesa Verde Diet from Basketmaker III to Pueblo III. The Kiva 55 : 33–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
DeNiro, M. J., and Epstein, S. 1978 Influence of Diet on the Distribution of Carbon Isotopes in Animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42 : 495–506.Google Scholar
Dohm, K. M. 1988 The Household in Transition : Spatial Organization of Early Anasazi Residential-Domestic Units, Southeastern Utah. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.Google Scholar
Eddy, F. W. 1961 Excavations at Los Pinos Phase Sites in the Navajo Reservoir District. Anthropological Papers No. 4. Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe.Google Scholar
Eddy, F. W. 1972 Culture Ecology and the Prehistory of the Navajo Reservoir District. Southwestern Lore 38(1, 2) : 1–72.Google Scholar
Eddy, F. W. 1974 Population Dislocation in the Navaho Reservoir District, New Mexico and Colorado. American Antiquity 39 : 75–84.Google Scholar
Ehleringer, J. R., and Cooper, T. A. 1988 Correlations between Carbon Isotope Ratio and Microhabitat in Desert Plants. Oecologia 76 : 562–566.Google Scholar
Fry, G., and Hall, H. J. 1986 Human Coprolites In Archaeological Investigations at Antelope House, edited by Morris, D. P., pp. 165–188. National Park Service, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Guernsey, S. J. 1931 Explorations in Northeastern Arizona. Report on the Archaeological Fieldwork of 1920-1923. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. XII, No. 1. Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Guernsey, S. J., and Kidder, A. V. 1921 Basket-Maker Caves of Northeastern Arizona. Report of the Explorations 1916-17. Papers of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology Vol. VIII, No. 2. Harvard University, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Haase, W. R. 1983 Pueblo II and Pueblo HI Settlement Patterns on Cedar Mesa, Southeastern Utah. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman.Google Scholar
Hobson, K., and Schwarcz, H. P. 1986 The Variation in 513C Values in Bone Collagen for Two Wild Herbivore Populations : Implication for Palaeodiet Studies. Journal of Archaeological Science 13 : 101–106.Google Scholar
Irwin-Williams, C. 1973 The Oshara Tradition : Origins of A nasazi Culture. Eastern New Mexico Contributions in Anthropology Vol. 5, No. 1. Portales.Google Scholar
Irwin-Williams, C. 1979 Post-Pleistocene Archeology 7000-2000 B. C. In Southwest, edited by Ortiz, A., pp. 31–42. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 9, Sturtevant, W. G., general editor. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Jennings, J. D. 1980 Cowboy Cave. Anthropological Paper No. 104. University of Utah. Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Kidder, A. V. 1962 An Introduction to the Study of Southwestern Archaeology. Reprinted. Yale University Press, New Haven. Originally published 1924, Papers of the Southwestern Expedition No. 1. R. S. Peabody Foundation, Andover.Google Scholar
Kidder, A. V., and Guernsey, S. J. 1919 Archaeological Explorations in Northeastern Arizona. Bulletin No. 65. Bureau of American Ethnology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Koike, H., and Chisholm, B. 1988 Application of Stable-Carbon Isotopic Analysis to Diet Analysis in Modern Animals (in Japanese, summary in English). Journal of the College of Liberal Arts, Saitama University : Natural Science 24 : 107–115.Google Scholar
Lepofsky, D. 1986 Preliminary Analysis of Flotation Samples from the Turkey Pen Ruin, Cedar Mesa, Utah. Ms. on file, Laboratory of Archaeology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.Google Scholar
Lindsay, A. J., Ambler, J. R., Stein, M. A., and Hobler, P. M. 1968 Survey and Excavations North and East of Navajo Mountain, Utah, 1959-1962. Bulletin No. 45. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Lipe, W. D. 1978 Archaeological Work in the Grand Gulch Region, Southeastern Utah, 1969. In National Geographic Society Research in 1969, edited by Oehser, P. H. and Lea, J. S., pp. 389–397. National Geographic Society, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Lipe, W. D. 1979 Archaeological Research at the Turkey Pen Site, Grand Gulch Primitive Area, San Juan County, Utah. Ms. on file, Bureau of Land Management, Utah.Google Scholar
Lipe, W. D., and Matson, R. G. 1971 Human Settlement and Resources in the Cedar Mesa Area, Southeastern Utah. In The Distribution of Prehistoric Population Aggregates, edited by Gumerman, G., pp. 126–151. Prescott Anthropological Reports Vol. 1. Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona.Google Scholar
