Related Papers
Sunset Crater Archaeology: The History of a Volcanic Landscape. Introduction and Site Descriptions, Part 1
Mark Elson, Deborah L. Swartz
The U.S. 89 Archaeological Project investigated 41 prehistoric sites located approximately 30 km north of Flagstaff, Arizona. All sites were on Coconino National Forest (CNF) land. The project was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) prior to the widening and improvement of 26.7 km (16.6 miles) of U.S. 89, between the southern boundary of Wupatki National Monument in the north, and the town of Fernwood in the south. Archaeological fieldwork occurred over two primary field seasons in 1997 and 1998, with a very brief field season in 1999. A total of almost 12 person-years of labor was expended on the fieldwork. The U.S. 89 project area crosses diverse environmental zones, ranging from juniper-sage grasslands in the north at approximately 5,700 ft (1,737 m) asl, to ponderosa pine forests at over 7,200 ft (2,195 m) asl in the south. Mixed pinyon pine and juniper woodlands comprise the middle elevations. Five elevation zones were defined, using increments of 500 ft as a proxy for changes in precipitation, temperature, and vegetation. All project area sites are also within 25 km of Sunset Crater Volcano, with the closest sites only 5 km from the volcano. As we discuss in the volume, Sunset Crater erupted for a few weeks to months sometime between A.D. 1050 and 1125 and most likely between A.D. 1085-1090. Basalt lava from the eruption covered an area of approximately 8 sq. km, while another 2,300 sq. km was covered by cinder and ash deposits. Sunset Crater cinders were found on all project area sites. An isopach map of cinder depth constructed for this project indicates that at a minimum the U.S. 89 sites were covered with from 5-50 cm of volcanic material, which had a significant impact on prehistoric settlement, subsistence, and economic systems. Prehistoric adaptation to environmental variability and to the Sunset Crater eruption were primary research themes. A wide range of site types are present in the project area, including large, permanent habitations, containing 10-30 masonry rooms and pithouses, smaller homesteads or seasonal farmsteads with 2- 8 structures, single-room fieldhouses, limited-activity areas, special-use sites, and agricultural field systems. A total of 73 structures was excavated, which included 41 pithouses, 26 masonry rooms, and 6 ramadas. Close to 100,000 artifacts were recovered, with ceramics the dominant artifact type, comprising more than 80 percent of the assemblage. The earliest sites were occupied around A.D. 400, with the occupation continuing into the early to mid-A.D. 1100s. The most intensive occupation was between A.D. 1050 and 1125, the approximate time of the Sunset Crater eruption. The project area also crosses what has long been considered to be a boundary between two distinct archaeological culture areas: the Sinagua to the south and the Cohonina to the north and northwest. Dr. Harold S. Colton, the founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA), first recognized this boundary in the 1930s, and placed it at Deadman Wash, which crosses the approximate center of the U.S. 89 project area. Although later researchers have moved the boundary to the Coconino Divide, roughly 8 km south of Deadman Wash, it is still well within the current project area. About half the intensively investigated U.S. 89 sites lie south of this point, and about half lie to the north. This affords an excellent opportunity to address the question of the cultural affiliation of project area inhabitants, as well as the legitimacy of archaeological culture areas in general, and every analyst on the project was asked to examine this question using their particular data set. The results of the U.S. 89 investigations are presented in a series of anthropological papers: Anthropological Papers No. 30, Part 1 and Part 2, contain background information on the project and descriptions of the 41 investigated sites; Anthropological Papers No. 31 presents the results of the flaked stone, ground stone, shell, animal bone, and mortuary analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 32 presents the analysis of the ceramic assemblage, including petrographic ceramic sourcing studies and form and function analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 33 contains the environmental analyses, with chapters on the botanical assemblage (pollen and flotation studies), prehistoric agriculture, the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, and a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction; and Anthropological Papers No. 37 presents the overall project synthesis and conclusions. In Anthropological Papers No. 37, the data presented in the preceding volumes are used to reconstruct the settlement, subsistence, and economic systems of the prehistoric populations who inhabited the U.S. 89 project area and the Flagstaff area in general. The eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano sometime between A.D. 1085-1090, as well as the immediate response and eventual short- and long-term adaptations to this eruption by the prehistoric inhabitants of the U.S. 89 project area is a particular focus of the research. The two parts of Anthropological Papers No. 30 present the project background, environment, and descriptive information about the testing and excavation of the 41 project area sites. Part 1 includes the two sites in Elevation Zone 1 (5,700-6,199 ft [1,737-1,889 m] asl) and 11 sites in Elevation Zone 2 (6,200-6,699 ft [1,890-2,042 m] asl), the lower elevation zones in the northern half of the project area. Part 2 includes the nine sites in Elevation Zone 3 (6,700-7,199 ft [2,042-2,194 m] asl, north), the nine sites in Elevation Zone 4 (7,200+ ft [2,195+ m] asl), and the 10 sites in Elevation Zone 5 (6,700-7,199 ft [2,042-2,194 m] asl, south). These volumes contain site and feature descriptions, maps, general artifact data, and interpretations of site function and dating. Diagnostic ceramics from critical contexts that were used to date the sites are presented by feature.
