Geology topics

J.R. Stein

Publications and source records attributed to J.R. Stein.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2014

Mummy Lake: An unroofed ceremonial structure within a large-scale ritual landscape

The structure at Mesa Verde National Park known historically as Mummy Lake and more recently as Far View Reservoir is not part of a water collection, impoundment, or redistribution system. We offer an alternative explanation for the function of Mummy Lake. We suggest that it is an unroofed ceremonial structure, and that it serves as an essential component of a Chacoan ritual landscape. A wide constructed avenue articulates Mummy Lake with Far View House and Pipe Shrine House. The avenue continues southward for approximately 6 km where it apparently divides connecting with Spruce Tree House and Sun Temple/Cliff Palace. The avenue has previously been interpreted as an irrigation ditch fed by water impounded at Mummy Lake; however, it conforms in every respect to alignments described as Chacoan roads. Tree-ring dates indicate that the construction of Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace began about A.D. 1225, roughly coincident with the abandonment of the Far View community. This pattern of periodically relocating the focus of an Anasazi community by retiring existing ritual structures and linking them to newly constructed facilities by means of broad avenues was first documented by Fowler and Stein (1992) in Manuelito Canyon, New Mexico. Periods of intense drought appear to have contributed to the relocation of prehistoric Native Americans from the Far View group to Cliff Palace/Spruce Tree House in the mid-13th century and eventually to the abandonment of all Anasazi communities in southwestern Colorado in the late-13th century.

Journal of Archaeological Science↗

USGS2009

Possible sources of archaeological maize found in Chaco Canyon and Aztec Ruin, New Mexico

Maize played a major role in Chaco's interaction with outlying communities in the southern Colorado Plateau. This paper seeks to determine where archaeological corn cobs brought to Chaco Canyon were grown. Strontium-isotope and trace-metal ratios of 180 soil-water and 18 surface-water sites in the Southern Colorado Plateau have revealed possible source areas for some of 37 archaeological corn cobs from Chaco Canyon and 10 archaeological corn cobs from Aztec Ruin, New Mexico. The most probable source areas for cobs that predate the middle-12th-century drought include several Upper Rio Chaco sites (not including Chaco Canyon). There are many potential source areas for cobs that date to the late A.D. 1100s and early 1200s, all of which lie in the eastern part of the study area. Some Athapascan-age cobs have potential source areas in the Totah, Lobo Mesa, and Dinetah regions. One Gallo Cliff Dwelling cob has a strontium-isotope ratio that exceeds all measured soil-water values. Field sites for this cob may exist in association with Paleozoic and Precambrian rocks found 80-90 km from Chaco Canyon. Potential source areas for most Aztec Ruin cobs (many of which were found in rooms dating to the first half of the 13th-century) appear to be associated with a loess deposit that blankets the Mesa Verde and McElmo Dome regions.

Journal of Archaeological Science↗

USGS2008

Development and evaluation of geochemical methods for the sourcing of archaeological maize

Strontium (Sr)-isotope values on bone from deer mice pairs from 12 field sites in the Chaco Canyon area, New Mexico, were compared with isotope values of synthetic soil waters from the same fields. The data indicate that mice obtain Sr from near-surface sources and that soil samples collected at depths ranging from 25 to 95 cm contain Sr that is more accessible to the deep roots of maize; thus, synthetic soil solutions provide better data for the sourcing of archaeological maize. However, the Sr-isotope composition of mice may be more valuable in sourcing archaeological remains of animals such as rabbit, turkey, and deer. In a separate study, five Native American maize (Zea mays L. ssp. mays) accessions grown out at New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center, Farmington, New Mexico were used to determine if soil-water metal pairs partition systematically into cobs and kernels. The sampled maize included landraces from three Native American groups (Acoma, Hopi, Zuni) that still occupy the Four Corners area. Two cobs each were picked from 10 plants of each landrace. Partitioning of the Ba/Mn, Ba/Sr, Ca/Sr, and K/Rb metal pairs from the soil water to the cob appears to behave in a systematic fashion. In addition, 51 rare earth element (REE) pairs also appear to systematically partition from the soil water into cobs; however, the ratios of the REE dissolved in the soil waters are relatively invariant; therefore, the distribution coefficients that describe the partitioning of REE from the soil water to the cob may not apply to archeological cobs grown under chemically heterogeneous conditions. Partitioning of Ba/Rb, Ba/Sr, Mg/P, and Mn/P metal pairs from the soil water to kernels also behaves in a systematic fashion. Given that modern Native American landraces were grown under optimal environmental conditions that may not have been duplicated by prehistoric Native Americans, the distribution coefficients obtained in this study should be used with caution. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Archaeological Science↗