Book

Early prehistoric agriculture in the American Southwest

School of American Research Press ; Distributed by University of Washington PressSanta Fe, N.M : [Seattle]Published In 1988 • Pages:

By: Wills, W. H. (Wirt Henry), School Of American Research (Santa Fe, N.M.).

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Wills proposes a new hypothesis for the adoption of agriculture in the Southwest that emphasizes social organization and the socioeconomic system rather than climate and the environment. He points out that hunter-gatherers will not acquire domesticated plants until it fits into their existing settlement pattern, foraging system, and annual cycle. He examines data from several sites to show a pattern of a more sedentary settlement system arising before the adoption of agriculture. Agriculture also seems to have been adopted when it allowed hunter-gatherers to more closely watch the critical resources in their area. For instance, in the Mogollon Highlands it allowed people to wait for and know when pinon pine nuts and deer would be available in the fall.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Theoretical orientation in research and its results
Sociocultural trends
Tillage
Settlement patterns
Land use
traditionCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Middle-Late Desert Archaic
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2010
RegionThe area the document pertains to
North America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Southwest and Basin
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
Book
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Archaeologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
4: Excellent Secondary Data
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Sarah Berry; 2010
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1981 and 1983
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
7000–1800 BP
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, United States; Chihuahua, Mexico
NotesAdditional notes
W. H. Wills
Spine title: Early prehistoric agriculture
'A School of American Research resident scholar book'
Revision of the author's thesis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 156-179)and index
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
88023591
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Indians of North America--Agriculture--Southwest, New
Indians of North America--Southwest, New--Antiquities
Agriculture--Southwest, New--Origin
Southwest, New--Antiquities