Mogollon Region Small Sites

Description

The Mogollon Region Small Sites project involves nearly a decade of
study of changing landuse practices and their consequences for
prehistoric foragers and farmers of the southeastern Colorado Plateau.
This research focuses on the Holocene foragers and first, small-scale
farmers of in the drainages of middle and upper Chevelon and Willow
Creeks. Intensive, patch-based survey, systematic coring, and
excavation indicate that Holocene foragers centered their settlements
around the canyons of major watercourses. Along with the economic
transition to farming, settlement shifted to focus on upland zones
between the canyons. Each environmental zone had different suites of
risks, vulnerabilities, and subsistence returns, affecting the
organization and longevity of landuse practices and societies.