French Et Al Fire Geoarchaeology

Geoarchaeology
Holocene riprian landscape change around Quadalupe Ruin in the middle

Rio Puerco basin of New Mexico
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Journal: Geoarchaeology
Manuscript ID: GEO-07-054

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Wiley - Manuscript type: Research Article
Date Submitted by the

Pe
01-Oct-2007
Author:
Complete List of Authors: French, Charles; University of Cambridge, Archaeology

Periman, Ricahrd; USDA Forest Service, Regional Social Science
er
Scott Cummings, Linda; Paleo Institute

Hall, Stephen; Red Rock Geological Services
Goodman-Elgar, Melissa; Washington State University,
Anthropology
Boreham, Julie; University of Cambridge, Archaeology
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Keywords: Rio Puerco, alluvium, incipient soil, fire, maize

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Page 1 of 39 Geoarchaeology
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5 Holocene riparian landscape change around Quadalupe Ruin in the middle
6 Rio Puerco basin of New Mexico
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10 Charles French (1), Richard Periman (2), Linda Scott Cummings (3), Stephen Hall (4),
11 Melissa Goodman-Elgar (5) and Julie Boreham (1)
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13 1: Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3DZ, UK; 2: USDA Forest Service,
14 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102-3497, USA; 3: Paleo Institute, 2675 Youngfield Street, Golden, Colarado
15 80401USA; 4: Red Rock Geological Services, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87508-9172, USA; 5: Department of
16 Anthropology, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-4910, USA
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ABSTRACT
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23 Geoarchaeological survey with associated pollen, charcoal, micromorphological and
24 radiocarbon analyses of a 5 km stretch of the Rio Puerco channel and its associated
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25 tributaries centered on the Guadalupe Ruin of northern New Mexico revealed an 11 meter
26 thick alluvial sequence which had aggraded over the last 6000 years. There were five major
27 periods of instability which occurred at some point in the earlier Holocene and briefly
28 between 5750 and 5640 B.C., for a lengthy period between ca. 2300 Cal. yr B.C. and A.D.
29 370, for a time in the first few centuries of the 1st millennium A.D., and since the late 19th
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30 century A.D. This valley fill sequence was interrupted by four major periods of relative
31 stability and associated incipient soil development for a period prior to ca. 5700 B.C.,
32 between 2570 to 2280 Cal. yr B.C. and A.D. 370 and 540, and in the Puebloan period (ca.
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A.D. 900-1400). Each palaeosol is a cumulic soil formed in a floodplain edge situation.
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Multiple signatures of possible grassland and forest fires, in situ and in the catchment, were
36 observed in the lower parts of the sequence prior to A.D. 370-540. These fires may have
37 helped enhance food resources for game animals by encouraging grass/shrub growth and/or
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38 to increase the growth of cultigens like maize and other wild plants. Most importantly, ditch
39 systems were associated with the ca. 2570-2280 Cal. yr B.C. phase of soil development
40 which were possibly indicative of floodplain management and associated maize cultivation.
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INTRODUCTION
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47 The large watershed of the Rio Puerco has been of long interest to range managers,
48 geomorphologists and archaeologists alike because of the noticeable deterioration of the
49 rangelands since the 1880s through severe erosion (Scholl and Aldon, 1988; Nials, 2003;
50 Phippen and Wohl, 2003), and the abundant evidence of human occupation of Archaic and
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Pueblon times (Irwin Williams and Pippin, 1979; Baker and Durand, 2003).
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54 The study area (Figure 1) is located on the southeastern margin of the Colorado
55 Plateau between Mesa Prieta and Mesa Chivato in north-central New Mexico. Its geology
56 consists of Mesozoic sandstones and sandy shales with tertiary basalts on the two Mesas
57 (Nials, 1972). Episodic erosion is reflected by multiple terrace and pediment surfaces, with
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Pleistocene terraces capped by basalt dominate gravels (Crumpler 1982). Severe modern
60 erosion has drastically bisected the Holocene, alluvially infilled valley bottom (Figure 2), and
arroyos dissect the major tributary streams. Modern precipitation averages 20-25mm per year,
most of which occurs as intense convectional thunderstorms in the summer months (Folks and
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3 Stone 1968). But it is not the lack of rain but the very brief residency of water in the drainage
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system that is the problem, with the fast run-off through the deeply cut arroyos exacerbating
6 the effects of floods and run-off.
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8 AIMS AND METHODS
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10 This project aimed to build on the earlier geomorphological studies of the lower
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Puerco basin by Love et al. (1982), by Nials (in Baker and Durrand, 2003) who concentrated
13 on the Arroyo Cuervo to Guadalupe drainage for the middle Puerco reach, and by Shepherd
14 (1978) in the Tapia Canyon. Our fieldwork overlapped within the northernmost sector of
15 Nials’ (2003) study and concentrated on a ca. 5 km reach of the Rio Puerco centred on the
16 Guadalupe Ruin, a pueblo of the late 10th to 12th centuries A.D. associated with Chaco
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Canyon (Baker and Durand, 2003). Initially, the project set out to investigate the palaeo-
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19 environmental circumstances of the effects of fire on Holocene riparian landscapes in the Rio
20 Puerco basin. During the course of fieldwork, the remit of the project became focused on the
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21 geomorphological contextualisation of the observed fire signals contained within the

22 sedimentary sequences of the Puerco basin and its tributary valleys. What were the sequences
23 of stability/instability, incision and infilling in this reach of the Rio Puerco, what relationships
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did these events have to broader regional environmental signatures and occupation histories,
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26 and what were the implications of the observed burning events in terms of the nature of the
27 burns and their scale and impact on the landscape?
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The geoarchaeological survey involved the sedimentary description of continuous

30 exposed sections of the Rio Puerco to north and south of Guadalupe Ruin and the lower
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reaches of four associated tributaries, the Arroyos Tapia, Salado, Guadalupe and ‘No Name’
(Figures 1-6; Tables 1-4). This study specifically focused on palaeosol/alluvial contacts and
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34 fire reddened and charcoal-rich lenses in different parts of the alluvial valley fill sequence. We
35 conducted descriptive studies of the stratigraphy of the floodplain and valley fill deposits
36 combined with targeted sampling for micromorphological, palynological and charcoal
37 analyses and radiocarbon assay, and prospection for buried archaeological features in the
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alluvial floodplain. This combination of new data should begin to enhance our understanding
40 of the factors which may have lead to stability and instability in this landscape as well as the
41 periods of increased fire incidence. It may even be possible to relate these events to those in
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42 the wider region and possibly suggest ways of sustaining these landscapes in the face of the
43 continuing and combined threat of desertification through low rainfall and the destruction by
44 fire (cf. Chambers and Miller, 2004). Ultimately this may contribute to the broader decision-
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46 making debate about riparian restoration efforts and future fire management and in the
47 southwestern United States.
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49 THE GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY
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This paper reports on three field seasons of geoarchaeological survey and the pollen,
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53 charcoal and soil micromorphological data in combination with radiocarbon dating of three
54 main sedimentary/soil sequences in the Rio Puerco (Figure 1, profile A), Arroyo Tapia (Figure
55 1, profile B) and Arroyo Guadalupe (Figure 1, profile C) (French, 2002, 2003; Scott
56 Cummings, 2004; Hall, 2004).
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The ca. 10-11m high section walls of the present day courses of the Rio Puerco and the
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60 four canyons or arroyos exhibit a generally similar stratigraphic sequence (Figures 3-6; Tables
I-III). The arroyo walls expose a complex sequence of fine sand, silt and clay floodplain
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3 deposits with numerous minor and some major channel fills (Figures 3-6). While challenging,
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it is possible to map and correlate these alluvial units (cf. Love et al., 1982).
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7 The Rio Puerco Sequence
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9 A single inset fill terrace characterizes the present day Puerco and defines about 4 m
10 above the present riverbed (Figures 2, profile A, 3 and 4). The Rio Puerco arroyo fill includes
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both point bar sands and oxbow infills of silty clays deposited in slowly moving to still water.
13 The deposition of an inner fill terrace occurred in all the tributary arroyos as well and may
14 have been deposited at the same time. Although radiocarbon dating can often be of limited
15 usefulness in trying to establish a chronology for the post-1890 sedimentation of the inner fill
16 deposits because of recycled charcoal from older sediments often resulting in a spurious old
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age, this survey obtained two dates for the Puerco inset terrace bench of Cal. yr A.D. 1650-
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19 1890 and 1910-50. In addition, tree drilling for ring-counts of the cottonwood tree trunks
20 growing on this inset terrace opposite section A by Richard Periman indicated that the trees
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21 were ca. 70+ years of age. This suggests that this terrace is at most about a century old.
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23 Although the base of the Puerco sequence was often obscured by section fall deposits,
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the aggrading sequence begins with the repeated dark brown lenses of organic silty clay which
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26 exhibits a columnar blocky ped structure (unit F; 1050-1100 cm) (Figures 3 and 4). By
27 comparison with better dated Arroyo Tapia sequence (see below), it is suggested that this
28 material accumulated from at least ca. 6000 to 2570 Cal. yr B.C. (Table III).
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30 Unit E (625-1050 cm) above is comprised of a substantial thickness of laminated silty

