Pit Structure Abandonment in the Four Corners Region of the American Southwest

Late Basketmaker III and Pueblo I Periods

Dados Bibliográficos

ID11073643
AutoresC M Cameron (0000-0003-2337-7591, autor correspondente)
Ano1990
Volume17
Fascículo1
Páginas27-37
Data de publicação1990-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1179/009346990791548565
OpenAlexW2056635504
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas26
Referências citadas15

Anasazi pit structures dating to the Basketmaker III and Pueblo I periods (ca. A.C. 500 to 900) in the Four Corners region of the American Southwest experienced a variety of different processes at abandonment, ranging from dismantling the superstructure to intentional burning. Data from 88 pit structures are used to examine the relationship between these processes and the causes of pit structure abandonment. Results suggest that burning was not usually the result of catastrophic events, such as accident or warfare, but may be part of ritual activities or even a response to insect infestation. The incidence of burning does not seem to increase over time as a result of the postulated transition of pit structures from domestic to ceremonial uses. Dismantled and trash-filled pit structures suggest that new dwellings were often constructed near abandoned ones, perhaps because the old structure was deteriorating. A few pit structures with human bodies on the floor at the time of abandonment may signal the desertion of the entire settlement

Abandonment (legal · Archaeology · Geography · Settlement (finance · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Geology · Law · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology