Papers by Hoski Schaafsma
Good afternoon. In the American Southwest four structure types are generally considered to be the... more Good afternoon. In the American Southwest four structure types are generally considered to be the essential pre-contact ceremonial structures, these are Kivas, Great Rooms, Ballcourts and Platform mounds. Each of these structures is a physical reflection of the beliefs and rituals of the builders. The spatial and temporal distribution of these structures informs us of the distribution of different philosophies, ideologies and religions. Their form and structure offer insights regarding their use. There are, however, other ceremonial structures in the American Southwest, which have been documented but are not as well known. We want to share with you some preliminary results of an ongoing study of precontact ceremonial structures distributed throughout central and southern Arizona. Slide 2 The ceremonial structure types included in our study are summit trails, racetracks, and hilltop enclosures. Our presentation today focuses on the hilltop enclosures. We are interpreting these structures to be ceremonial in nature, though other interpretations have been offered in the past. Slide 3 This idea of region wide conflict got stamped on the landscape as Euroamericans moved into what is now Arizona in the late 1800s. Many moved here soon after fighting in the Civil War and then, arriving in Arizona, engaged in war with the Apache and other indigenous people. These people of war saw every wall on a hilltop as a fort and named them accordingly with names such as Indian Fort, Fort Mountain, Anderson Fort, etc. Archaeologists followed suit and generated a large body of literature and scholarship attempting to figure out who was fighting with whom, why, and when. Hilltop Enclosures are located in areas occupied by various archaeologically defined cultural groups; this and the early misnomer fed the idea that there was regional warfare between cultural groups in Arizona. Current research of these structures is offering a different view of these sites and the intentions of the people who built and used them. We will explore some of these. Slide 4 Hilltop enclosures occur within central Arizona; they are located primarily within the Arizona physiographic Transition Zone. This is a rugged area of complex topography covering the middle of the state from the northwest to the southeast running from roughly the Hualapai Reservation to the New Mexico-Arizona line. The Transition Zone contains over thirty mountain ranges with thousands of hills and valleys. Hundreds of the hilltops in this area are crowned by prehistoric masonry structures.
Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society, 2008
Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, prehistoric people used running and ra... more Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, prehistoric people used running and racing as a means of religious expression, personal sacrifice and community cohesion. In such context, the physical location of racing was often unimportant and constructed facilities were relatively rare. In the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona, however, manufactured “racetracks” were highly formalized and represent the only form of communal architecture in this area. We studied these features with the goal of better understanding the behavior and beliefs of Native Americans along the middle Agua Fria and Verde Rivers between A.D. 1100 to 1400, and how they fit into the surrounding social landscape. Our data suggest that rapid aggregation from disparate origins led to the avoidance of dissimilar ritual architecture and a subsequent focus on a shared social-ritual activity: racing.
contributed to the field research and analyses throughout the field season.
KIVA, 2011
Abstract Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, indigenous peoples have used ... more Abstract Throughout the Southwestern United States and Mesoamerica, indigenous peoples have used running and racing as means of religious expression, environmental control, personal sacrifice, and community cohesion. In such contexts, the physical location of racing was often unimportant, and manufactured facilities were relatively rare. In the Perry Mesa region of Central Arizona, however, constructed racetracks were highly formalized and elaborated. Along with their associated plazas, they represent the only recognized form of communal architecture on Perry Mesa. We study these features with the goal of better understanding the behaviors and beliefs of the people who lived along the Middle Agua Fria and Verde rivers prehistorically and how their communities fit into the surrounding social landscape. Our data suggest that rapid aggregation from disparate origins led to the abdication of dissimilar ritual architecture and a subsequent focus on racing and feasting, ritual activities probably familiar to each group. We argue that concentration on shared ritual and the avoidance of dissimilarity allowed for the emergence of a new identity in a time of dramatic social change. Abstract A lo largo de todo el suroeste de los Estados Unidos de América y Mesoamérica, los pueblos indígenas hart utilizado el correr y las carreras como medio de expresión religiosa, de control ambiental, como sacrificio personal, y para fomentar la cohesión comunitaria. En dichos contextos, comúnmente la ubicación física de la carrera no era importante, y las estructuras fabricadas especialmente para carreras eran poco comunes. Sin embargo, en la región de Perry Mesa del centro de Arizona, se construyeron pistas de carreras altamente formalizadas y elaboradas. Junto con las plazas asociadas a estas, las pistas de carreras representan la única forma reconocida de arquitectura colectiva en Perry Mesa. Investigamos estos rasgos con el objetivo de mejorar nuestra comprensión del comportamiento y de las creencias de los pueblos que vivieron en la prehistoria a lo largo del río Middle Agua Fría, y del río Verde. Y cómo estos pueblos se integraron al panorama social que los rodeaba. Nuestros datos sugieren que una agregación rápida de origines dispares llevó a la abdicatión de arquitectura ritual disimilar, y a un enfoque posterior en las carreras y en celebraciones, actividades rituales con las que probablemente estaba familiarizada cada grupo. Nosotros argumentamos que la concentratión en rituales compartidos y el evitar la disimilitud permitieron el surgimiento de una nueva identidad, en una época de cambios sociales dramáticos.
Ecosystems, 2013
Closely integrated research between archaeologists and ecologists provides a long-term view of hu... more Closely integrated research between archaeologists and ecologists provides a long-term view of human land use that is rare in the ecological literature, allowing for investigation of activities that lead to enduring environmental outcomes. This extended temporal perspective is particularly important in aridlands where succession occurs slowly and ecosystem processes are mediated by abiotic, geomorphic factors. Numerous studies show that impacts from ancient human actions can persist, but few have explored the types of practices or mechanisms that lead to either transient or long-term environmental change. We compared plant and soil properties and processes from a range of landscape patch types in the Sonoran Desert of the US Southwest that supported different, well-documented prehistoric farming practices from AD 750-1300. Our results show that the types of ancient human activities that leave long-term ecological legacies in aridlands are those that fundamentally alter ''slow variables'' such as soil properties that regulate the timing and supply of water. Prehistoric Hohokam floodwater-irrigation practices, but not dryland farming techniques, substantially altered soil texture, which was strongly associated with desert plant community and functional composition. However, prehistoric agriculture did not consistently alter long-term nutrient availability and thus had no impact on ''fast variables'' such as production of seasonal annual plants that are restricted to periods of ample rainfall. In this arid ecosystem, the inverse texture model explained patterns in plant functional composition at large scales, but is less predictive of production of shortlived desert annuals that experience a more mesic precipitation regime.
Reanalysis and …, 2008
Southwestern archaeologists use a different set of assumptions when interpreting the presence of ... more Southwestern archaeologists use a different set of assumptions when interpreting the presence of disarticulated human remains in the archaeological record than they do for other artifact classes. Isolated human remains reported in the archaeological literature are usually considered to have been deposited in association with mortuary rituals (e.g., secondary burials) or they are assumed to have been displaced from formal burials as a product of nonanthropogenic taphonomic processes even when no formal burials occur in the vicinity of the isolated remains. In this chapter we present selected examples of disarticulated human body parts recovered from archaeological sites in the American Southwest. These include hair, skin, finger bones, partial limbs, and skulls recovered from both mortuary (e.g., as burial accompaniments) and nonmortuary contexts (e.g., within structures or pit features) where evidence suggests that they could not have been placed by post-depositional processes or where human remains were utilized by people for non-funerary purposes.
The 94th ESA Annual Meeting, 2009
In recent years, studies focusing on long-term anthropogenic legacies on the landscape have incre... more In recent years, studies focusing on long-term anthropogenic legacies on the landscape have increased dramatically. It is now well established that legacies of past events can alter landscape patterns and processes for centuries and millennia. The recent work of many researchers ...
Anthropogenic disturbances frequently result in long-term impacts on the landscape. Prehistoric h... more Anthropogenic disturbances frequently result in long-term impacts on the landscape. Prehistoric human activities have been shown to result in permanent transformations of ecosystem structure and function that can be apparent in present day plant communities. Results from ...
public.asu.edu
Abstract: The Perry Mesa region in central Arizona was the location of a major pulse of residenti... more Abstract: The Perry Mesa region in central Arizona was the location of a major pulse of residential occupation and extensive agricultural land use from about AD 1275 to AD 1450. Recent research carried out by a collaborative team of archaeologists and ecologists has documented the ...
A cultural resources survey of three separate areas within the Catalina State Park in Pima County... more A cultural resources survey of three separate areas within the Catalina State Park in Pima County, Arizona for proposed improvements and expansion of the park's main road, and the group and overnight camping areas. This cultural resources survey of portions of Catalina State Park identified one new and one previously recorded archaeological site and twelve isolated occurrences (lOs). Previously recorded site AZ BB:9:218 (ASM) is within the Sutherland Wash Archaeological District. This site should be protected and avoided by all ground disturbing activities. Newly recorded site AZ BB:9:332 (ASM) falls just west of the Sutherland Wash Archaeological District, it is potentially eligible for inclusion on the NRHP, and should be avoided by all ground disturbing activities. If avoidance is not possible, archaeological testing is recommended for both sites. The seven isolated occurrences of historic cultural material and the five prehistoric IOs are not considered eligible for inclusio...
KIVA, 2007
Abstract Ongoing research in the Northern Phoenix Basin has determined that the soils of at least... more Abstract Ongoing research in the Northern Phoenix Basin has determined that the soils of at least five Hohokam agricultural fields were deposited through the diversion of silt-laden floodwaters of Cave Creek onto areas of nonarable sand and cobble desert. The fields are the result of the conscious conversion of nonarable desert lands into agricultural fields. Evidence for the anthropogenic nature of these soils based on the soil, topographic, and pollen records is discussed. The largest of these artificial deposits covers 181,760 m2 and averages approximately 80 cm in depth. The creation of these fields represents a significant gain for prehistoric farmers who were able to create arable land in locations where none previously existed. Similar soil-building technologies have been reported in the ethnographic record, suggesting that there may be a long tradition of field building in the Sonoran Desert. Abstract Investigaciones actuales in el Northern Phoenix Basin han determinado que la tierra fertil de por los menos cinco campos agrícolas Hohokam se acumuló con la desviacion de inundaciones cargadas con sedimento de Cave Creek sobre la superficie del desiertos de arena y guijarros. Los campos resultan de la transformacion consciente de terrenos áridos a áreas productivas. La evidencia de la naturaleza antropogénica de estos suelos según los estudios del suelo, datos topodraficos, y registros de polen será discutida. El mas grande de estos depósitos artificiales embarca 11,760 m2 y alcanza un pomedio de 80 cm de profundidad. La creacion de estos campos represents un gran avance para los agricultures prehistóricos quienes lograron desarrollar tierras cultivables en lugares donde no existían previamente. Tecnologías similares has sido reportadas en el record etnográfico, sugiriendo que existe una larga tradición de crear parcelas en el desierto de Sonora.
Journal of Arid Environments, 2007
Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and savannas is a global phenomenon with undisputed envi... more Woody plant encroachment into grasslands and savannas is a global phenomenon with undisputed environmental and economic consequences. In central Arizona, the location of our study, it is well known that mesquite, juniper, and cacti account for the majority of the woody plant expansion into arid grasslands. Using aerial photographs (1940 and 2001), we quantified an increase in woody vegetation in this area. We estimated that from 1940 to 2001, the amount of woody vegetation at our study site increased from 559.7 ha (6.1% of the area) to 1326.6 ha (14.4%); an increase of 766.9 ha (8.3%). A GIS model which included two soil types (Rock Land and Springerville (fine montmorillonitic, thermic typic chromusterts)) with an elevation range from 1142 to 1183 m and slopes from 01 to 61 is able to account for 30.3% (234 ha) of the increase in woody vegetation at our study site between 1940 to 2001. We also examined the locations of woody vegetation in relation to archaeological sites (pueblos with over 40 rooms) and determined that human activities roughly 600 year ago continue to impact the distribution of woody plants on the modern day landscape.