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clays interrupted by the repeated deposition of fine sands and silts over a depth of ca. 4 m
(Figures 3 and 4). This unit was associated with wide channels infilled with laminated sands
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34 defining at this level both upstream and downstream. Subsequently, there are two-three
35 superimposed horizons of organic silty clay over a depth of ca. 1.3m, each about 30-35cm
36 thick (unit D; 500-625 cm), which exhibited a columnar blocky ped structure, and were
37 interrupted by thin lenses of silt and clay (Figures 3 and 4). The radiocarbon dates for the base
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of this unit indicate that this occurred over a relatively short time of about 100-300 years,
40 between ca. 2570 and 2280 Cal. yr B.C., and a similar range of radiocarbon dates for this
41 same unit were forthcoming from the Arroyo Tapia (see below) (Table III).
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43 Defining at the base of unit D are open U-shaped cut features or ditches that were
44 recorded in at least three locations in the Rio Puerco and in two instances in the Arroyo Tapia
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46 (Figures 3, 4 & 6). These ditches are up to ca. 1.2 m in width and 1 m in depth, and apparently
47 aligned at a right-angle to the floodplain and current channel. Importantly, the primary fill of
48 the recut ditch at the base of unit D contained pollen data that indicated two major types of
49 palaeo-vegetation were present at this time. First there was widespread moist grassland in this
50 alluvial floodplain and second there was a minor signature of maize pollen also present
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(Figure 9; Table VI).
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54 The next unit C (140-500 cm) consisted of ca. 3.6 m of bedded fine sands and silts
55 which intermittently exhibited thin lenses of included fine charcoal (Figures 3 and 4). In one
56 instance about 1 km south of Guadalupe Ruin, a small ditch defined at the ca. 200 cm level.
57 Further downstream, this phase of floodplain aggradation is associated with a relatively small
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and shallow (<4 m deep) river channel infilled with gravels and cross-bedded sands.
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Unit B was a thin (100-140 cm) horizon of organic fine sand and silt which exhibited a
columnar blocky ped structure. This was overlain by the final unit A (0-100 cm) comprising
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3 first fine sands and silts, and then fine sand and silty clay above, the surface of which is the
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present day valley floor. This ground surface is associated with numerous Puebloan period
6 sites (cf. Baker and Durand, 2003), and so is believed to date to between about A.D. 950 and
7 1300.
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9 The Tributary Sequences
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Owing to the complexity of the palaeo-floodplain stratigraphy as exposed in the arroyo
13 walls along the Rio Puerco, coupled with the difficulty of closely inspecting the 11 meter high
14 exposures, the alluvial geomorphology of the tributary arroyos, the Tapia, Salado, Guadalupe
15 and ‘No Name’ (Figure 2) were also investigated. It was reasoned that the alluvial
16 stratigraphy of the tributaries should be graded to and in synchronicity with fluvial deposition
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and erosion of the adjacent master Puerco stream (Hall, 2004). Indeed the alluvial sequence
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19 and chronology of the tributary arroyos appears to match the major events observed in the
20 same reach of the Rio Puerco, with the exception of the Arroyo Salado which was dominated
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21 by numerous inter-cutting channel deposits of all periods. According the composite sequence
22 from the Arroyos Tapia (Figure 1, profile B) and Quadalupe (Figure 1, profile C) sections is
23 described below (Figures 5 and 6; Table II).
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26 Six alluvial units were observed in the Arroyos Tapia and ‘No Name’ and eight units
27 in Arroyo Guadalupe, the base of each marked by an erosional unconformity (after Hall 2004).
28 Typically, these valley fills comprised a series of finely to coarsely bedded fine sands/coarse
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silts interrupted by occasional thin units of silty clay. The silty clays generally exhibit thin
30 bedding and thin clay drapes that can be traced for one meter or more laterally. The clay beds
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also include occasional lenses of fine sand less than 10 cm thick. In particular, above and
below unit D (at 475-760 cm), there frequently occurred thin (<1 cm), discontinuous,
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34 reddened (with amorphous sesquioxides) horizons with abundant included wood charcoal
35 (Figures 6-8). There were at least three major periods of channel cutting and filling evident.
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37 Of the four arroyos investigated, Arroyo Guadalupe exhibited the deepest sequence
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near its confluence with the Rio Puerco (Figure 2, profile C), although the two additional
40 basal units (G and H) observed here may have been concealed by the frequently slumped
41 sediments present in the other arroyos. Here, the lowermost unit H (1050-100 cm) is a bedded
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42 yellowish brown yellow silty clay which exhibits repeated, thin and discontinuous, reddened
43 and charcoal-rich lenses (Table II). The unit above G (1000-1050 cm) is of a similar texture
44 but is browner and exhibits a columnar blocky ped structure.
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47 Above this, there are similar units observed in the Arroyos Guadalupe and Tapia. Unit
48 F (890-1000 cm) consisted of coarse cross-bedded sands and thin clay beds. A series of
49 charcoal lenses gave a radiocarbon date range from about 5700 to 3980 Cal. yr B.C. for the
50 aggradation of this unit (Table III). Unit E above (760-890 cm) is a massive yellowish brown
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clay with some thin bedding. A series of charcoal lenses gave a radiocarbon date range from
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53 about 3790 to 2870 Cal. yr B.C. for the accumulation of this unit (Table III). Large palaeo-
54 channels were also observed to define at this level (and into unit D) to either side of profile B
55 in Arroyo Tapia. In contrast, the overlying unit D (475-760 cm) is composed of at least three
56 sub-units of medium brown clay exhibiting a columnar blocky ped structure with a
57 radiocarbon date for the middle/major sub-unit of 2480-2280 Cal. yr B.C. (Table III).
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60 Unit C (180-475 cm) consists largely of cross-bedded sand with some clays and
represents a channel fill deposit that extends into unit D. Whilst it appears that valley run-off
and sedimentation was confined to the D/C channel, a weak A horizon soil formed on the
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3 stable surface of unit D. Upon the infilling of the D/C channel, sandy sediments were once
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again deposited on the floodplain, burying the A horizon soil and unit D.
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7 The overlying unit B (100-180 cm) is a brown, hard clay with some structural ped
8 development at its upper surface. A charcoal lens at 150cm gave two radiocarbon dates
9 centred on about Cal. yr A.D. 450 (Table III). Finally unit A (0-100 cm) is a gravelly sand
10 that is coincident with the last arroyo fill sediments subsequent to the filling of a deep channel
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with axial basalt gravels.
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14 Lenses of either strongly reddened sediment over a depth of 2-5 cm (Figure 7) and/or
15 thin lenses (<3 cm) of fine to very fine charcoal (Figure 8) occurred repeatedly at various
16 levels in the infilling sequence of the tributary arroyos, especially in Arroyo Tapia. These
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lenses most commonly occurred in the basal third of the arroyo profiles, particularly below the
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19 upper part of unit D (475-545 cm), or prior to ca. 2300 Cal. yr B.C. (Table III). As the
20 micromorphological analysis (below) will corroborate, the reddened lenses have formed at the
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21 upper contact surface of the hard, bedded clay sediments, whereas the lenses of fine charcoal
22 are usually incorporated in the fine sand/silt alluvial sediments.
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26 MICROMORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
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28 A series of 25 intact soil/sediment block samples of major stratigraphic units and
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archaeological deposits were made into thin sections following the methods of Murphy
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31 (1986). They were described using the international terminology of Bullock et al. (1985) and
32 Stoops (2003).
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34 The intention was to target specific matrices within the overall stratigraphic sequence,
35 paying especial attention to the incipient palaeosols, ditch fills and the reddened and charcoal-
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rich lenses. Within the overall project aims, specific questions that the micromorphological
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38 analysis sought to address were as follows:

