The Hohokam Preclassic to Classic Transition Part I:
Climate Change and its Impact on Agricultural Strategies
Poster presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 2, 2004, Montreal, Quebec.
by Steve Swanson, Cathryn M. Meegan, Destiny L. Crider
Abstract: Hohokam archaeologists have documented significant cultural change from the Preclassic to Classic Period, but attempts to identify environmental factors have met with variable success. An analysis of published tree-ring data from three sites along the Mogollon Rim documents a shift in the spatial variability of precipitation in the middle 1100's, with significant patchiness before AD 1150, and little after. Multiple lines of evidence suggest this is caused by a shift in summer monsoon patterns following the Medieval Warm period. Potential impacts on dry-farming productivity are modeled using GIS and modern satellite imagery and related to changes in Hohokam agricultural strategies.
Part I Poster PDF file
The Hohokam Preclassic to Classic Transition Part lI:
Modeling Socioeconomic Change
Poster presented at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, April 2, 2004, Montreal, Quebec.
by Destiny Crider, Cathryn M. Meegan, Steve Swanson
Abstract: Panarchy is an analytical framework developed in ecology for investigating interrelationships of coupled social and ecological systems. This research examines the utility of Panarchy for understanding the drastic changes in Hohokam society from the Preclassic to Classic Period (AD 900-1200). Preclassic Hohokam socioeceonomic interaction was expressed in a ballcourt network extending hundreds of kilometers across Arizona, functioning to redistribute variable natural resources. In the Classic Period, this network was abandoned, economic interaction and territorial extent contracted, and new, more hierarchically organized communities developed along major irrigation canals. Panarchy helps link these social changes to variable ecological and climatic conditions.
Part II Poster PDF file