TY - JOUR
T1 - Applying indigenous knowledge to colonial livestock
T2 - Isotopic patterns in water and range resources in the desert landscapes of the Pimería Alta
AU - Mathwich, Nicole M.
AU - Pavão-Zuckerman, Barnet
AU - Ruff, Alexander
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation , Arizona State Museum , University of Arizona Anthropology Haury Dissertation Fellowship, and the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement Cottrell Scholars Program. We thank the Tohono O'odham Nation, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona School of Anthropology , Jeremy Moss and Tumacácori National Historic Park, and J. Homer Thiel and the staff at Desert, Inc. for all their work and help in the study of these sites. We also acknowledge Katie MacFarland for the map illustration and the many University of Arizona students and Stanley J. Olsen Laboratory of Zooarchaeology volunteers who participated in research at Mission San Agustín, Mission Cocóspera, and Mission Guevavi.
Funding Information:
This work was funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona Anthropology Haury Dissertation Fellowship, and the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement Cottrell Scholars Program. We thank the Tohono O'odham Nation, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona School of Anthropology, Jeremy Moss and Tumacácori National Historic Park, and J. Homer Thiel and the staff at Desert, Inc. for all their work and help in the study of these sites. We also acknowledge Katie MacFarland for the map illustration and the many University of Arizona students and Stanley J. Olsen Laboratory of Zooarchaeology volunteers who participated in research at Mission San Agustín, Mission Cocóspera, and Mission Guevavi.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2019/10
Y1 - 2019/10
N2 - Ecological aspects of colonialism and the Columbian Exchange impacted societies and landscapes across the Americas. Livestock, in particular, had the capacity to transform local ecology and economies. This article explores colonial resource use related to introduced livestock in the Pimería Alta, the northernmost part of what is today Sonora and southern Arizona. This paper examines oxygen and carbon isotope ratios from archaeological caprine and cattle tooth enamel using bulk and serial sampling. We compare these results to precipitation and local water samples and find evidence that animals consumed evaporated, stored water. These results are consistent with previous research and demonstrate continuity of Native water management practices from prehistoric into colonial periods. Further, carbon isotope ratios among caprines and cattle suggest partitioning of desert grazing by these ungulates. By identifying grazing partitioning and adding data from military forts in addition to mission contexts, we present a broader view of resource use on the colonial landscape and pinpoint which resources were the most heavily exploited for livestock production. These findings contribute to discussions of colonist adaptation and indigenous shifts in labor following the introduction of domesticated livestock in arid regions.
AB - Ecological aspects of colonialism and the Columbian Exchange impacted societies and landscapes across the Americas. Livestock, in particular, had the capacity to transform local ecology and economies. This article explores colonial resource use related to introduced livestock in the Pimería Alta, the northernmost part of what is today Sonora and southern Arizona. This paper examines oxygen and carbon isotope ratios from archaeological caprine and cattle tooth enamel using bulk and serial sampling. We compare these results to precipitation and local water samples and find evidence that animals consumed evaporated, stored water. These results are consistent with previous research and demonstrate continuity of Native water management practices from prehistoric into colonial periods. Further, carbon isotope ratios among caprines and cattle suggest partitioning of desert grazing by these ungulates. By identifying grazing partitioning and adding data from military forts in addition to mission contexts, we present a broader view of resource use on the colonial landscape and pinpoint which resources were the most heavily exploited for livestock production. These findings contribute to discussions of colonist adaptation and indigenous shifts in labor following the introduction of domesticated livestock in arid regions.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.101919
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.101919
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85068608033
SN - 2352-409X
VL - 27
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
M1 - 101919
ER -