39 1) what were the laminated alluvial sediments in the Holocene infilling sequence of the
40 Rio Puerco and Arroyo Tapia composed of?;
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2) what micro-scale processes characterised the units of incipient soil formation in the alluvial
42 infilling sequence of the Rio Puerco system?;
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3) what form did the burning signatures take in thin section that may identify evidence of past
45 in situ fires?; and
46 4) was there any evidence of human land-use?
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48 The salient results of this analysis are described below and summarised in Table IV.
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51 The Rio Puerco
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53 At profile A in the Rio Puerco, a series of micromorphological samples were taken
54 from the basal fills of the recut ditch and the associated incipient horizon within Unit D
55 (Figures 3 and 4; Tables I and IV). The basal fill of the ditch generally exhibited a fining
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upwards sequence of fine sand to silty clay. These alternated in texture between finer (clay
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58 and fine silt) and coarser (coarse silt, very fine and fine sand) facies indicative of greater and
59 lesser water volume and velocity of overbank flooding. Throughout the profile there were
60 intercalations of illuvial silty clay, organic and fine charcoal accumulation, and the secondary
formation of calcium carbonate. Together, these are indicative of alternating periods of
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3 shallow, standing water containing eroded fine soil/sediment material and phases of drying-
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out in the base of the ditch.
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7 The transition zone between the final infilling of the ditches and the base of the
8 associated palaeosol is composed of non-laminated silty clay with a minor very fine quartz
9 sand component exhibiting a well developed sub-angular blocky ped structure. This fabric
10 represents fines deposited in still water conditions that subsequently became stabilised and
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sufficiently well drained for long enough for soil mixing processes to occur, some organic
13 accumulation, and good structural organisation to develop, thus beginning to create a soil.
14 The upper part of this incipient palaeosol is a very fine to fine quartz sand with successive
15 illuvial infillings of micro-laminated, dark brown or highly amorphous organic-rich, silty clay
16 infillings of the void space. This suggests repeated depositions of silt, clay and bioturbated
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amorphous organic matter, with much included fine charcoal from fires in the catchment also
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19 present. This soil is increasingly being affected by alternative wetting and drying episodes and
20 fines deposition in still water conditions, probably reflecting a combination of the seasonal
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21 rise and fall of groundwater in an active floodplain of the day and run-off water containing
22 eroded fine soil/sediment.
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To conclude, this palaeosol is a cumulic alluvial soil that is essentially associated with
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26 a period of greater landscape stability. It may represent a series of superimposed incipient soil
27 horizons characterised by organic accumulation, soil mixing processes and structural
28 formation within the context of a very slowly aggrading, seasonal, flood meadow type of
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environment. It is suggested that each major phase of stability in the valley infilling sequence
30 exhibits similar characteristics.
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The Arroyo Tapia
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35 Although both reddened and fine charcoal-rich units were observed throughout this
36 reach of the Rio Puerco drainage in all units of the valley fill sequences except for the
37 uppermost unit A, examples were only sampled from the Arroyo Tapia (Figure 1, profile B).
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In each case, the alluvially derived fine sands to silty clay deposits in units D-F contained
40 included greater or lesser amounts of fine charcoal (<2 cm in size), usually discontinuous and
41 up to a few metres in lateral extent (Figure 8). Or, in other cases there are strongly reddened
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42 surfaces (of c. 1.5-3 cm in thickness) occurring for up to 10-20 m in lateral extent (Figure 7).
43 The charcoal lenses may derive from wash-out from either natural fires and/or human
44 settlements in the valley system. In contrast, it is invariably the surface of the silty clay
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46 alluvial unit that is reddened, and this is probably caused by associated burning and the
47 oxidation of iron oxides through in situ burning of organic material on the alluviated surfaces
48 of the valley floor.
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50 In order to get the burn to affect a 1-2 cm depth of exposed sediment surface, there is
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an implied high temperature for a lengthy period. Experimental data would suggest that these
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53 burnt surfaces may have been subjected to temperatures approaching 500 degrees Centigrade
54 for as long as 24 hours on a slightly damp as opposed to a wet or waterlogged surface (after
55 Canti and Linford, 2000). This suggests that these fired zones typically represent the burning
56 of a fallen log or in situ tree stump which continues to burn after the fire-front of a grass/scrub
57 brush fire has passed. This in turn would seem to imply a more wooded vegetation complex
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was present previously than exists today. Also, these well preserved burnt surfaces would
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60 suggest rapid burial by post-fire sediments before bioturbation could occur (cf. Pierce et al.,
2004).
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3 General Features
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6 It is apparent that there are a number of repeated but similar soil/sediment types
7 occurring within the Rio Puerco drainage around Guadalupe Ruin. These include well sorted,
8 very fine to fine quartz sands, inorganic and amorphous organic silty clays, and very fine
9 quartz sandy clay loams. The less common, unoriented, irregular aggregates of sandy/silty
10 clay loam may represent eroded soil material derived from slope wash processes, whereas the
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alluvial facies are finely bedded versions of fine to very fine sands, silts and silty clays, with
13 the thicknesses of the laminations varying from <0.5 mm to about 5 mm. Very fine to fine
14 charcoal fragments may be found in every soil/sediment ttype, but tend to predominate in the
15 sands and silts. The charcoal has been broken up by both mechanical erosion action as well as
16 the combination of oxidation and insect/soil faunal digestion and bioturbation.
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19 There are a number of features that are indicative of the wetting and drying out of the
20 fabrics, and which are either associated with or exacerbated by the arid climatic conditions.
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21 These include the formation of lenticular gypsum in the pore space, amorphous and micro-
22 sparitic calcium carbonate, and impregnation of both organic matter and soil/sediment
23 matrices with amorphous iron oxides and hydroxides (or sesquioxides), and the presence of
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very porous (or vughy) fabrics which must once have contained a much greater organic
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26 component which has subsequently been oxidised.
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28 POLLEN AND CHARCOAL ANALYSES
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30 Twenty-four samples were taken from the Rio Puerco and Arroyo Tapia stratigraphic
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sequences at profiles A and B, respectively (Figure 1, profiles A and B; Table V), to conduct a
pilot study of pollen and charcoal, with results summarized in Table 6 and Figures 9 and 10.
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35 Pollen concentrations are calculated in Tilia using the quantity of sample processed
36 (cc), the quantity of exotics (spores) added to the sample, the quantity of exotics counted, and
37 the total pollen counted and are expressed as % pollen per gram of sediment (Scott
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38 Cummings, 2004) (Table VI). Pollen aggregates were also recorded in the pollen counts as
39 single grains (Table 6), as is customary. Aggregates are clumps of a single type of pollen, and
40 may be interpreted to represent pollen dispersal over short distances, or the introduction of
41 portions of the plant represented into an archaeological setting. (The presence of aggregates is
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42 noted by an "A" next to the pollen frequency on the pollen diagram. Pollen diagrams (Figures
43 9 & 10) were produced using Tilia graph. Indeterminate pollen which was otherwise distorted
44 beyond easy recognition was also included in the total pollen count.
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46 Charcoal particles were counted outside the pollen sum (Figures 9 and 10). Particle
47 sizes were separated to provide information concerning potential wind transport of charcoal
48 based on size range. In addition, charred Asteraceae fragments and grass fragments were
49 identified. Total charcoal concentration values were calculated for each sample (Figures 9
50 and 10).
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Pollen and charcoal analysis of samples collected from Tapia Arroyo and Rio Puerco
54 yielded an abundance of both remains. The pollen record from Tapia Arroyo was particularly
55 difficult to identify and interpret because of the relatively large quantities of redeposited
56 geologic pollen present in most of the samples (10-20%) and its relatively poor state of
57 preservation, perhaps as a result of wind transport of the sediments and mechanical abrasion.
58 Nonetheless, variations in pollen frequencies and in the types of pollen recorded display the
59 potential to identify changes in the local vegetation record. In contrast, the pollen record from
60 Rio Puerco was less affected by redeposited geologic forms, and significant changes in both
pollen and charcoal frequencies were noted.
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3 Rio Puerco
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6 The pollen data from the horizon associated with the recut ditch at about 625 cm
7 within Unit D was well preserved and is suggestive of continuing but more variable, sparse
8 pinyon-juniper woods, with small frequencies of oak (Figures 3, 4 and 9; Table VI). The
9 recovery of small quantities of fir and pine pollen represent long distance wind transport of
10 pollen from these trees growing at higher elevations. There was also willow and mesquite (at
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its extreme northern range) growing along the river, with sedges and saltbush in the
13 floodplain. Importantly, there was also evidence for maize and charcoal, possibly associated
14 with anthropogenic activities. Charcoal frequencies were variable but the recut ditch at the
15 base of unit D yielded the largest frequency of minute (<0.5 mm) charcoal particles, which is
16 suggestive of the burning of grassland on a landscape scale (Clark and Royall, 1996). In
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contrast, the associated lower palaeosol of unit D produced the largest quantity of large (0.5-2
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19 mm) charcoal particles which are more indicative of localised fires (Delcourt and Delcourt,
20 1997).
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22 Chenopods and amaranth pollen is the dominant non-arboreal type, representing
23 saltbush and perhaps goosefoot, as well as other closely related plants. Quantities of this
24 pollen fluctuate in these samples. The largest quantities are present in the upper and lower
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25 parts of the palaeosol horizon of unit D associated with the ditches. It is likely that goosefoot
26 was growing alongside the ditches as was Cyperaceae (sedges). Poaceae (grass) pollen
27 frequencies fluctuate also, with the largest frequencies noted in the ditches and the middle of
28 the lower soil horizon, probably all representing relatively moist, floodplain and floodplain
29 edge areas. Other non-arboreal pollen types noted in small quantities in these samples include
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30 Apiaceae, Low-spine Asteraceae, Liguliflorae, Boerhaavia-type, Brassicaceae, Sarcobatus,

31 Tidestromia-type, Cleome, Ephedra, Eriogonum, Euphorbia, Fabaceae, Mammillaria-type,
32 Phlox, Rhamnaceae, Rosaceae, Cercocarpus, Prunus-type, Sanguisorba-type,
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33 Scrophulariaceae, Solanaceae, Toxicodendron-type, and Typha, representing the presence of

34 members of the umbel and sunflower families, spiderling, a member of the mustard family,
35 greasewood, tidestromia, beeweed, ephedra, wild buckwheat, spurge, a member of the legume
36 family, hedgehog-type cactus, phlox, members of the buckthorn and rose families, mountain
37 mahogany, chokecherry-type, burnett, members of the figwort and nightshade families, poison
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38 ivy (or a close relative), and cattail. Redeposited geologic pollen was rare in these samples.
39
40 Arroyo Tapia
41
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42
43
Charcoal frequencies are fairly consistent throughout the record but total charcoal
44 concentrations show more fluctuations (Scott Cummings, 2004) (Figure 10). As total
45 concentration of pollen increases, total charcoal particle concentration also increases. Notably
46 charred grass particles were particularly abundant in the samples examined from the northern
47 wall of the arroyo, probably indicating relatively local fires. In addition, charred Asteraceae
48 (sunflower family) fragments were observed in some of the samples from each of the areas
49
50 examined. Recovery of Zea mays pollen at 685 cm in unit E and the largest quantity of
51 charcoal compared to pollen towards the base of unit D (Figure 10; Table VI) suggests that a
52 feature or cultural area may have been sampled in these instances.
53
54 In the Arroyo Tapia a series of six pollen samples was collected from unit D on either
55
side of the arroyo at profile B (Figures 1, 6 and 10; Table VI). General increases in arboreal
56
57 pollen are noted from the base to the top of this pollen record with the combination of
58 Juniperus, Pinus and Quercus pollen reflecting the local, sparse pinyon/juniper woodland.
59 Small quantities of Betula, Fraxinus, Abies, Picea, and Salix pollen represent trees growing as
60 a result of increased moisture in the arroyo (ie. birch, ash, and willow), as well as long
distance wind transport of fir and spruce pollen from higher elevations. The non-arboreal
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3 portion of the record is dominated by Chenopodium-amaranth pollen, with smaller quantities
4
5
of Artemisia, high-spine Asteraceae, and Poaceae pollen noted as the major elements
6 representing local saltbush and related plants, sagebrush, various members of the sunflower
7 family, and grasses. Toxicodendron-type pollen is noted in the upper two samples, suggesting
8 the presence of poison ivy. Other pollen types noted in small quantities include Arceuthobium,
9 low-spine Asteraceae, Liguliflorae, Brassicaceae, Sarcobatus, Corylaceae, Cyperaceae,
10 Ephedra, Eriogonum, Fabaceae, Petalostemon, Liliaceae, Onagraceae, Opuntia, Polygonum
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12
sawatchense-type, Toxicodendron, Rosaceae, Cercocarpus, Saxifraga-type, Shepherdia-type
13 and Sphaeralcea. Recovery of Arceuthobium pollen represents dwarf mistletoe growing on
14 some of the local trees.
15
16 A single pollen sample was also examined from an organic duff layer within the inset
17
terrace bench that formed within the past century. Quantities of Juniperus and Pinus pollen
18
19 are increased compared with most of the prehistoric samples examined from this arroyo.
20 Recovery of a small quantity of Quercus pollen indicates that oak grew as part of the local
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21 pinyon/juniper woodland. The presence of a small quantity of Arceuthobium pollen indicates

22 that dwarf mistletoe parasitized local trees. Quantities of Artemisia, High-spine Asteraceae,
23 Chenopodium-amaranth, and Poaceae pollen are relatively small in this sample, representing
24
local sagebrush, members of the sunflower family, chenopods and grasses. Other non-arboreal
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26 pollen types recorded include Low-spine Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Ephedra, Eriogonum,
27 Plantago, Rosaceae, Saxifraga-type, and Sphaeralcea, indicating the presence of various
28 members of the sunflower and mustard families, ephedra, wild buckwheat, plantain, members
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of the rose family, saxifrage, and globemallow.