Anthropological Papers No. 33, Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson
Sunset Crater Archaeology: The History of a Volcanic Landscape. Environmental Analyses
2007 •
Mark Elson
The U.S. 89 archaeological project investigated 41 prehistoric sites located approximately 30 km (~25 miles) north of Flagstaff, Arizona. All sites were on Coconino National Forest (CNF) land, specifically the Peaks Ranger District. The project was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) prior to widening and improvement of 26.7 km (16.6 miles) of U.S. 89, between the southern boundary of Wupatki National Monument in the north, and the town of Fernwood in the south. Archaeological fieldwork occurred over two primary field seasons in 1997 and 1998, with a very brief field season in 1999. A total of almost 12 person-years of labor was expended during fieldwork. The U.S. 89 project area crosses diverse environmental zones, ranging from juniper-sage grasslands in the north at approximately 5,700 ft (1,737 m) asl, to ponderosa pine forests at over 7,200 ft (2,195 m) asl in the south. Mixed pinyon pine and juniper woodlands comprise the middle elevations. Five elevation zones were defined, using increments of 500 ft as a proxy for changes in precipitation, temperature, and vegetation. Additionally, all project area sites are within 25 km of Sunset Crater Volcano, with the closest sites only 5-6 km west of the volcano. Sunset Crater erupted for a very short period (months to a few years) sometime between A.D. 1050 and 1125. Basalt lava from the eruptions covered an area of approximately 8 km2, while another 2,300 km2 was covered by cinder and ash deposits. Sunset Crater cinders were found on all project area sites. An isopach map of cinder depth constructed for this project indicates the U.S. 89 sites were minimally covered with 5-50 cm of volcanic material, which had a significant impact on prehistoric settlement, subsistence, and economic systems. Prehistoric adaptation to environmental variability, as well as to the Sunset Crater eruption, were primary research themes. A wide range of site types is present in the project area, including large, permanent habitations, containing 10-30 masonry rooms and pithouses, smaller homesteads or seasonal farmsteads with two to eight structures, single-room fieldhouses, limitedactivity areas, special-use sites, and agricultural field systems. A total of 73 structures was excavated, including 41 pithouses, 26 masonry rooms, and 6 ramadas. Close to 100,000 artifacts were recovered, with ceramics the dominant artifact type, comprising more than 80 percent of the assemblage. The earliest sites were occupied around A.D. 400, with the occupation continuing into the early to mid-A.D. 1100s. The most intensive occupation was between A.D. 1050 and 1125, the approximate time of the Sunset Crater eruption. The project area crosses what has long been considered a boundary between two distinct archaeological culture areas: the Sinagua to the south and the Cohonina to the north and northwest. Dr. Harold S. Colton, founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA), first recognized this boundary in the 1930s, and placed it at Deadman Wash, which crosses the approximate center of the U.S. 89 project area. Although later researchers have moved the boundary to the Coconino Divide, roughly 8 km south of Deadman Wash, it is still well within the current project area. About half the intensively investigated U.S. 89 sites lie south of this point, and about half lie to the north. This affords an excellent opportunity to address the question of the cultural affiliation of project area inhabitants, as well as the legitimacy of archaeological culture areas in general, and every analyst on the project was asked to examine this question using their particular data set. The results of the U.S. 89 investigations are presented in a series of anthropological papers: Anthropological Papers No. 30, Part 1 and Part 2, contains background information on the project and descriptions of the 41 investigated sites; Anthropological Papers No. 31 presents the results of the flaked stone, ground stone, shell, animal bone, and mortuary analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 32 presents the analysis of the ceramic assemblage, including petrographic ceramic sourcing studies and form and function analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 33 contains the environmental analyses, including chapters on the botanical assemblage (pollen and flotation studies), prehistoric agriculture, the eruption(s) of Sunset Crater Volcano, and a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction; and Anthropological Papers No. 37 presents the overall project synthesis and conclusions. In Anthropological Papers No. 37, the data presented in the preceding