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Early agriculture in the Eastern Grand Canyon of Arizona, USA
Author(s) -
Davis Sidney W.,
Davis Marie E.,
Lucchitta Ivo,
Finkel Robert,
Caffee Mark
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6548(200012)15:8<783::aid-gea3>3.0.co;2-i
Subject(s) - canyon , alluvium , colorado plateau , archaeology , agriculture , san joaquin , plateau (mathematics) , geology , alluvial fan , abandonment (legal) , pollen , hydrology (agriculture) , river valley , soil water , geography , geomorphology , ecology , structural basin , geochemistry , biology , mathematical analysis , mathematics , geotechnical engineering , political science , soil science , law
Abandoned fields in Colorado River alluvium in the eastern Grand Canyon show signs of primitive agriculture. Presence of maize pollen in association with buried soils near Comanche Creek suggests that farming began prior to 3130 yr B.P. Cotton pollen, identified in buried soils near Nankoweap Creek, dates to 1310 yr B.P., approximately 500 years earlier than previously reported anywhere on the Colorado Plateau. Farming spanned three millennia in this reach of the canyon. Entrenchment, starting approximately 700 yr B.P., making water diversion to fields infeasible, was likely responsible for field abandonment. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.