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THE RIO PUERCO LANDSCAPE SEQUENCE
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34
35 The present day Rio Puerco channel and the associated arroyos in the Guadalupe Ruin
36 reach have made deep incisions of up to ca. 11 m through the middle and later Holocene
37 sediment record of this landscape (Table VII). This major valley-wide process of severe
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39 incision has occurred since the late 18th/19th centuries. In places in the main Puerco channel
40 floor there has been some infilling and the creation of terrace benches that define about 4 m
41 above the river’s base. This inset terrace is probably no more than 75-100 years old. Indeed,
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42 nearly all arroyos in the southwest include one, and in some cases two, inset terraces of
43 historic age (Hall, 2004). In the last few years, incision and the cutting of new gullies through
44
the Pueblo period valley base is continuing (Figure 2), and this is undoubtedly associated with
45
46 the very sparse modern vegetation, thunderstorm events and current decade-long drought in
47 this area.
48
49 The whole Puerco sequence is characterised by alternating periods of episodic alluvial
50 sediment accumulation interrupted by periods of relative stability associated with incipient
51
52
soil formation over at least the last 6000 years (Table VII). The five major periods of
53 instability represented by the aggradation of eroded sediments and major periods of river
54 channel incision occurred at some point in the earlier Holocene (unit H in the Arroyo
55 Quadalupe only), and briefly between 5750 and 5640 B.C. (unit E), for a lengthy period
56 between ca. 2600-2300 B.C. and A.D. 370-540 (unit C), for a time in the second half of the 1st
57 millennium AD (base of unit A), and in the last one to two hundred years. Certainly, the
58
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upper 300 cm of clayey oxbow sediment of the most recent inset terrace in the Rio Puerco has
60 been dated to post-1954 using radiometric isotopes cesium-137 (Popp et al., 1988). In each of
these periods of alluvial accumulation, there was associated down-cutting of the contemporary
main and tributary river channels as well as channel avulsion across the valley floor. Major
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3 periods of incision certainly occurred around A.D. 1000, which was also observed elsewhere
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in the middle reaches of the Rio Puerco (Nials, 2003), but by far the most drastic channel
6 incision has occurred in post-Puebloan times and with the present channel beginning after
7 1885-90 (Bryan, 1925, 1928; Hall, 2004).
8
9 The sediments infilling the Puerco and tributaries alluvial floodplain range from very
10 fine to fine sand, silt and silty clay, deposited in repeated fine laminae of less than a few
11
12
centimetres in thickness. It has been suggested by Hall (2004) that overbank silt and clay
13 probably represent about 60% of the vertical sequence in these arroyos and are derived from
14 upstream areas of the Rio Puerco watershed. In contrast the fine sands and silts are largely
15 derived from the local tributaries. Hall (ibid.) has also speculated that the slowly accumulating
16 overbank clays also represent about 90% of the time preserved in these deposits with the
17
remainder marked by channel incision and the deposition of faster water-transported
18
19 sediments. They have probably been deposited by run-off and sheet erosion processes, and are
20 suggestive of similar open, poorly vegetated and semi-arid conditions as pertain at present.
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21
22 The four major periods of stability in this reach occurred for a period prior to ca. 5700
23 B.C. (unit F in the Puerco and unit G in the tributary valleys), and between 2570 to 2280 B.C.
24
(unit D), A.D. 370 and 540 (unit B), and in the Puebloan period (ca. A.D. 900-1400).
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26 These phases are characterised by the formation of a series of superimposed (or cumulic),
27 incipient soils. In each case, the textural, structural and organic features suggest that the
28 aggradational dynamic had slowed remarkably, allowing the deposition of fine alluvial
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sediments in the valley system with associated stability and vegetational development
30 sufficient to add a significant organic component to the alluvial sediments and lead to
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incipient soil development. These phases of soil formation also signify a more moist climatic
regime. This is best exemplified in unit D (ca. 2600-2300 Cal. yr B.C.), where there are at
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34 least two/three major episodes of weak soil formation in this unit interrupted by more minor
35 phases of renewed sand/silt alluvial deposition that are consistently evident in this drainage
36 system. Thus these phases of weak soil development alternated with the deposition of silts and
37 clays aggrading in shallow, standing water conditions.
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40 Defining in unit D in both the Rio Puerco and Arroyo Tapia and to a lesser extent in
41 unit C, some ditch features were observed (Figures 3-6). These features are undoubtedly man-
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42 made as they are symmetrical and have distinct edge contacts with the alluvial subsoil
43 deposits and cumulic soils, and were sometimes re-cut and deepened on the same alignment,
44 and are located at right angles to the contemporary river. The ditches may have been dug to
45
46 help drain a persistently slightly wetter zone in the seasonal floodplain of the day, and/or to
47 retain run-off water and effectively act as an irrigation ditch. Certainly the occurrence of these
48 ditches at several locations in the study area suggests that they are indicative of a wider
49 archaeological phenomenon and represent some degree of land management from about 4200
50 years ago, or within the Late Archaic period.
51
52
53 Thus the pollen data in unit D and in the base of the recut ditch at profile A in the
54 Puerco sequence (Figures 3 and 9; Table VI) indicates that this alluvial floodplain was
55 supporting riparian vegetation of moist grassland against a background of sparse pinyon-pine,
56 juniper and oak woodland with a diverse non-arboreal flora. But importantly, there are strong
57 hints from the Zea mays or maize pollen and the fine burnt grass charcoal present in the ditch
58
system and associated soil that this floodplain edge zone was also deliberately used for maize
59
60 agriculture.
THE EVIDENCE FOR FIRE
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Particularly during the aggradation of alluvial sediments in units H, F, E and C in the
6 Arroyos Tapia and Quadalupe, there are numerous signatures of fires. This evidence for fire
7 occurs in two main forms, either as in situ burns leading to the reddening of the upper few
8 centimetres of the clay-rich alluvial sediment and as lenses of fine to very fine charcoal
9 associated with laminar fine sand/silt alluvial sediments, presumably washed-in with run-off
10 from fires in the immediate catchment.
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13 What do these fire signatures represent - lightning strike and/or deliberately set fires?
14 Certainly in Late Archaic times (unit D) a wide variety of non-arboreal pollen was present
15 which was indicative of grasses, sedges, saltbush, sagebrush, the occasional legume and also
16 maize as well as sparse pinyon pine and juniper trees (Figures 9 and 10). There is also a mix
17
of micro-charcoal and larger pieces of charcoal reflecting both widespread burning of
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19 grassland and more localised fires, which may imply both natural and deliberately set fires.
20 One strong possibility is that fire was used to encourage grass and shrubby plant growth to
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21 enhance the food resources available for a variety of game animals, and/or there was
22 deliberate burning of specific plant communities to increase the production of cultigens (such
23 as maize) and other wild seed and fruit bearing plants? Other possibilities are that these burnt
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layers may have resulted from burning of fields in order to increase soil fertility as occurred in
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26 Puebloan times (E. Karlstrom, 1983), to kill weeds as in Hopi legends, or even for warming
27 nearby crops (Courlander, 1974). They may also represent brief human occupation and/or
28 phases of vegetation re-growth and the in situ burning of grassland, shrubs, trees or fallen
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logs.
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The consideration of some other fire studies in the Southwest suggests possibilities for
the inter-relationships of fire severity, climatic regime, erosion processes and the potential
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34 time periods of erosion activity. For example, a study of alluvial fans of the last millennia in
35 central Idaho (Pierce et al., 2004) has suggested warmer climatic periods with severe droughts
36 led to stand replacing fires which triggered large debris-flow events, whereas cooler periods
37 were associated with low severity fires which served to maintain more open stands of trees.
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Moderate annual to multi-annual droughts produced frequent fires. After severe burns, there
40 was reduced infiltration and smooth soil surfaces which led to increased run-off, with
41 sediment entrained through slope wash, rilling and gullying. After smaller event, low severity
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42 burns, there were discontinuous run-off sediment yields, but a few years later after tree death,
43 the consequent loss of root strength promoted shallow landslides. A longer-term study in
44 Yellowstone suggested that episodes of fire-induced sedimentation occurred at intervals of
45
46 about 300-450 years during the last 3.5 millennia, indicating a regime of occasional but high
47 severity fires (Meyer and Pierce, 2003). Another study (Legleiter et al., 2003) after the 1988
48 Yellowstone National Park fires indicated that high run-off events and even moderate flows
49 provided sufficient energy to evacuate the finer grained material delivered from the burned
50 hillsides to the channel network over a period of 5-10 years, and then induced channel
51
incision. Observation of a severe rainstorm in 1994 on the recently burned hillslopes of Storm
52
53 King Mountain, Colorado (Cannon et al., 2001), witnessed a surface run-off dominated
54 process of progressive sediment entrainment, rather than infiltration triggered failure of
55 discrete soil slips, but did not imply significant channel erosion. A simulation study based of
56 recent burns in the Oregon Coast Range (Roering and Gerber, 2005) suggested that post-fire
57 erosion rates exceeded long-term erosion rates by a factor of six with local topography
58
reacting differently in terms of rapid post-fire erosion, and fire-related processes may have
59
60 caused up to 50% of the temporally averaged sediment production on steep slopes.
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3 Consequently, it is suggested that the fire signatures in the pre-Puebloan Puerco
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sequence are much more likely to be related to more frequent, light surface fires in a more
6 open environment than stand-replacing fires that may have lead to large debris flow events.
7 Today the Rio Puerco carries very high sediment loads, delivering 78% of the total suspended
8 sediment load of the Rio Grande even though it only drains 26% of the Rio Grande basin
9 (Aby et al., 2004). Consequently, any hope of restoring an area like this one in the Cibola
10 Forest to a more stable wooded landscape may be almost impossible as the trend to a warmer
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future promotes the likelihood of severe fires and associated run-off erosion and gully
13 incision.
14
15 RELATING THE RIO PUERCO SEQUENCE TO THE WIDER REGION
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There are many suggestions as to the causes of arroyo cutting (Cooke and Reeves
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19 1976; Cooke et al., 1993: 157-160) with explanations ranging from either past and present
20 human land-use changes, or random environmental changes or climate changes. Some authors
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21 believe that arroyos are cut during periods of increased available moisture (Dutton, 1882;
22 Hall, pers. comm.), whereas others would posit that they are a consequence of dry intervals
23 with decreased vegetative cover and increased run-off and discharge (Bryan, 1925; Antevs,
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1952; Haynes, 1968; Euler et al., 1979; T. Karlstrom, 1988), and others argue for a non-
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26 climatic model of episodic erosion related to floodplain variability (Schumm, 1977).
27 Moreover when fire is involved, post-fire erosion rates tend to be more rapid with less
28 infiltration and greater run-off, especially after severe, stand-replacing burns (Pierce et al.,
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2004; Roering and Gerber, 2005). To tackle this problem adequately one really requires a
30 whole variety of data ranging from settlement history to dendrochronological, palynological,
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charcoal and faunal records to rainfall patterns and geomorphological process data (Rose,
1979; Rose et al., 1981; Nials and Durand, 2003).
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35 Certainly in our study area, there are now some quite well dated alluvial, incipient
36 palaeosol and palaeo-channel sequences. These can be related to some wider events in the
37 archaeological and erosional records, but only rarely directly to climatic records. Of course,
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detrimental climatic factors as such need not be the sole cause of this phenomenon, but may
40 have also been related to devegetation associated with mis-management of this marginal
41 landscape by both over-intensive grazing (cf. Wildeman and Brock, 2000). In an early
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42 assessment of gullying history and search for the origin and cause of the erosion, Bryan (1928:
43 280) observed that the destructive arroyo cutting occurred between 1885 and 1890,
44 immediately after the area was fully stocked with cattle. This pattern similarly applied
45
46 throughout much of the Southwest (Bryan, 1925; Scholl and Aldon, 1988; Phippen and Wohl,
47 2003). These authors concluded that overgrazing had led directly to decreases in vegetative
48 cover that in turn led to increased run-off and the increased erosive power of streams. In
49 contrast, Karlstrom (1983, 2005: 9) has observed in Red Peak Valley and Yellow Water
50 Washes on Black Mesa, Arizona, that where present day lowered water tables reflected a local
51
response to regional drought, this resulted in dramatic arroyo down-cutting.
52
53
54 It is also possible to compare our results to the model of landscape development put
55 forward by Nials and Durand (2003) for the adjacent reach of the middle Puerco. Following
56 on Nials’ (1972) earlier work in the middle Puerco which suggested that a series of palaeo-
57 arroyos were cut within the period ca. A.D. 900-1350 and especially between A.D. 1175 and
58
1200, Nials and Durand (2003: 43-53) created a “Precipitation Effectiveness Index” model
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60 based on dendrchronological and archaeological survey data. This model suggested that there
were two periods of more effective precipitation in the 10th and 12th centuries A.D. and two
periods of ineffective rainfall in the 11th and 13th centuries A.D. Periods of more effective
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3 precipitation led to increased frequencies of settlements clustered in valley bottoms along the
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sandy floodplain near the confluences of the tributaries and main river, whereas these same
6 areas were affected by progressive arroyo cutting leading to less available and suitable land
7 for agriculture and made settlement more dispersed over a wider area. Increased intensity of
8 summer rainfall and associated run-off is postulated as the factor in arroyo formation, but this
9 same process would also make the areas at the base of slope and floodplain edge more
10 successful for farming, and with some water management potentially even more favourable.
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This equation of increased surface run-off from sparsely vegetated to dry, barren slopes which
13 results in progressive sediment entrainment and its redeposition in the valley floor and
14 associated channel incision would appear to be the best possible explanation for the periods of
15 instability observed in our survey. Although our survey mainly detected possible features of
16 water management in the floodplain in unit D, some 3500 years earlier than the period
17
modeled, this must be indicative of relative stability in the floodplain associated with less run-
18
19 off and therefore a necessity to capture/retain water in some manner if the floodplain was to
20 sustain either maize agriculture and/or to enhance grass and shrub growth to encourage game.
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22 There are other well dated alluvial sequences from the southwest region for
23 comparison, particularly from Chaco Canyon and the McElmo Canyon drainages in the Four
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Corners (Force, 2004) and in the Rio del Oso, New Mexico (Periman, 2005), as well as Black
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26 Mesa (E. Karlstrom, 2005) and middle Gila River to its confluence with the Salt River
27 (Huckleberry, 1995; Waters and Ravesloot, 2001) in Arizona for example. In the Rio del Oso
28 study, a quite similar landscape of sparse juniper and grassland dominated landscape with oak
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and pine at higher elevations existed in the Archaic period (ca. 5500 B.C.-A.D. 600) was
30 associated with common fires and alluvial sedimentation which was interrupted by seven
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phases of cumulic soil development (Periman, 2005). The sandy alluvial sedimentation nearly
doubled during the Puebloan occupation of the valley, and more than doubled subsequently
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34 between A.D. 1400 and 1765 (ibid.).
35
36 In Force’s (2004) study of the Chaco Wash and the McElmo Canyon drainages, he
37 uses archaeological, and especially ceramic, records to determine temporal and spatial
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patterns of erosion and alluviation. In the McElmo drainage it is suggested that in the single
40 terrace there is evidence of two major units (ca. A.D. 500-700 and A.D. 900-1300) separated
41 by an unconformity that represents arroyo entrenchment which migrated ca. 5 km upstream in
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42 about 200 years, and alluvial aggradation. Moreover, there was probably also aggradation in
43 the side canyons and consequently migration of these also. The Chaco sequence, modified
44 from earlier work (Bryan, 1954; Hall, 1977; Love’s 1980; Love et al., 1982), includes
45
46 floodplain deposition in the valley floor during the period ca. A.D. 1-900, an entrenched
47 meandering (Bonito) channel which appears to have cut through a ca. 9-14 km reach of these
48 older deposits from ca. A.D. 900-1025, which then began to simultaneously infill between ca.
49 A.D. 1025 and 1100. Even though the Puebloans built check-dams and continued to use the
50 valley floor for agricultural land, their activities must have been part of the cause in the
51
initiation of entrenchment. Indeed there may well be a widespread phenomenon of channel
52
53 entrenchment beginning around A.D. 1000 across the Southwest region as Hall (1977) has
54 previously observed and exemplified by a number of authors in many different watersheds
55 (Hall, 1990; Miller and Kochel, 1999; Waters and Haynes, 2001; Nials, 2003; E. Karlstrom
56 2005; Waters and Ravensloot, 2001).
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Apart from this there appears to be a wide range of potential variability across the
59
60 region in terms of particular reach histories as determined by individual reach characteristics.
For example, E. Karlstrom’s (2005) study of two drainages on Black Mesa in Arizona has
observed that entrenched arroyos began to aggrade at about >24,260, 11,070, 9660, 8800,
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3 7060, 3500, 2140 and 1870 Cal. yr B.P. It is suggested that 77-200% of the total valley
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alluvium has been removed and replaced by younger sediments by at least 11 late Pleistocene
6 and Holocene erosion epicycles. Crucially, it is inferred that many of the early prehistoric sites
7 (ie. Paleoindian and Archaic) may have been removed or buried by fluvial erosion; a similar
8 situation may well exist in the Rio Puerco study area. It has also been suggested that there
9 may be some potential coincidence with erosion episodes observed elsewhere in the
10 Southwest at about 7000, 4000, 2500 and 1000 years ago (Miller and Kochel, 1999; Waters
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and Haynes, 2001; E. Karlstrom, 2005). But with the exception of the last date, these are quite
13 different time periods than those observed in the Rio Puerco by Nials (2003) and our research,
14 as well as in Chaco Canyon (Hall, 1977; Force et al. 2002; Force, 2004). Nonetheless, there is
15 a large measure of association between a variable drying climate, lowered groundwater tables,
16 increased run-off and channel entrenchment, and attempts by the peoples of the day to sustain
17
their agricultural system in a marginal landscape.
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20 In contrast, the phases of stability in the alluvial system represented by incipient soil
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21 formation imply a much more moist and stable climatic regime (cf. Minnis, 1985; E.
22 Karlstrom, 2005). There is no doubt that these soils in the Puerco are still receiving fine silt
23 and clay sediments episodically in still but shallow standing water conditions. This would
24
suggest that there was some some extra moisture availability in the valley system as compared
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26 to the present day. Thus more marshy conditions pertained from time to time, with relatively
27 luxuriant riparian vegetation of grassland and woodland. Perhaps these floodplain edge
28 periods of stability may be more akin to the Arizona ‘ciengas’ (marshy, grass covered, valley
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floor areas) (Cooke et al., 1993: 159). Despite the fact that there is time overlap with the
30 Puerco units G, F and D soil development with the mid-Holocene “Altithermal” noted
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elsewhere in the region (about 7.5-4ka; Antevs, 1955), the Puerco soils do not exhibit the
same features of clay and calcium carbonate enrichment that E. Karlstrom (1986, 2005)
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34 observed in the post-Jeddito (early Holocene) cumulic A soils on Black Mesa, nor calcic
35 horizon development that formed in more variable rainfall and temperature environments than
36 exist in present day semi-arid environments such as New Mexico (Marion et al. 1985; Cooke
37 et al., 1993: 59-60).
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40 Finally the presence of ditches set at right angles to the floodplain of the day in the
41 Late Archaic period that were observed in this reach of the Puerco appear to be unique in
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42 terms of their age. Their association with incipient soils, moist grassland and possibly even
43 maize, as well as laminated fine sediment infills would suggest that these features held water
44 and enhanced the water retention capacity of this riparian landscape some 4200-4000 years
45
46 ago. Certainly similarly positioned ditches in an alluvial infill sequence have been observed
47 near the Zuni Pueblo on the Colorado Plateau some 100 km to the southwest, where they are
48 associated with maize agriculture that has been dated to about 3-1000 years ago (Damp et al.,
49 2002). This would be consistent with Matson’s (1991: 252-8) model for early floodwater
50 farming and the introduction of maize into the American Southwest. More importantly it may
51
signify the managed retention of water by early forager-farmers, possibly to encourage the
52
53 productivity of grass and shrub growth for game animals and wild bearing plants. Certainly
54 the laminar and fining upwards sequence of ditch infilling would corroborate the presence of
55 intermittent, and slowly flowing to shallow standing water being held in the ditches.
56 Nonetheless, these examples of Late Archaic floodplain water management are considerably
57 earlier than those described for most other parts of the Southwest such as at Chaco Canyon
58
(Hall, 1977), in the middle Gila and Salt Rivers of Arizona (Huckleberry, 1995; Nials et al.,
59
60 1989; Waters and Ravensloot, 2001) to name but a few examples which witness irrigation
systems being constructed in the centuries either side of A.D. 1000.
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3 CONCLUSIONS
4
5
6 The depositional history of the Rio Puerrco basin study area around Quadalupe Ruin
7 exhibits a consistent sequence throughout the last ca. 6000 years. It also offers both contrasts
8 and corroboration with broader regional and sub-regional trends and sequences. Our work has
9 developed and refined the earlier research of many others in this watershed (Bryan, 1928;
10 Love et al., 1982; Nials, 2003; Shepherd, 1978). Two major sets of environmental parameters
11
12
seem to pertain and alternate. First, there are phases of instability marked by greater run-off
13 and the deposition of fine sands/silts in an aggrading floodplain, often associated with channel
14 incision, all of which are associated with repeated fire signatures which are probably surface
15 light rather than stand-replacing fires, both on the floodplain edge and elsewhere in the
16 catchment. Second, these phases alternate with periods of relative stability associated with
17
slower and finer run-off and overbank sedimentation, a more moist climatic and soil regime
18
19 associated with incipient soil formation on the floodplain with only occasional fire signatures.
20 There is a wide measure of agreement with respect to the two most recent periods of channel
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21 incision in the few centuries after A.D. 1000 and in the late 19th century, with at least two
22 earlier periods of entrenchment observed prior to Cal. yr A.D. 370-540 and 5750-5640 Cal. yr
23 B.C. Moreover, as early as about 4200-4000 years ago there appear to be good indications of
24
some land management and an effort made to capture run-off water within the floodplain, to
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26 maintain groundwater tables and possibly deliberately enhance both wild and cultivated plant
27 growth.
28
29 Acknowledgements
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31 This project was funded through two Research Joint Venture Agreements between the United States
32
Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Cultural Heritage
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Research - Work Unit 4853 and the Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, and the
35 Paleo Research Institute in Golden, Colorado. We would also like to thank Beta-Analytic Inc. for
36 providing the comprehensive suite of radiocarbon dates, and Julie Boreham of the Department of
37 Archaeology, University of Cambridge, for making the thin sections, as well as assistance in the field.
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38 Matt Brudenell, Steve Hall, Ann-Maria Hart, Ivy Owens and Richard Periman all provided
39 illustrations. Susan Smith of the Laboratory of Paleoecology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
40 is much thanked for doing the pollen and charcoal counts. Thanks also to the critical and constructive
41 comments of the anonymous referees.
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42
43 REFERENCES
44
45
46 Aby, S., Gellis, A., & Pavich, M. (2004). The Rio Puerco arroyo cycle and the history of
47 landscape changes. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.
48 (http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/impacts/geology/puerco1/).
49 Antevs, E. (1952). Arroyo cutting an infilling. Journal of Geology, 60, 375-385.
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52 Baker, L. L., & Durand, S. R. (Eds.) (2003). Prehistory of the Middle Rio Puerco Valley,
53 Sandoval County, New Mexico. Portales: Archaeological Society of New Mexico
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59 of the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Journal of Geology, 36, 265-282.
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42 Folks, J.J., & Stone, W.B. (1968). Soil Survey, Cabezon Area, New Mexico. U.S. Department
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46 Force, E. R. (2004). Late Holocene behaviour of Chaco and McElmo Canyon drainages
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49 Force, E.R., Vivian, R.G., Windes, T.C. & Dean, J. (2002). Relation of ‘Bonito’ Paleo-
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53 Arizona.
54 French, C. (2002). Long-term landscape and fire history of riparian areas of northern New
55 Mexico and western Montana; Interim Report 2: Field assessment of the Rio Puerco
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57 Service Rocky Mountain Research Work Unit 4853.
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Mexico: a review of Holocene sedimentation history. Unpublished report
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14 Huckleberry, G.A. (1995). Archaeological implications of Late Holocene Channel Changes
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21 Haynes, C.V. Jr. (1968). Geochronology of late Quaternary alluvium. In R.M. Morrison and
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26 Nichols, & P.P. Andrews (Eds.), Excavations on Black Mesa, 1981: A descriptive
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34 drainages on Black Mesa, Northeastern Arizona, USA. Geoarchaeology 20, 1, 1-29.
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Legleiter, C. J., Lawrence, R. L., Fonstad, M. A., Marcus, W. A., & Aspinall, R. (2003).
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42 Love, D. W. (1980). Quaternary Geology of Chaco Canyon, Northwestern New Mexico.