Ongoing research in the Northern Phoenix Basin has determined that the soils of at least five Hoh... more Ongoing research in the Northern Phoenix Basin has determined that the soils of at least five Hohokam agricultural fields were deposited through the diversion of silt-laden floodwaters of Cave Creek onto areas of nonarable sand and cobble desert. The fields are the result of the conscious conversion of nonarable desert lands into agricultural fields. Evidence for the anthropogenic nature of these soils based on the soil, topographic, and pollen records is discussed. The largest of these artificial deposits covers 181,760 m2 and averages approximately 80 cm in depth. The creation of these fields represents a significant gain for prehistoric farmers who were able to create arable land in locations where none previously existed. Similar soil-building technologies have been reported in the ethnographic record, suggesting that there may be a long tradition of field building in the Sonoran Desert.
Cities can transform ecosystems in multiple ways, through modification of land use and land cover... more Cities can transform ecosystems in multiple ways, through modification of land use and land cover and through exposure to altered physical, chemical, and biological conditions characteristic of urban environments. We compared the multiple impacts of urbanization on microbial carbon (C) and nutrient cycling in ecosystems across Phoenix, Arizona, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the USA. Land-use/land-cover change from desert to managed ecosystems altered soil microbial functioning, primarily through changes in organic matter supply. Although residential xeriscapes often feature native plants and patchy structure like deserts, spatial heterogeneity in soil biogeochemical cycling was not tightly linked to plant canopies. Grassy lawns exhibited higher nitrogen (N) and phosphorus demand by microorganisms than other landscape types, suggesting that high C quality may effectively sequester these nutrients during periods between fertilization events. Soils in native desert remnants exposed to the urban environment had higher organic matter content, but supported lower activities of extracellular peroxidase enzymes compared to outlying deserts. Experimental N enrichment of desert systems decreased peroxidase activities to a similar extent, suggesting that protected desert remnants within the city are receiving elevated N loads that are altering biogeochemical functioning. Although some microbial processes were spatially homogenized in urban desert remnants, resource islands associated with plants remain the dominant organizing factor for most soil properties. The extent to which native desert preserves within the city functionally resemble managed xeriscapes and lawns suggests that these remnant ecosystems are being 'domesticated' by exposure to the urban environment.
The Kiva, 2007
... SILT FIELDS IN THE NORTHERN PHOENIX BASIN HOSKI SCHAAFSMA AND JOHN M. BRIGGS ABSTRACT Ongoing... more ... SILT FIELDS IN THE NORTHERN PHOENIX BASIN HOSKI SCHAAFSMA AND JOHN M. BRIGGS ABSTRACT Ongoing research in the Northern Phoenix Basin has determined that the soils of ... All rights reserved. 431 Page 2. 432 HOSKI SCHAAFSMA AND JOHN M. BRIGGS ...
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Papers by Hoski Schaafsma
perceived problem. For example, much money and effort is spent removing offending ‘invasive’ plants, as is seen throughout the western U.S. with salt cedar (Tamarix sp.). Salt cedar was originally imported into the U.S. from Asia as an ornamental plant and for use in erosion control along streambanks. Following the regional draw-down of water tables and reductions in stream flow over 100 years, salt cedar now outcompetes more mesic native species that relied on seasonal flood flows to recruit, particularly cottonwood (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.). Thus, much of the discussion misses a central issue: the underlying causes that resulted in the ‘invasion.’ People changed the environmental conditions by drawing down the water table by pumping groundwater and damming rivers, as well as grazing livestock throughout much of the western U.S. The imported salt cedar was suited to the altered environmental conditions and was able to flourish while native species struggled. When basic ecosystem function is altered, the composition of plant communities will echo this change. This is not an invasion by an “evil water-sucking plant,” rather, it is a shift in the total ecosystem function including species types. Similar functional changes underlie most ‘species invasions’. In order to address ‘invasions’ adequately, we must first understand anthropogenic effects on the habitat where the apparent invasion has occurred.