volumes are used to reconstruct the settlement, subsistence, and economic systems of the prehistoric populations who inhabited the U.S. 89 project area and the Flagstaff area in general. The analyses of environmental data recovered during the U.S. 89 project are presented in this volume. The results of the pollen and macrobotanical plant analyses are presented in Chapters 1 and 2, providing insight into project area subsistence systems and land use. (A summary of Flagstaff area archaeobotanical studies is provided in Appendix A.) The agricultural potential of the project area is explored in Chapters 3-5, with soil fertility assessed in Chapter 3 using geomorphological analyses and the CNFs Terrestrial Ecosystems Survey (see also Appendix C), the results of experimental research on the mulching capabilities of Sunset Crater tephra presented in Chapter 4, and aerial photographs combined with pollen analyses used in Chapter 5 to locate potential prehistoric agricultural field areas. Chapters 6 through 8 and Appendix B present geological data on several different aspects of the midto- late eleventh century A.D. eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano. Chapter 6 uses geochemical data to establish a chemical signature for Sunset Crater tephra (see also Appendix D), Chapter 7 presents the data used in construction of an isopach map showing Sunset Crater tephra thickness and distribution, Chapter 8 presents recent paleomagnetic analyses used to date the Sunset Crater lava flows, and Appendix B gives a chronological summary of recent (Holocene period) volcano eruptions in the western United States and northern Mexico. Finally, a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction for the U.S. 89 project area and the Flagstaff area in general is provided in Chapter 9. Climatic trends in precipitation and, for the first time in the southwestern United States, temperature are presented, along with implications for prehistoric adaptation.
Anthropological Papers No. 30(2), Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson.
Sunset Crater Archaeology: The History of a Volcanic Landscape. Introduction and Site Descriptions, Part 2
2006 •
Mark Elson, Deborah L. Swartz
The U.S. 89 Archaeological Project investigated 41 prehistoric sites located approximately 30 km north of Flagstaff, Arizona. All sites were on Coconino National Forest (CNF) land. The project was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) prior to the widening and improvement of 26.7 km (16.6 miles) of U.S. 89, between the southern boundary of Wupatki National Monument in the north, and the town of Fernwood in the south. Archaeological fieldwork occurred over two primary field seasons in 1997 and 1998, with a very brief field season in 1999. A total of almost 12 person-years of labor was expended on the fieldwork. The U.S. 89 project area crosses diverse environmental zones, ranging from juniper-sage grasslands in the north at approximately 5,700 ft (1,737 m) asl, to ponderosa pine forests at over 7,200 ft (2,195 m) asl in the south. Mixed pinyon pine and juniper woodlands comprise the middle elevations. Five elevation zones were defined, using increments of 500 ft as a proxy for changes in precipitation, temperature, and vegetation. All project area sites are also within 25 km of Sunset Crater Volcano, with the closest sites only 5-6 km away. Sunset Crater erupted for a few years sometime between A.D. 1050 and 1125. Basalt lava from the eruption covered an area of approximately 8 km2, while another 2,300 km2 was covered by cinder and ash deposits. Sunset Crater cinders were found on all project area sites. An isopach map of cinder depth constructed for this project indicates that, minimumally, the U.S. 89 sites were covered with from 5-50 cm of volcanic material, which had a significant impact on prehistoric settlement, subsistence, and economic systems. Prehistoric adaptation to environmental variability and to the Sunset Crater eruption were primary research themes. A wide range of site types are present in the project area, including large, permanent habitations, containing 10-30 masonry rooms and pithouses, smaller homesteads or seasonal farmsteads with 2- 8 structures, single-room fieldhouses, limited-activity areas, special-use sites, and agricultural field systems. A total of 73 structures was excavated, which included 41 pithouses, 26 masonry rooms, and 6 ramadas. Close to 100,000 artifacts were recovered, with ceramics the dominant artifact type, comprising more than 80 percent of the assemblage. The earliest sites were occupied around A.D. 400, with the occupation continuing into the early to mid-A.D. 1100s. The most intensive occupation was between A.D. 1050 and 1125, the approximate time of the Sunset Crater eruption. The project area also crosses what has long been considered to