43 Unpublished PhD, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
44 Love, D. W., Hawley, J. W., & Young, J. D. (1982). Preliminary report on the geomorphic
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46 history of the lower Rio Puerco in relation to archaeological sites and cultural
47 resources of the lower Hidden Mountain Dam site. In P. L. Eidenbach (Ed.), Inventory
48 Survey of the Lower Hidden Mountain Floodpool, Lower Rio Puerco Drainage,
49 Central New Mexico (pp. 21-65). Tularosa: Human Systems Research Inc.
50 Marion, G.M., Schlesinger, W.H. & Fonteyn, P.J. (1985). CALDEP: a regional model for
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53 Marshall, A. (1988). Visualising burnt areas: patterns of magnetic susceptibility at Guiting
54 round barrow (Glos., UK). Archaeological Prospection, 5, 59-177.
55 Matson, R. G. (1991). The Origins of Southwestern Agriculture. Tuscon: University of
56 Arizona Press.
57 Meyer, G. A., & Pierce, J. L. (2003). Climatic controls on fire-induces sediment pulses in
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60 Ecology and Management, 178, 89-104.
Miller, J.R., & Kochel, R.C. (1999). Review of Holocene hillslope, piedmont, and arroyo
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3 system evolution in Southwestern United States: Implications to climate-induced
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9 Minnis, P.E. (1985). Social Adaptation to Food Stress: A Prehistoric Southwestern Example.
10 Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
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Murphy, C. P. (1986). Thin section preparation of soils and sediments. Berkhamsted: AB
13 Academic.
14 Nials, F. L. (1972). Geology. In C. Irwin-Williams (Ed.), The Structure of Chacoan Society in
15 the Northern Southwest (pp. 131-144). Contributions in Anthropology, 4, 3. Portales:
16 Eastern New Mexico University Press.
17
Nials, F. L. (2003). Geology and geomorphology of the middle Rio Puerco valley. In L.L.
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19 Baker & S.R. Durand (Eds.), Prehistory of the Middle Rio Puerco Valley, Sandoval
20 County, New Mexico (pp. 21-34). Archaeological Survey of New Mexico, Special
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21 Publication No. 3.
22 Nials, F.L., & Durand, S. R. (2003). Environmental change in the middle Rio Puerco valley.
23 In L.L. Baker & S.R. Durand (Eds.), Prehistory of the Middle Rio Puerco Valley,
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Sandoval County, New Mexico (pp. 35-53). Archaeological Survey of New Mexico,
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26 Special Publication No. 3.
27 Nials, F.L., Gregory, D.A. & Graybill, D.A. (1989). Salt River streamflow and Hohokam
28 irrigation systems. In D.G. Graybill, D.A. Gregory, F.L. Nials, S.K. Fish, C.H.
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Miksicek, R.E.Gasser & C.R.Szuter (Eds.), The 1982-1984 Excavations at Las

