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Factors Controlling Pre-Columbian and Early Historic Maize Productivity in the American Southwest, Part 2: The Chaco Halo, Mesa Verde, Pajarito Plateau/Bandelier, and Zuni Archaeological Regions

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An Erratum to this article was published on 19 June 2010

Abstract

Chemical and nutrient analyses of 471 soil samples from 161 sites within four archaeological regions (Pajarito Plateau/Bandelier, Zuni, Mesa Verde, and the Chaco Halo) were combined with historical climate data in order to evaluate the agricultural productivity of each region. In addition, maize productivity and field-life calculations were performed using organic-nitrogen (N) values from the upper 50 cm of soil in each region and a range (1–3%/year) of N-mineralization rates. The end-member values of this range were assumed representative of dry and wet climate states. With respect to precipitation and heat, the Pajarito Plateau area has excellent agricultural potential; the agricultural potentials of the Zuni and Mesa Verde regions are good; and the agricultural potential of the Chaco Halo is poor. Calculations of N mineralization and field life indicate that Morfield Valley in Mesa Verde should be able to provide 10 bu/ac of maize for decades (without the addition of N) when organic N-mineralization rates exceed 2%. Productivity and field-life potential decrease in the following order: Zuni, Mesa Verde, Bandelier, Chaco Halo. The Chaco Halo is very unproductive; e.g., 10 bushels per acre can be achieved within the Halo only from soils having the highest organic N concentration (third quartile) and which undergo the highest rate (3%) of N mineralization.

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Notes

  1. Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this paper is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government.

  2. Table 8 was constructed in order to compare soil parameters for all four archaeological regions; i.e., data from the top 50 (actually 46) cm of soil were available for each of the four regions.

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Richard Friedman and Eleanor Griffin for producing the sampling area base maps. Olivia Woodruff and Randall Chiu performed many of the soil-chemistry analyses under the supervision of Terry Plowman. John Stein and Richard Loose participated in the sampling of the Bandelier area; Rory Gauthier guided the sampling at Bandelier. Kenneth Petersen assisted in the sampling of Mesa Verde. John Stein assisted in the sampling of the Chaco Halo, and Daniel Bowannie and Pete Peynetsa guided and assisted in the sampling of the three Zuni field systems. Richard Smith, Keith Lucey, Kenneth Petersen, and Jeffrey Homburg reviewed earlier versions of this manuscript. The author also wishes to thank the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Bandelier National Monument, and the Navajo Nation for access to their lands. Special thanks to George San Miguel and Scott Travis at Mesa Verde National Park, Rory Gauthier at Bandelier National Monument, Dabney Ford at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Roman Pawluk at Zuni, and John Stein at the Navajo Nation for facilitating the sampling program. Dave Meko and Jeffrey Dean allowed the author access to some of the tree-ring data sets presented in this paper. My appreciation also to James Ashby who supplied most of the climate data used in this paper. Jeffrey Homburg who provided field maps which indicated the sites he sampled in Zuni and provided the author with EXCEL files of his soil-chemistry data sets. This study was supported by the National Science Foundation grant no. DEB-0816400 and the National Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey.

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Correspondence to Larry V. Benson.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10816-010-9091-y

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Supplementary Table 1

Chemistry of soils from the western Dolores area (XLS 31 kb)

Supplementary Table 2

Site, location, and chemical and physical data for soil samples from the four archaeological areas. (XLS 229 kb)

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Benson, L.V. Factors Controlling Pre-Columbian and Early Historic Maize Productivity in the American Southwest, Part 2: The Chaco Halo, Mesa Verde, Pajarito Plateau/Bandelier, and Zuni Archaeological Regions. J Archaeol Method Theory 18, 61–109 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-010-9083-y

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