be a boundary between two distinct archaeological culture areas: the Sinagua to the south and the Cohonina to the north and northwest. Dr. Harold S. Colton, the founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA), first recognized this boundary in the 1930s, and placed it at Deadman Wash, which crosses the approximate center of the U.S. 89 project area. Although later researchers have moved the boundary to the Coconino Divide, roughly 8 km south of Deadman Wash, it is still well within the current project area. About half the intensively investigated U.S. 89 sites lie south of this point, and about half lie to the north. This affords an excellent opportunity to address the question of the cultural affiliation of project area inhabitants, as well as the legitimacy of archaeological culture areas in general, and every analyst on the project was asked to examine this question using their particular data set. The results of the U.S. 89 investigations are presented in a series of anthropological papers: Anthropological Papers No. 30, Part 1 and Part 2, contain background information on the project and descriptions of the 41 investigated sites; Anthropological Papers No. 31 presents the results of the flaked stone, ground stone, shell, animal bone, and mortuary analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 32 presents the analysis of the ceramic assemblage, including petrographic ceramic sourcing studies and form and function analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 33 contains the environmental analyses, with chapters on the botanical assemblage (pollen and flotation studies), prehistoric agriculture, the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, and a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction; and Anthropological Papers No. 37 presents the overall project synthesis and conclusions. In Anthropological Papers No. 37, the data presented in the preceding volumes are used to reconstruct the settlement, subsistence, and economic systems of the prehistoric populations who inhabited the U.S. 89 project area and the Flagstaff area in general. The two parts of Anthropological Papers No. 30 present the project background, environment, and descriptive information about the testing and excavation of the 41 project area sites. Part 1 includes the two sites in Elevation Zone 1 (5,700-6,199 ft [1,737-1,889 m] asl) and 11 sites in Elevation Zone 2 (6,200-6,699 ft [1,890-2,042 m] asl), the lower elevation zones in the northern half of the project area. Part 2 includes the nine sites in Elevation Zone 3 (6,700-7,199 ft [2,042-2,194 m] asl, north), the nine sites in Elevation Zone 4 (7,200+ ft [2,195+ m] asl), and the 10 sites in Elevation Zone 5 (6,700-7,199 ft [2,042-2,194 m] asl, south). These volumes contain site and feature descriptions, maps, general artifact data, and interpretations of site function and dating. Diagnostic ceramics from critical contexts that were used to date the sites are presented by feature.
Anthropological Papers No. 32, Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson
Sunset Crater Archaeology: The History of a Volcanic Landscape. Ceramic Technology, Distribution, and Use
2007 •
Scott Van Keuren, Mark Elson, Sarah Herr
The U.S. 89 Archaeological Project investigated 41 prehistoric sites, approximately 30 km (19 miles) north of Flagstaff, Arizona. All sites were on Coconino National Forest land, specifically the Peaks Ranger District. The project was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., personnel for the Arizona Department of Transportation prior to the widening and improvement of 26.7 km (16.6 miles) of U.S. 89, between the southern boundary of Wupatki National Monument in the north, to the town of Fernwood in the south. Archaeological fieldwork occurred over two primary field seasons in 1997 and 1998, with a very brief field season in 1999. In all, close to 12 person- years of labor were expended on the fieldwork. The U.S. 89 project area crosses diverse environmental zones, ranging from juniper-sage grasslands in the north at approximately 5,700 ft (1,737 m) asl, to ponderosa pine forests at over 7,200 ft (2,195 m) asl in the south. Mixed pinyon pine and juniper woodlands comprise the middle elevations. Five elevation zones were defined, using increments of 500 ft as a proxy for changes in precipitation, temperature, and vegetation. Additionally, all project area sites are within 25 km (16 miles) of Sunset Crater, with the closest sites only 5-6 km (3-4 miles) west of the volcano. Sunset Crater erupted for a very short period (months to a few years) sometime between A.D. 1050 and 1125. Basalt lava from the eruption covered an area of approximately 8 km2, while another 2,300 km2 was covered by cinder and ash deposits. Sunset Crater cinders were found on all project area sites. An