30 Collinas: Environmenet and Subsistence (pp. 59-76). Archaeological Series 162,
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34 Del Oso Valley. Geoarchaeology, 20, 193-210.
35 Phippen, S. J., & Wohl, E. (2003). An assessment of land use and other factors affecting
36 sediment loads in the Rio Puerco watershed, New Mexico. Geomorphology, 52, 269-
37 287.
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Pierce, J. L., Meyer, G. A., & Jull, A. J. T. (2004). Fire-induced erosion and millennial-scale
40 climate change in northern ponderosa forests. Nature, 432, 87-90.
41 Popp, C. J., Hawley, J. W., Love, D. W., & Dehn, M. (1988). Use of radiometric (Cs-137,
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42 Pb-210), geomorphic and stratigraphic techniques to date recent oxbow sediments in

43 the Rio Puerco drainage Grants uranium region, New Mexico. Environmental Geology
44 and Water Science 11, 253-69.
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46 Roering, J. J., & Gerber, M. (2005). Fire and the evolution of steep, soil-mantled landscapes.
47 Geology, 33, 349-52.
48 Rose, M. R. (1979). Preliminary annual and seasonal dendroclimatic reconstruction for the
49 Northwest Plateau, southwest Colorado, Southwest Mountains, and Northern
50 Mountain regions, A.D. 900-1969. Unpublished manuscript, Portales: Department of
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52
53 Rose, M. R., Dean, J.S., & Robinson, W.J. (1981). The Past Climate of Arroyo Hondo, New
54 Mexico, Reconstructed from Tree Rings. Arroyo Hondo Archaeological Series,
55 (Volume 4). Sante Fe: School of American Research.
56 Scholl, D. G., & Aldon, E. F. (1988). Runoff and sediment yield from two semiarid sites in
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60 Schumm, S.A. (1977). The fluvial system. New York: Wiley.
Scott Cummings, L. (2004). Pollen and charcoal analysis of stratigraphic samples from Tapia
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3 Arroyo and Rio Puerco, New Mexico. Paleo Research Institute Technical Report 02-
4
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08.
6 Shepherd, R. G. (1978). Distinction of aggradational and degradational fluvial regimes in
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Stuiver, M., & van der Plicht, H. (1998). Editorial comment. Radiocarbon 40, 3, xii-xiii.
13 Stuiver, M., Reimer, P. J., Bard, E., Beck, J. W., Burr, G. S., Hughen, K. A., Kromer, B.,
14 McCormac, G., van der Plicht, J., & Spurk, M. (1998). INTCAL98 Radiocarbon Age
15 Calibration 24,000-0 cal BP. Radiocarbon 40, 3, 1041-83.
16 Swetman, T. W. (1993). History and climate change in giant sequoia groves. Science, 262,
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885-889.
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19 Talma, A. S., & Vogel, J. C. (1993). A simplified approach to calibrating C14 dates.
20 Radiocarbon 35, 2, 317-322.
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21 Waters, M.R., & Haynes, C.V. (2001). Later Quaternary arroyo formation and climate change
22 in the American Southwest. Geology, 29, 399-402.
23 Waters, M.R., & Ravesloot, J.C. (2001). Landscape change and cultural evolution of the
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26 American Antiquity, 66, 2, 285-299.
27 Whitlock, C., & Larsen, C. P. S. (2001). Charcoal as a fire proxy. In J. P. Smol, H. J. B.
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34 American Southwest (pp. 1-25). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
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Figures
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34 1. Location map of the study area in the Rio Puerco basin (Note: contours in feet; A is the Rio
35 Puerco profile as in Table 1; B: is the Arroyo Tapia profile as in Table 2) (M. Brudenell,
36 based on 1:100,000 1999 BLM Edition of Chaco Mesa)
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2. A view westwards across the Rio Puerco valley to the north of Guadalupe Ruin with the
40 modern incised channel and new gully formation evident (C. French)
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42 3. Close-up of the main section (profile A) of the Rio Puerco near Guadalupe Ruin showing
43 Unit D with the incipient soils and the associated Archaic period re-cut ditches of ca. 2500-
44 2200 cal. B.C. (R. Periman)
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47 4. Schematic section of the main alluvial units and river channels in the Rio Puerco reach near
48 Guadalupe Ruin (A-M. Hart after C. French)
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50 5. The Arroyo Tapia section at profile B (S. Hall)
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53 6. Schematic section of the main alluvial units and river channels in the Arroyos Tapia and
54 Guadalupe (A-M. Hart after C. French)
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56 7. A fire reddened zone (labeled A) as exposed in unit E of the Canon Tapia profile with an
57 inset photomicrograph of the in situ burnt surface horizon of fine sandy clay (frame width
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4.25mm; cross polarised light) (C. French)
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3 8. Photomicrograph of a lens of fine sandy alluvial, valley infilling sediments with re-
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deposited fine amorphous organic matter and micro-charcoal (labeled C) in unit F in the
6 Arroyo Tapia at profile B (frame width 4.25mm; plane polarised light) (C. French)
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8 9. Pollen diagram of the Rio Puerco sequence with the associated charcoal frequencies and
9 concentrations (data supplied by Susan Smith, Laboratory of Paleoecology, Northern Arizona
10 University, Flagstaff) (L.Scott-Cummings)
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13 10. Pollen diagrams of the Arroyo Tapia sequence with the associated charcoal frequencies
14 and concentrations (data supplied by Susan Smith, Laboratory of Paleoecology, Northern
15 Arizona University, Flagstaff) (L.Scott-Cummings)
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34 Tables
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36 I. The stratigraphic sequence in the Rio Puerco basin at Guadalupe, located at Profile A
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II. The stratigraphic sequence in the Arroyo Tapia based on profile B with two additional,
40 basal units added from Arroyo Quadalupe
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42 III. Radiocarbon dates of the major units and burnt/reddened lenses in the Arroyo Tapia and
43 Rio Puerco drainages with calibrations given at 2 sigma or 95% probability (after Stuiver et
44 al., 1998; Stuiver and van der Plicht, 1998; Talma and Vogel, 1993)
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47 IV. Summary of the main features in the micromorphological analysis
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49 V. Provenance of the pollen and charcoal samples taken from the Arroyo Tapia and Rio
50 Puerco profiles
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53 VI. Summary pollen data with the relative frequencies of arboreal and non-arboreal pollen,
54 woodland, weeds, Poaceae and Zea pollen, and the numbers of Zea aggregates in the Arroyo
55 Tapia and Rio Puerco profiles
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57 VII. Interpretative sequence of incision, infilling and erosion, vegetation, and relative stability
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and soil formation phases in the Rio Puerco basin around Guadalupe
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3 Unit Depth (cm) Description
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A 0-30 fine sand and silty clay alluvium acting as modern soil profile and present day
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valley floor with Pueblo period remains; deep, sand/gravel infilled channels cut
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from this level to the base of the present Rio Puerco
8 30-100 fine sand/silt alluvium
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10 B 100-140 dark brown, organic, silty clay with columnar blocky ped structure; incipient
11 soil
12 development
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14 C 140-500 bedded fine sands and silts, with occasional thin lenses of fine charcoal; ditch defines
15 ca. 200 cm
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17 D 500-625 2/3 superimposed horizons of brown, organic, silty clay with columnar
18 blocky ped
19 structure; cumulic, incipient soil development; recut ditches define at base of this unit;
20 with pollen indicative of localised pinyon-juniper woods with some oak, willow &
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21 mesquite & diverse non-arboreal pollen; grasses & sedges common with moist areas;
22 maize present; local fires
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24 upper surface inset terrace bench on south side of modern channel with large, 70+ year old,
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28 E 625-1050 bedded fine sands/silts/silty clay alluvial deposits; with wide, large channels defining
29 at this level upstream and downstream; reddened lenses at 1040 cm; local fires
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31 F 1050-1100 brown organic silty clays with columnar blocky ped structure developed on bedrock;
32 cumulic incipient soil development
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1100+ base of incised modern channel
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38 Table I. The stratigraphic sequence in the Rio Puerco basin at Guadalupe, located at profile A
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8 Unit Depth (cm) Description
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10 A 0-30 fine sand/silt alluvium acting as the present day valley floor with Pueblo period
11 remains; deep (11 m), sand/gravel infilled channel incision from this surface to base of
12 arroyo wall
13 30-100 bedded fine quartz sand, with some thin (3 cm) cay beds in the lower part of the unit
14 with secondary carbonates throughout; basal contact is an erosional unconformity that
15 may correspond to a channel with axial basalt gravels exposed downstream; this
16 channel also cut into unit B below
17
18 B 100-180 brown silty clays exhibiting a columnar blocky structure and weak A horizon
19 development at the top of the unit; cumulic incipient soil development;
20 interrupted
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21 by two lenses of fine sand; charcoal lens at ca. 150 cm; in situ lens of reddened
22 sediment at 165-170 cm
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24 C 180-215 bedded fine sand
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25 215-235 bedded fine sand and sandy silts

