Evidence for a winter-snowpack derived water source for the Fremont maize farmers of Range Creek Canyon, Utah, USA

Abstract

We present results of multiproxy analysis of a sediment core collected from Billy Slope Meadow, a spring-fed wet meadow in Range Creek Canyon, Utah. Range Creek Canyon was the home to Fremont maize farmers between roughly 1200 and 800 cal BP (AD 750–1150). Stable carbon isotope analysis of core sediments from Billy Slope Meadow indicate the Billy Slope Meadow site was used as a field for maize agriculture during that time. Some scholars have suggested the florescence of the Fremont culture may have been driven by increased summer precipitation, which improved the economic profitability of dry farming maize. But analysis of pollen, macroscopic charcoal and sediment geochemistry from Billy Slope Meadow, and a comparison with a local tree-ring chronology indicate the Fremont period in Range Creek Canyon was probably marked by reduced summer precipitation, and not an invigorated monsoon. The Fremont maize farmers of Range Creek Canyon therefore likely used winter snowpack-derived water from Range Creek for maize agriculture. This observation has significant implications, as using creek water rather than direct precipitation and runoff necessitates the construction of dams irrigation infrastructure, limited evidence for which has been reported by archaeologists working in the Fremont region.