isopach map of cinder depth constructed for this project indicates that, at a minimum, the U.S. 89 sites were covered with 5-50 cm of volcanic material, which had a significant impact on prehistoric settlement, subsistence, and economic systems. Prehistoric adaptations to environmental variability, as well as to the Sunset Crater eruption, were primary research themes. A wide range of site types are present in the project area. These include large, permanent habitations containing 10-30 masonry rooms and pithouses, smaller homesteads or seasonal farmsteads with two to eight structures, single-room fieldhouses, limitedactivity areas, special-use sites, and agricultural field systems. A total of 73 structures was excavated, including 41 pithouses, 26 masonry rooms, and 6 ramadas. Close to 100,000 artifacts were recovered, with ceramics by far the dominant artifact type, comprising more than 80 percent of the assemblage. The earliest sites were occupied around A.D. 400, with the occupation of the project area continuing into the early to mid-A.D. 1100s. The most intensive occupation was between A.D. 1050 and 1125, the approximate time of the Sunset Crater eruption. The project area crosses what has long been considered to be a boundary between two distinct archaeological culture areas: the Sinagua to the south and the Cohonina to the north and northwest. Dr. Harold S. Colton, founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona, first recognized this boundary in the 1930s, and placed it at Deadman Wash, which crosses the approximate center of the U.S. 89 project area. Although later researchers moved the boundary to the Coconino Divide, approximately 8 km (5 miles) south of Deadman Wash, it is still well within the current project area: about half the intensively investigated U.S. 89 sites lie south of this point, and about half lie to the north. This provides an excellent opportunity to address the question of the cultural affiliation of project area inhabitants, as well as the legitimacy of archaeological culture areas in general. All project analysts were asked to examine this issue in the context of their particular data sets. The results of the U.S. 89 investigations are presented in several Anthropological Papers of the Center for Desert Archaeology: Anthropological Papers No. 30, Part 1 and Part 2, contains background information about the project and descriptions of the 41 investigated sites: Anthropological Papers No. 31 presents the results of the flaked stone, ground stone, shell, animal bone, and mortuary analyses; and Anthropological Papers No. 33 contains the environmental analyses, with chapters on the botanical assemblage (pollen and flotation studies), prehistoric agriculture, the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, and a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Finally, the overall project synthesis and conclusions are presented in Anthropological Papers No. 37. In that volume, the data presented in the preceding volumes are used to reconstruct the settlement, subsistence, and economic systems of the prehistoric populations that inhabited the U.S. 89 project area and the Flagstaff area in general. Results of the U.S. 89 project area ceramic analysis are presented in this volume. The assemblage contains 81,153 sherds, a raw laboratory count that does not consider ceramic conjoins and refits. Thus, it differs slightly from numbers used in most of the analyses in this volume, which are based on minimum number of vessels. An overview of the U.S. 89 ceramic assemblage is provided in Chapter 1, and the ceramic wares and types found in the project area and the designations used by the U.S. 89 project analysts are discussed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 presents the analysis of ceramic form and function, specifically examining possible differences in cultural affiliation. The results of the petrographic research of ceramic temper, which suggests ceramics are only being manufactured in the southern half of the U.S. 89 project area, are discussed in Chapter 4, while the significance of the petrographic data to the U.S. 89 settlement is discussed in Chapter 5. Finally, all of the U.S. 89 ceramic data are synthesized in Chapter 6, with a discussion of the project research themes and general Flagstaff area ceramic use; the implications of the ceramic assemblage in reconstructing project area settlement patterns is also discussed. Appendix A contains recorded ceramic type data, by context, from all U.S. 89 sites that contained ceramics, while Appendix B contains a specialized study of the recovered worked sherds. The remaining appendices (C-G) contain databases used in the analyses of the assemblages discussed in the volume chapters.
Anthropological Papers No. 31, Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson.
