Preceramic Subsistence in Two Rock Shelters in Fresnal Canyon, South Central New Mexico [No. 199]

Abstract

Many plant fragments recovered from two pre-ceramic rock shelters occupied some 3000 or more years ago look no different from modem plants. When plant material preserves so well, the contribution of ethnobotany to archaeological research can be enormous. Volney Jones (1941: 220) defined ethnobotany as the study of the interrelationship of pre-industrial people and plants. In archaeological sites ethnobotanists, through attention to taxonomic peculiarities, can identify plant fragments primarily at the generic level, but also to races and varieties in some cultivated plants. Existing traditions of utilization, the context of recovery (such as a burned seed in a hearth), and other indirect lines of evidence serve to categorize plant remains according to use: foods, fuels, basketry, sandals, cordage, medicinal, or ceremonial items. This study attempts to identify and interpret food usage when cultivated crops were initially available in south-central New Mexico. (excerpted from Introduction)