Collaborative Research: Three Dimensional Landscape Reconstruction For Long Term Land Use Modeling

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

Dr. W. H. Wills of the University of New Mexico will lead a collaborative team of interdisciplinary researchers from several institutions in a two-year study of the agricultural foundations of the prehistoric complex society that developed in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, between ca. AD 500 and 1300. Chacoan society flourished especially during from AD 900 to 1100 when residents of the high elevation, arid canyon built massive stone buildings (great houses) that formed the social and ritual center for a network that extended over vast distances and included trade relations with societies nearly 1500 miles to the south in Central America. Despite more than a century of inquiry at Chaco, the economic processes which allowed this development are poorly understood, particularly the role of food production in supporting labor and construction of public architecture in an environment that is not currently suitable for intensive agriculture. Understanding how ancient farmers created and sustained costly social institutions in marginal environments may offer real insights for modern efforts to efficiently manage competing demands for limited water or resources in many parts of the United States and other parts of the world. The integration of multiple remote sensing methods draws on scientific and engineering breakthroughs to improve our knowledge about historical changes in the past. The project will employ a range of remote sensing technologies for acquiring highly accurate geospatial data about canyon geomorphology and archaeological site locations as the basis for reconstructing changing land surfaces through time. Like most stream systems in desert environments, Chaco has deep deposits of alluvium that have accumulated over time in response to changes in climate and other factors. The canyon residents adjusted to these changes by altering the location of fields and houses, many of which are deeply buried and visible only in eroded areas or through non-destructive remote sensing technologies such as ground penetrating radar, airborne LiDAR and 3-D photography. These data will be coupled with conventional geoarchaeological information obtained by researchers in the field. The project will use the reconstructed land surfaces as geospatial platforms for evaluating agricultural productivity models, settlement patterns, and human modifications (such as water canals) that may have affected hydrology. The team will identity historical factors that may have provided stimuli for rapid population growth and social innovation, as well as conditions that may have fostered problems that could not be solved and led to the depopulation of the canyon by the 14th century AD.