Sunset Crater Archaeology: The History of a Volcanic Landscape. Stone, Shell, Bone, and Mortuary Analyses
2006 •
Mark Elson
The U.S. 89 Archaeological Project investigated 41 prehistoric sites located approximately 30 km (~25 miles) north of Flagstaff, Arizona. All sites were on Coconino National Forest (CNF) land, specifically the Peaks Ranger District. The project was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., for the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) prior to widening and improvement of 26.7 km (16.6 miles) of U.S. 89, between the southern boundary of Wupatki National Monument in the north, and the town of Fernwood in the south. Archaeological fieldwork occurred over two primary field seasons in 1997 and 1998, with a very brief field season in 1999. A total of almost 12 person-years of labor was expended on the fieldwork. The U.S. 89 project area crosses diverse environmental zones, ranging from uniper-sage grasslands in the north at approximately 5,700 ft (1,737 m) asl, to ponderosa pine forests at over 7,200 ft (2,195 m) asl in the south. Mixed pinyon pine and juniper woodlands comprise the middle elevations. Five elevation zones were defined, using increments of 500 ft as a proxy for changes in precipitation, temperature, and vegetation. Additionally, all project area sites are within 25 km of Sunset Crater, with the closest sites only 5-6 km west of the volcano. Sunset Crater erupted for a very short period (weeks to months to a few years at the absolute most) sometime between A.D. 1050 and 1125 and most probably between A.D. 1085-1090. Basalt lava covered an area of around 8 sq. km, while another 2,300 sq. km was covered by cinder and ash deposits. Sunset Crater cinders were found on all project area sites. An isopach map of cinder depth constructed for this project indicates that, minimumally, the U.S. 89 sites were covered with from 5-50 cm of volcanic material, which had a significant impact on prehistoric settlement, subsistence, and economic systems. Prehistoric adaptation to environmental variability, as well as to the Sunset Crater eruption, were primary research themes. A wide range of site types are present in the project area, including large, permanent habitations, containing 10-30 masonry rooms and pithouses, smaller homesteads or seasonal farmsteads with 2- 8 structures, single-room fieldhouses, limited-activity areas, special-use sites, and agricultural field systems. A total of 73 structures was excavated, including 41 pithouses, 26 masonry rooms, and 6 ramadas. Close to 100,000 artifacts were recovered, with ceramics the dominant artifact type, comprising more than 80 percent of the assemblage. The earliest sites were occupied around A.D. 400, with the occupation continuing into the early to mid-A.D. 1100s. The most intensive occupation was between A.D. 1050 and 1125, the approximate time of the Sunset Crater eruption. The project area crosses what has long been considered to be a boundary between two distinct archaeological culture areas: the Sinagua to the south and the Cohonina to the north and northwest. Dr. Harold S. Colton, the founder of the Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA), first recognized this boundary in the 1930s, and placed it at Deadman Wash, which crosses the approximate center of the U.S. 89 project area. Although later researchers have moved the boundary to the Coconino Divide, roughly 8 km south of Deadman Wash, it is still well within the current project area. About half the intensively investigated U.S. 89 sites lie south of this point, and about half lie to the north. This affords an excellent opportunity to address the question of the cultural affiliation of project area inhabitants, as well as the legitimacy of archaeological culture areas in general, and every analyst on the project was asked to examine this question using their particular data set. The results of the U.S. 89 investigations are presented in a series of anthropological papers: Anthropological Papers No. 30, Part 1 and Part 2, contains background information on the project and descriptions of the 41 investigated sites; Anthropological Papers No. 31 presents the results of the flaked stone, ground stone, shell, animal bone, and mortuary analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 32 presents the analysis of the ceramic assemblage, including petrographic ceramic sourcing studies and form and function analyses; Anthropological Papers No. 33 contains the environmental analyses, with chapters on the botanical assemblage (pollen and flotation studies), prehistoric agriculture, the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, and a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction; and Anthropological Papers No. 37 presents the overall project synthesis and conclusions. In Anthropological Papers No. 37, the data presented in the preceding volumes are used to reconstruct the settlement, subsistence, and economic systems of the prehistoric populations who inhabited the U.S. 89 project area and the Flagstaff area in general. This volume presents the analyses of the nonceramic artifacts from the 41 investigated sites. These artifacts comprise approximately 16.5 percent of the 98,329 total recovered artifacts: 15,610 pieces of flaked stone, 1,163 pieces of ground stone, 96 bone tools, 70 pieces of shell, and 237 miscellaneous artifacts, which include stone beads, jewelry, and pieces of pigment. Additionally, 3,493 pieces of unworked animal bone were also recovered. Note that the above totals are raw laboratory counts and do not consider artifact conjoins and refits, and therefore, the numbers differ slightly from numbers used in the following analyses, which are based on minimum number of individuals. The overall analysis of the flaked stone assemblage is presented in Chapter 1, while Chapter 2 presents a specialized study of Flagstaff area projectile points, placing them in their regional context. Chapter 3 presents the ground stone analyses, also with an emphasis on regional patterns and interaction networks, and the shell jewelry recovered from the project area is discussed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 presents the results of the analysis of the faunal remains, including both bone tools and unworked animal bone used as a food source. The 23 recovered mortuary features, all of which were inhumations, are discussed in Chapter 6, and a specialized study of the dentition of these remains is presented in Appendix A. Most of the mortuary features were recovered from isolated contexts, with only a single possible small cemetery found. The remains and associated grave goods were stored and analyzed at MNA in Flagstaff, and repatriated by the Hopi Tribe upon completion of the analyses.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 176 (2008):363–376
