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Abstract: Soil studies of ancient agricultural fields contribute to research on long-term human–environmental relationships and land use sustainability. This kind of research is especially applicable in desert landscapes of the American Southwest because: (1) soil formation is slow enough that cultivation effects persist for centuries to millennia; (2) many ancient fields in valley margins have remained uncultivated since they were abandoned, so long-term soil properties reflect ancient agricultural use; and (3) agricultural features (e.g., terraces, rock alignments and rock piles, and irrigation canals) provide clues for identifying and sampling ancient cultivated and uncultivated soils. Surficial remnants of these field systems persist and remain intact in many cases. Soil studies of ancient and modern American Indian agricultural systems across the Southwest indicate that soil changes are highly variable, ranging from degradation (e.g., organic matter/nutrient decline, compaction), to minimal net change, to enhanced soil quality. Soil changes caused by cultivation can be inferred by comparing soils in agricultural fields relative to reference uncultivated areas in similar landscape settings (that is, space-for-time substitution). Soil response trajectories vary for a number of reasons, such as variability in initial ecosystem conditions, diversity in agricultural methods, variability in the mix of crops and cropping intensity, and environmental sensitivity to alteration (varying resistance and resilience). Studies of rock mulch soils indicate enhanced fertility, with elevated organic carbon, nitrogen, and available phosphorus levels, increased infiltration rates and moisture retention, and no evidence of compaction. By contrast, cultivation effects vary widely for terraced soils. Although numerous studies have focused on irrigation canals, irrigated soils have received far less attention. Soil studies of irrigation systems along the Gila and Santa Cruz rivers of Arizona now underway will help fill this research gap. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent excavations at the Sacred Ridge Site, just south of the town of Durango, Colorado, have uncovered the single largest deposit (to date) of mutilated and processed human remains in the American Southwest. This deposit dates to the very late eighth or very early ninth century A.D. and therefore represents an incidence of large-scale violence and perimortem mutilation dating to the Pueblo I period (A.D. 700–900), when initial village formation occurred in the northern San Juan Region of the Southwest. Expectations for various interpretations for the Sacred Ridge assemblage are generated based on previous research and cross-cultural data on cannibalism, warfare, and human bone processing. Based on a lack of fit with previous models developed to account for extreme processing (EP) events, including starvation cannibalism, warfare and social intimidation, and witch-craft accusations, it is proposed that the Sacred Ridge massacre was the result of ethnic conflict during the Pueblo I period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this article we consider variation in faunal assemblages from 12th- and 13th-century A.D. Pueblo III sites in the northern San Juan Region of the American Southwest. Our analyses are at a variety of scales and demonstrate that different trends emerge from the data, depending on the scale at which research is undertaken. We examine variation within communities through intra-site analysis of large aggregated sites, inter-site comparisons among small dispersed settlements, and examination of short-term chronological change. These analyses allow identification of patterning that appear to reflect overall domestic refuse disposal practices, functional variations between architectural structure types, and possible social stratification within communities. We also examine similarities and differences between communities at a regional scale and discuss long-term chronological trends. These comparisons suggest economic variations according to community size, environmental variability between subregions, and subregional economic and environmental trends. Collectively our analyses allow for inferences regarding hunting strategies, animal husbandry, community economics, and social complexity that are pertinent to an accurate understanding of environmental and cultural phenomena of the Pueblo III period in the Northern San Juan region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Western Pueblos in the American Southwest have been subject to over 450 years of historic contact, yet a myth has emerged about their unchanging nature. A detailed examination of historical documents and photographs reveals, instead, where postcontact technological and social influences have occurred, especially with regard to pueblo households, use of space, increases in room sizes, dwelling construction, kivas, and agricultural processing and storage facilities. A dynamic ethnographic model is proposed that takes into account both postcontact changes and continuity in Western Pueblo society and how these processes can be used for understanding the archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To better understand risk management and mutual aid among American ranchers, we interviewed and mailed a survey to ranchers in Hidalgo County, New Mexico, and Cochise County, Arizona, focusing on two questions: (1) When do ranchers expect repayment for the help they provide others? (2) What determines ranchers' degrees of involvement in networks of mutual aid, which they refer to as "neighboring"? When needs arise due to unpredictable events, such as injuries, most ranchers reported not expecting to be paid back for the help they provide. When help is provided for something that follows a known schedule or that can be scheduled, such as branding, most ranchers did expect something in return for the help they provide. This pattern makes sense in light of computational modeling that shows that transfers to those in need without expectations of repayment pool risk more effectively than transfers that create debt. Ranchers reported helping other ranchers more often when they belonged to more religious and civic organizations, when they owned larger ranches, when they relied less on ranch vs. other income, and when they had more relatives in the area. Operators of midsize ranches reported helping other ranchers more frequently than did those on smaller and larger ranches. None of our independent variables predicted how many times ranchers reported receiving help from other ranchers. Although ranch culture in the American West is often characterized by an ethic of individualism and independence, our study suggests that this ethic stands alongside an ethic of mutual aid during times of need., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)