A Historical Ecological Perspective on Early Agriculture in the North American Southwest and Northwest Mexico

Abstract

One focus of recent research on early agriculture (Late Archaic period—2000 B.C.–A.D. 150) in the southern Southwest of the United States and northwestern Mexico has been the debate surrounding the impact of these early farmers on their landscapes. In at least two places, the Tucson Basin in southern Arizona and northern Chihuahua in northwest Mexico, agriculture was relatively intensive, while in others such as the San Simon Basin in southeastern Arizona, it apparently was not. Using an historical ecology perspective, we examine the likely impact of early agriculture using faunal and projectile point data from the Tucson Basin, northern Chihuahua, and the San Simon Basin. Our analysis suggests that these early farmers had less impact on their landscapes than expected.