Variable effects of cinder-cone eruptions on prehistoric agrarian human populations in the American southwest (2008, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research)
2008 •
M. H Ort, Mark Elson, Wendell Duffield
Two ∼ 900 BP cinder-cone eruptions in the American Southwest -- Sunset Crater and Little Springs Volcanoes -- affected prehistoric human populations in different ways, mostly because of differences in the eruption styles and area affected. The two volcanoes are situated around 200 km apart and both erupted sometime in the late 11th century AD, with Sunset Crater likely erupting for a few weeks to months between AD 1085-1090. The dating of Little Springs is more tenuous, but data indicate that it could have been contemporaneous with Sunset Crater or within one or two human generations. Primary pre-eruption cultural factors that may have led to successful adaptation to the eruptions include decision-making primarily at the family or household level, low investment in site structure and architecture, dispersion of agricultural sites in varied environments, and settlement spread over a large area so that those who were less affected could shelter and feed evacuees. The general absence of a nested hierarchical social organization meant that decisions could be made rapidly and were not based on second hand information working its way up the hierarchy. Instead, decisions were based on real-time feedback, allowing for the formulation of creative adaptive responses. Volcano refugees from both areas were highly successful in their adaptation to these potentially life- and community- threatening events, with those from the Sunset Crater area eventually building some of the largest pueblo sites ever constructed in the general Flagstaff, Arizona area. Lessons learned from these successful adaptations may have important ramifications for dealing with disasters in our world today. Sunset Crater, near Flagstaff, Arizona, produced about 8 km2 lava flow fields and a ∼ 2300-km2 tephra blanket in an area that had been settled by prehistoric groups for at least 1000 years. Local subsistence relied on agriculture, primarily maize, and > 30 cm tephra cover rendered 265 km2 of prime land unfarmable. This area was apparently abandoned for at least several generations. A > 500-km2 area was probably marked by collapsed roofs and other structural damage from the fallout. If the eruption occurred during the agricultural season, the fallout would also have significantly damaged crops. The eruption did have some benefits to local groups because lower elevation land, which had previously been too dry to farm, became agriculturally productive due to 3–8 cm of tephra ‘mulch’ and some temporary soil nutrient improvements. This previously uninhabited land became the site of significant year-round settlement and farming, eventually containing some of the largest pueblo structures ever built in the region. New agricultural techniques were developed to manage the fallout mulch. The eruption also affected ceramic production and trading patterns, and volcano-related ritual behavior – the production of maize-impressed lava-spatter agglutinate – was initiated. Little Springs Volcano, about 200 km northwest of Sunset Crater, is a small spatter rampart around a series of vents that produced about 5 km2 of lava flow fields, about 1 km2 of land severely affected by ballistic fall, and no significant tephra fall. The small area affected resulted in much less disruption of human activities than at Sunset Crater. Farming was still possible right up to the edge of the lava flows, which became attractive sites for settlements. Most sites along the lava flows have habitation and storage structures at the base of the flow and a series of small, apparently little-used, structures on the blocky lava flow above. These lava surface structures may have been defensive in nature. In addition, trails were constructed on the blocky lava flow surface. These trails, whose access points are difficult to recognize from below, appear to have been used for rapid movement across the flows, and may also have been defensive in nature. Spatter-agglutinate blocks containing ceramic sherds within them, similar to the maize-impressed spatter agglutinate at Sunset Crater, were made at Little Springs and carried to a nearby habitation site. In arid and semiarid lands such as northern Arizona, tephra fall is a mixed blessing. Thick cinder blankets (> 20–30 cm) render land uninhabitable, but thinner (3–8 cm) deposits can serve to conserve soil moisture, regulate soil temperature (thus lengthening the growing season), and, by lowering soil pH, provide a temporary (decades to a century or two) increase in available phosphorus, an important nutrient for growth. The mulch opened up new lands for settlement but likely only lasted for a century or two before reworking reduced its effects. A significant drop in population of the settlements in the cinder-mulch area around A.D. 1250 suggests that 150 years was the maximum period that "cinder-management" -- that is, keeping a thin layer of cinders on top of agricultural plots -- was effective. This, combined with a likely decrease in soil nutrients from 150 years of intensive agriculture, once again made this land inhospitable to agricultural production.