26 235-245 finely bedded silty clay
27 245-247 in situ burnt silt/very fine sand; with a hearth defining at this level
28 247-310 bedded silty clays and fine sands
29 310-425 bedded fine sand/silt with occasional silty clay lens
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30 425-425.5 thin (<0.5 cm), discontinuous charcoal lens

425.5-475 bedded fine sand/silt; minor erosional unconformity at base; all channel fill deposit
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that cut into unit D below
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D 475-545 brown silty clays exhibiting a columnar blocky structure and weak A horizon
34 development at the top of the unit; cumulic incipient soil formation; burnt lens at 505-
35 515 cm; arboreal flora defines at the upper surface of this unit with pollen indicative
36 of sparse pinyon pine, oak woods with willow and charcoal of local fires, and maize;
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erosional unconformity at base; channel incision over a depth of 2.5m

38 545-595 fine sand
39 595-630 bedded fine sand and silty clay with in situ burnt
40 sand/silt zone at 610 cm; base of this unit is erosional unconformity that
41
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corresponds to channel cut into lower unit just upstream which extends for ca. 210 cm
42 below the base of this unit is filled with gravels and cross-bedded sands
43 630-650 fine sand
44 650-760 alternating, bedded silty clay/fine sand with discontinuous charcoal lenses at
45 655 and
46 760 cm; in situ sand/silt sediment zone at 760 cm; ditches define at ca. 700 cm; also
47 towards base small ditches at a right angle to the floodplain; the sharp basal contact is
48 a minor erosional unconformity
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50 E 760-890 massive, yellowish brown, bedded silty clay with in situ reddened sand/silt lens at
51 865-868 cm
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53 F 890-1000 alternating bedded silty clay and fine sand becoming coarse, cross-bedded sand in the
54 lower half of the unit
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56 870-1000 recent section slumping and inset terrace; sparse pinyon-pine, juniper, oak woodland
57 with sagebrush, grasses, non-arboreal flora and little charcoal
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59 and in Arroyo Guadalupe only:
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G 1000-1050 silty clays exhibiting columnar blocky structure and weak A horizon development at
top of unit; cumulic incipient soil formation
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2 H 1050-1100 in situ burnt lenses in bedded yellowish brown alluvial silty clay
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4 1100+ modern channel bed
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6 Table II. The stratigraphic sequence in the Arroyo Tapia based on profile B with two
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8 additional basal units added from Arroyo Quadalupe
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12 Context Unit Depth Laboratory Conventional Calibrated date
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(cm) number radiocarbon age (2 sigma)
15 (yr B.P.)
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17 Arroyo Tapia:
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19 Charcoal lens B 150 Beta-186730; 1620+/-40; Cal. yr A.D. 370-540;
20 towards base of Beta-186731 1610 +/- 40 Cal. yr A.D. 380-540
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21 unit
22 Middle soil D 655 Beta-186733 3900+/-40 2480-2280 Cal. yr B.C.
23 development
horizon (of three)
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Charcoal lens E 785 Beta-186742 4280+/-40 2920-2870 Cal. yr B.C.

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near top of unit
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Charcoal lens E 870 Beta-186735 4410+/-40 3310-3230 &
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towards base of 3310-2910 Cal. yr B.C.
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unit
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Charcoal lens at E 890 Beta-186738 4950+/-40 3790-3650 Cal. yr B.C.

30
base of unit
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Charcoal lens F 910 Beta-186739 5280+/-50 4240-3980 Cal. yr B.C.
32 towards top of
rR
33 unit
34 Charcoal lens in F 930 Beta-186744 5310+/-40 4240-4030 &
35 middle of unit 4020-4000 Cal. yr B.C.
36 Charcoal in F 930 Beta-186740 6180+/-40 5270-5010 Cal. yr B.C.
37
ev
middle of unit
38 Charcoal lens in F 932 Beta-186745 6550+/-40 5550-5470 Cal. yr B.C.
39 middle of unit
40 Charcoal lens F 966 Beta-186746 6720+/-40 5700-5600 & 5580-5560 Cal.
41
iew
towards base of yr B.C.

42 unit
43 Charcoal from c. 800 Beta-186747 170+/-40 Cal. yr A.D. 1650-1890 &
44 inset terrace 1910-1950
45
46 Rio Puerco:
47
48 Charcoal from c. 665 Beta-186747 170 Cal. yr A.D. 1650-1890 &
49 inset terrace 1910-1950
50 bench in base of
51 modern channel
52 Charcoal from D 600 Beta-186732 3950+/-40 2570-2520 &
53 primary fill of & 186734 2500-2330 Cal. yr B.C.
54 ditch in base of
55 unit
56 Charcoal from E 1040 Beta-186743 6820+/-40 5750-5640 Cal. yr B.C.
57 burnt lens near
58 base of unit
59
60
3
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1
2 Table III. Radiocarbon dates of the major units and burnt/reddened lenses in the Arroyo Tapia
3 and Rio Puerco drainages with calibrations given at 2 sigma or 95% probability (after Stuiver
4
5
et al., 1998; Stuiver and van der Plicht, 1998; Talma and Vogel, 1993)
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16 Unit/context Main matrix Features/inclusions Interpretation
17
18 Rio Puerco:
19
20 Unit D, base; basal ditch fining upwards sequence silty clay, amorphous open ditch receiving infill
Fo
21 fills at 632-625 and 625- of alternating lenses of organic matter, fine of fines in slow/shallow to
22 614 cm clay/silt and silt/fine sand charcoal fragments & still/shallow water
23 calcium carbonate derived from run-off
24
rP
25 Unit D, base; upper non-laminated silty clay sub-angular blocky ped fines deposition in still
26 secondary ditch fill at with minor fine quartz structure water in ditch with
27 555-545 cm sand subsequent incipient soil
28 development
29
ee
30 Unit D, lower palaeosol; fine to very fine quartz successive void infillings repeated depositions of
31 520-510 cm sand of micro-laminated, fines and organic matter
32 amorphous organic-rich, and fire derived fine
rR
33 silty clay; included charcoal representing