Lipe, W. D., and Matson, R. G. 1975 Archaeology and Alluvium in the Grand Gulch-Cedar Mesa Area, Utah. In Four Corners Geological Society Guidebook, 8th Field Conference Canyonlands 1975, edited by Fassett, J., pp. 67–71. Four Corners Geological Society, Durango, Colorado.Google Scholar
Lockett, H. C, and Hargrave, L. L. 1953 Woodchuck Cave : A Basket maker II Site in Tsegi Canyon, Arizona , edited by Colton, H. S. and Euler, R. C.. Bulletin No. 26. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Lowdon, J. A., and Dyck, W. 1974 Seasonal Variation in the Isotope Ratios of Carbon in Maple Leaves and Other Plants. Canadian Journal of Earth Science 11 : 79–88.Google Scholar
McConnaughey, T., and McRoy, C. P. 1979 Food Web Structure and the Fractionation of Carbon Isotopes in the Bering Sea. Marine Biology 53 : 257–262.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G. 1988 The Adoption of Agriculture in the Southwest : The View from Cedar Mesa, Utah. Paper presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Phoenix.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G. 1991 The Origins of Southwestern Agriculture. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, in press.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G., and Lipe, W. D. 1975 Regional Sampling : A Case Study of Cedar Mesa, Utah. In Sampling in Archaeology, edited by Mueller, J., pp. 124–143. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G., and Lipe, W. D. 1978 Settlement Patterns on Cedar Mesa : Boom and Bust on the Northern Periphery. In Investigations by the Southwestern Anthropological Research Group : An Exercise in Archaeological Cooperation, edited by Euler, R. C. and Gumerman, G., pp. 1–12. Bulletin No. 50. Museum of Northern Arizona, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G., Lipe, W. D., and Haase, W. 1988 Adaptational Continuities and Occupational Discontinuities : The Cedar Mesa Anasazi. Journal of Field Archaeology 15 : 245–264.Google Scholar
Matson, R. G., Lipe, W. D., and Haase, W. 1990 Human Adaptation on Cedar Mesa. Ms. in possession of authors.Google Scholar
Minnis, P. E. 1989 Prehistoric Diet in the Northern Southwest : Macroplant Remains from Four Corners Feces. American Antiquity 54 : 543–563.Google Scholar
Morris, E. H., and Burgh, R. F. 1954 Basket Maker II Sites Near Durango, Colorado. Publication No. 604. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Nusbaum, J. 1922 A Basket-Maker Cave in Kane County, Utah. Indian Notes and Monographs No. 29. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York.Google Scholar
Plog, F. T. 1979 Prehistory : Western Anasazi. In Southwest, edited by Ortiz, A., pp. 108–130. Handbook of North American Indians, vol. 9, Sturtevant, W. G., general editor. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. Google Scholar
Powers, M. A. 1984 The Salvage of Archaeological Data from Turkey Pen Ruin, Grand Gulch Primitive Area, San Juan County, Utah. Contributions to Anthropology Series No. 808. Division of Conservation Archaeology, San Juan County Museum Association, Farmington, New Mexico.Google Scholar
Reinhard, K. J. 1985 Dietary and Parasitological Study of Feces from Turkey Pen Alcove. Report submitted to M. Powers, Division of Conservation Archaeology, San Juan County Museum Association, Farmington, New Mexico.Google Scholar
Schoeninger, M. J. 1985 Trophic Level Effects on 15N/14N and 13C/12C Ratios in Bone Collagen and Strontium Levels in Bone Mineral. Journal of Human Evolution 14 : 515–525.Google Scholar
Schwarcz, H. P., Melbye, J., Katzenberg, M. A., and Knyf, M. 1985 Stable Isotopes in Human Skeletons of Southern Ontario : Reconstructing Paleodiet. Journal of Archaeological Science 12 : 187–206.Google Scholar
Scott, L. J. 1979 Dietary Inferences from Hoy House Coprolites : A Palynological Interpretation. The Kiva 44 : 257–281.Google Scholar
Smiley, F. E. 1985 Chronometrics and the Lolomai Farmer/Hunter-Gatherers of Black Mesa : Approaches to the Interpretation of Radiocarbon Determinations. Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arboi.Google Scholar
Smith, C. G. 1973 Sele', A Major Component of the Aboriginal Hualapai Diet. Plateau 45 : 102–110.Google Scholar
van der Merwe, N. J. 1982 Carbon Isotopes, Photosynthesis and Archaeology. American Scientist 70 : 596–606.Google Scholar
Van Ness, M. A. 1986 Desha Complex Macrobotanical Fecal Remains : An Archaic Diet in the American Southwest. Unpublished Master's thesis, Department of Anthropology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff.Google Scholar
Vogel, J. C. 1978 Isotopic Assessment of the Dietary Habits of Ungulates. South African Journal of Science 74 : 298–301.Google Scholar