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Variable effects of cinder-cone eruptions on prehistoric agrarian human populations in the American southwest
2008 •
M. H Ort
Paper presented in the symposium “Tree-Rings, Environment, and Behavior: The Legacy of Jeffrey S. Dean” at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Sacramento, California. Submitted for publication, edited by R. Towner, University of Utah Press, in review.
A.D. 1064 No More? Re-Dating the Eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, Northern Arizona (2014, SAA symposium paper in symposium honoring Jeff Dean, written long version for publication in edited volume of symposium proceedings)
2014 •
Mark Elson, M. H Ort
In 1958, dendrochronologist Terah Smiley suggested that Sunset Crater Volcano erupted in A.D. 1064, based on the initiation of suppressed and complacent tree rings from several beams used in the construction of the 100-room Wupatki Pueblo, located 20 km northeast of Sunset Crater. In the 1970s, paleomagnetic sampling of the Sunset Crater lava flows by Duane Champion and Eugene Shoemaker further suggested that the eruption may have been active for around 200 years. As a result, a date of A.D. 1064-1250 for the Sunset Crater eruption has become entrenched in the geological, dendrochronological, and archaeological literatures, and is highly important in modeling prehistoric human response to the eruption, as well as in reconstructions of northern Arizona prehistory. This date is considered so secure -- some would say sacred -- that it has rarely been questioned; over the past 60 years every school child in Arizona, and probably the greater Southwest U.S., has learned, without a doubt, that Sunset Crater Volcano erupted in A.D. 1064. Recent multidisciplinary studies using a variety of chemical assays and detailed tree-ring morphology analyses indicate that this date is probably not accurate. In this paper we present new evidence suggesting that Sunset Crater most likely erupted in the mid-to-late A.D. 1080s, with an eruption duration of no more than a year and probably several weeks or months. Although changing the date of the eruption by ~20-25 years, and the eruptive period from 200 years to several weeks or months, may not seem overly significant, it does have important ramifications for reconstructing the prehistory of the general Flagstaff, Sunset Crater, and Wupatki areas.
Project Report 02-151. Desert Archaeology, Inc., Tucson.
The Little Springs Volcanology and Archaeology Project, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument, Arizona. Investigators Final Report, Western National Parks Association Grant #03-09 (2006)
2006 •
Mark Elson, M. H Ort
The Little Springs Volcanology and Archaeology project, located in Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument north of the Grand Canyon, was designed to provide information on both the nature of the Little Springs Volcano eruption and on the resulting prehistoric adaptation to this disaster. This multidisciplinary study represents some of the first research specifically on Little Springs, largely because it was not until 2001, with the dating of the eruption to sometime within the past 1,800 years (Fenton et al. 2001), that the significance of this event to Southwest prehistory became known. The recovery of sherds from two different ceramic types encased in Little Springs lava at a site 0.7 km removed from the volcano further constrains the date to the period between A.D. 1025-1200 (Hurricane Black-on-Gray), with a tighter and more likely date, based on site architecture, of 1075-1150. This date suggests the eruption may have been contemporaneous, or within a single human generation, with the better known eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, some 200 km to the southeast.
Land
Talking with a Volcano: Native American Perspectives on the Eruption of Sunset Crater, Arizona
2022 •
Richard W Stoffle, Kathleen Van Vlack
A new volcano erupted in the eleventh century AD in the San Francisco volcanic field, which has as many as 80 old volcanoes and 600 eruption cones all centered around Flagstaff, Arizona. This volcanic landscape has been a cultural center for Native American spiritual activities for up to 23,000 years. During that time, they have come to perceive volcanoes as earth navels and thus places where the earth is reborn. For this reason, the emergence of an active volcano, called Sunset Crater, drew pilgrims and resulted in the construction of ceremonial and support communities surrounding a place called Wupatki. This paper is partially based on a 2004 study funded by the U.S. National Park Service, which produced 80 ethnographic interviews with representatives of six Native American ethnic groups composed of 12 tribes and pueblos. The analysis is informed by a total of 23 ethnographic studies of volcanoes conducted with Native Americans by the authors. In all studies, Native American participants conveyed that they have cultural connections with volcanoes that derive from their Creation-based knowledge of the Earth as being alive and volcanoes being its rebirth. Traditional cultural information is critical to park management and compliance with various laws, regulations, executive orders, and policies so that park managers can better address tribal requests for continued access, use, and interpretation of park natural resources. Native Americans involved in our NPS ethnographic studies agreed that it is not necessary for the NPS to accept as true what Native Americans believe, but it is essential to tell in park interpretative settings both stories side by side with equal accuracy.