34 common fine charcoal aggradation and weak soil
35 development with a high
36 groundwater table,
37 probably in a flood
ev
38 meadow situation
39
40 Unit B; bedded sands, alternating silty clay and abundant included fine to run-off and overbank
41 122-110 cm silt/fine quartz sand very fine charcoal alluvial deposition on
iew
42 laminae floodplain with wash-out

from fires
43
44
Arroyo Tapia:
45
46
Unit C, eg. of reddened 1-2cm thick, silty clay; amorphous iron temporary surface of
47
lens, 335-325 cm overlain by fine sandy impregnated; with alluvial deposits with in
48 clay overlying, intercalated situ burning; then
49 weakly striated dusty clay renewed overbank
50 alluvial deposition
51
52 Unit C, eg. of reddened 1-3cm thick, alternating included very fine alternating in situ burnt
53 and charcoal-rich lens, lenses of sandy clay with fragments of charcoal alluvial surfaces and
54 310-300cm a surface crust of oriented inwashings of micro-
55 dusty clay and burnt charcoal in fine, once
56 amorphous organic matter more organic-rich,
57 and micro-charcoal in a alluvial sediments
58 vughy, fine sandy clay
59
60 Unit B: eg. of charcoal- 1-2cm thick; irregular charcoal fragments of burnt alluvial deposit with
rich lens, 135-125 cm aggregates of very fine to <2cm; discrete, repeated washed in charcoal; with
fine quartz sand and very lenses of amorphous secondary gypsum
4
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2 fine sandy clay sesquioxides; gypsum in formation indicative of
3 the pores high temperatures and
4 evaporation
5
6 Table IV. Summary of the main features in the micromorphological analysis
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Site Sample Unit Depth Description
16 no. (cm)
17
18 Arroyo Tapia: 1 B 150 charcoal lens in upper zone of slowly aggrading silty clays with
19 columnar blocky structure
20 2 C 245-7 in situ burnt silt/very fine sand
Fo
21 3 D 505-15 burnt lens in the middle zone of slowly aggrading silty clays
22 with columnar blocky structure
23 4 D 655 in situ burnt sand/silt with discontinuous charcoal
24 5 D 760 in situ burnt sand/silt with discontinuous charcoal
rP
25 6 E 865 in situ burnt sand/silt

26 7 D 675-85 thick lens of charcoal and in situ burnt sand/silt
27 8 D 645-55 silty clay lens with charcoal on upper contact
28 9 D 690-7 silty clay lens with charcoal
29 10 D 575 discontinuous in situ burnt zone in bedded fine sands with
ee
30 charcoal
31 11 D 590 discontinuous in situ burnt zone and charcoal in bedded fine
32 sands
rR
33 12 D 690-1 charcoal and in situ burnt sand/silt

34 13 D 704 in situ burning and fine charcoal associated with discontinuous
35 clay lenses in bedded fine sands and a recut ditch
ev

40 16 40 organic duff layer in inset terrace, likely deposited sometime in
41 the past 100 to 50 years
iew
42
Rio Puerco: 17 B 105 upper zone of slowly aggrading silty clay with columnar blocky
43
ped structure
44
18 B 120 upper zone of slowly aggrading silty clay with columnar blocky
45
ped structure
46
19 B 135 upper zone of slowly aggrading silty clay with columnar blocky
47
ped structure
48
20 D 500 top of the middle zone of three major horizons of slowly
49
aggrading silty clay with columnar blocky ped structure; recut
50 ditch defines within this zone
51
21 D 550 middle zone of the middle buried soil composed of slowly
52 aggrading silty clay with columnar blocky ped structure; recut
53 ditch defines within this zone
54 22 D 550 primary fill of smaller, earlier ditch defining at the base of the
55 middle buried soil horizon composed of slowly aggrading silty
56 clay with columnar blocky ped structure
57 23 D 570 basal fill of small, earlier ditch defining at the base of the
58 middle zone of middle buried soil horizon; composed of slowly
59 aggrading silty clay with columnar blocky ped structure
60 24 D 625 basal fill of large ditch defining at the base of the middle zone
of middle buried soil horizon; composed of slowly aggrading
silty clay with columnar blocky ped structure
5
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2
3 Table V. Provenance for the pollen and charcoal samples taken from the Arroyo Tapia and
4 Rio Puerco profiles
5
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8
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19
20
Sample: Sum Sum % Trees % Weeds % % Zea No. of
Fo
21
22 arboreal non- Poaceae Zea
23 pollen arboreal aggregate
24 pollen s
rP
25
26 Arroyo
27 Tapia:
28 1 192 317 38.2 25.9 9.4 - -
29
ee
2 167 242 42.5 30.1 2.0 - -

30 3 163 267 38.4 38.4 6.0 - -
31 4 156 265 37.6 43.4 2.4 - 2
32 5 180 231 44.0 39.4 1.0 - -
rR
33 6 151 295 34.9 34.7 5.6 - 2

34 7 88 317 21.7 67.7 1.5 - 4
35 8 227 237 48.9 30.4 1.5 - 1
36 9 159 295 35.1 43.6 3.3 - 2
37 10 293 375 44.8 32.3 3.0 - -
ev
38 11 179 281 39.3 36.1 5.4 - -

39 12 40 307 13.5 48.2 3.7 - 2
40 13 40 366 11.2 51.9 5.4 - 2
41
iew
14 41 379 9.7 56.2 7.1 - 2

42 15 29 339 8.2 81.8 0.8 - 2
43 16 192 238 44.9 33.3 6.7 - -
44 Rio
45 Puerrco:
46 17 229 178 56.3 37.1 - 2.2 1
47 18 103 343 23.3 55.8 2.9 - -
48 19 80 337 21.1 50.8 2.9 0.5 -
49 20 103 357 22.8 52.2 7.2 - -
50 21 167 320 34.2 43.1 5.5 - -
51 22 121 267 31.5 42.0 10.6 - 1
52 23 172 340 33.6 41.0 2.9 - -
53 24 141 307 31.5 41.1 54.6 - -
54
55
56
57 Table VI. Summary pollen data with relative frequencies of arboreal and non-arboreal pollen,
58 woodland, weeds, Poaceae and Zea pollen, and the numbers of Zea aggregates in the Arroyo
59 Tapia and Rio Puerco profiles
60
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Unit Interpretation Date
18
19
Terrace Infilling of base of present day Puerco river channel 20th century A.D.
20 inset Sparse pinyon-pine, juniper, oak woodland with sagebrush, grasses,
Fo
21 non-arboreal flora and little charcoal

22
23 Modern Severe river incision and extensive erosion of valley fill deposits from A.D. 1765;
24 Puerco especially from A.D.
rP
25 channel 1885-90
26 and
27 tributary
28 arroyos
29
ee
30 A Valley infilling and then stability represented by cumulic soil ca. A.D. 900-1400
31 developed on fine sandy/silt alluvium as Puebloan to present day soil
32 profile; Puerco valley incised by very deep (ca. 11m) and wide river
rR
33 channel, and Arroyo Tapia incised by shallower (<2 m) channel

34
35 B Stability represented by incipient soil developed in silty clay alluvium A.D. 370-540
36 interrupted with only minor erosional input of sandy/silt alluvium
37
ev
38 C Valley infilling with bedded fine sandy/silt/silty clay alluvium with

39 washed in charcoal and anthropogenic activities represented by hearths
40 and the occasional drainage ditch; minor erosional unconformity at
41 base; Puerco and Arroyo Tapia incised by small and relatively shallow
iew
42 (<3 m) channels
43
44 D Stability represented by 2/3 superimposed incipient soils with recut 2570-2280 B.C.
45 drainage ditches throughout this reach of the Puerco and Arroyo
46 Tapia; interrupted by phases of infilling with sandy/silt/clay alluvium,
47 the latter often associated with in situ burning
48 Localised pinyon-juniper woods with some oak, willow and mesquite,
49 and diverse non-arboreal pollen; grasses and sedges common with
50 moist areas; maize present
51 Minor erosional conformity at base
52
E Valley infilling with fine sandy/silt/silty clay alluvium with washed in 5750-5640 B.C. (at base)
53
charcoal and localised fires; main Puerco valley incised by wide, large
54
and shallow (<2.5 m) river channel
55
56
F Stability represented by incipient soil developed in silty clay alluvium
57
in the Puerco valley; in contrast there was valley infilling with bedded
58 fine sand/silty clay alluvium in the tributary valleys and wide channel
59 incision
60
G Stability represented by incipient soil developed in silty clay alluvium
in the Arroyo Guadalupe
7
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3 H Valley infilling with silty clay alluvium with localised fires in the
4 Arroyo Quadalupe
5
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Table VII. Interpretative sequence of incision, infilling and erosion, vegetation, and relative
8
9 stability and soil formation phases in the Rio Puerco basin around Guadalupe
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French Et Al Fire Geoarchaeology

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French Et Al Fire Geoarchaeology

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Geoarchaeology

Holocene riprian landscape change around Quadalupe Ruin in the middle

Manuscript ID: GEO-07-054

Date Submitted by the

Complete List of Authors: French, Charles; University of Cambridge, Archaeology

Scott Cummings, Linda; Paleo Institute

Keywords: Rio Puerco, alluvium, incipient soil, fire, maize

John Wiley & Sons

21 geomorphological contextualisation of the observed fire signals contained within the

The geoarchaeological survey involved the sedimentary description of continuous

30 Unit E (625-1050 cm) above is comprised of a substantial thickness of laminated silty

38 analysis sought to address were as follows:

30 Apiaceae, Low-spine Asteraceae, Liguliflorae, Boerhaavia-type, Brassicaceae, Sarcobatus,

33 Scrophulariaceae, Solanaceae, Toxicodendron-type, and Typha, representing the presence of

21 pinyon/juniper woodland. The presence of a small quantity of Arceuthobium pollen indicates

of the rose family, saxifrage, and globemallow.

THE EVIDENCE FOR FIRE

42 Love, D. W. (1980). Quaternary Geology of Chaco Canyon, Northwestern New Mexico.

Miksicek, R.E.Gasser & C.R.Szuter (Eds.), The 1982-1984 Excavations at Las

42 Pb-210), geomorphic and stratigraphic techniques to date recent oxbow sediments in

25 at ca. 600 cottonwood trees

John Wiley & Sons

25 215-235 bedded fine sand and sandy silts

30 425-425.5 thin (<0.5 cm), discontinuous charcoal lens

erosional unconformity at base; channel incision over a depth of 2.5m

Charcoal lens E 785 Beta-186742 4280+/-40 2920-2870 Cal. yr B.C.

Charcoal lens at E 890 Beta-186738 4950+/-40 3790-3650 Cal. yr B.C.

towards base of yr B.C.

33 silty clay; included charcoal representing

42 laminae floodplain with wash-out

25 6 E 865 in situ burnt sand/silt

33 12 D 690-1 charcoal and in situ burnt sand/silt

38 15 D 741 in situ burning and fine charcoal associated with discontinuous

2 167 242 42.5 30.1 2.0 - -

33 6 151 295 34.9 34.7 5.6 - 2

38 11 179 281 39.3 36.1 5.4 - -

14 41 379 9.7 56.2 7.1 - 2

21 non-arboreal flora and little charcoal

33 channel, and Arroyo Tapia incised by shallower (<2 m) channel

38 C Valley infilling with bedded fine sandy/silt/silty clay alluvium with

33 287x203mm (72 x 72 DPI)

29 1034x623mm (72 x 72 DPI)

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