Publication Date
7-29-2025
Abstract
Despite over 100 years of inquiry into the Archaic Southwest, the period remains poorly understood in comparison to the preceding Paleoindian and succeeding Ceramic periods. This dissertation provides the results of three studies concerning the Archaic history of the Southwest. The first presents a review and reanalysis of the Grants San Jose Sites, a group of Archaic occupations in the shadow of Mount Taylor in West-Central New Mexico. The second two papers are dedicated to the arrival of agriculture in the southern Southwest. The first is focused on Cortaro projectile points and the possibility that groups manufacturing these objects are responsible for the arrival of cultigens sometime before 4100 cal BP. The second is focused on the dating of the Early Agricultural Period occupation of McEuen Cave, a rock shelter near Safford, Arizona, with evidence for both maize and squash cultivation extending from 4100 cal BP to 750 cal BP.
Keywords
Archaic, Southwest Archaeology, Early Agricultural Period
Project Sponsors
NSF, American Philosophical Society, University of New Mexico
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Anthropology
Level of Degree
Doctoral
Department Name
Anthropology
First Committee Member (Chair)
Bruce B. Huckell
Second Committee Member
Michael W. Graves
Third Committee Member
Frances M. Hayashida
Fourth Committee Member
Keith M. Prufer
Fifth Committee Member
David J. Kilby
Recommended Citation
Birkmann, Joseph Manuel. "A Long, Static Prelude to the Ceramic Producing Southwestern Cultures of the Christian Era: The Archaic Occupation of New Mexico and Southern Arizona." (2025). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/anth_etds/235
Comments
Bruce B. Huckell and Michael W. Graves are co-chairs