How did agriculture come about in the American Southwest? What environmental and social factors led to the cultivation of plants? How, in turn, did the use of these new agricultural products affect the ancient peoples living in the region? In pursuit of answers to these questions, Barbara Roth synthesizes data from both CRM and academic research to explore the emergence and impact of Southwestern agriculture. Roth examines agricultural beginnings across the entire Southwest, both northern and southern, and across culture groups residing there. Beyond simply addressing the arrival and widespread adoption of specific cultigens, she pays particular attention to human factors such as patterns of production and variability in agricultural developments. Her consideration of broad social and environmental dynamics affecting forager diets and adaptive strategies sheds new light on what we know-and what we should ask-about the transition from foraging to farming.

How did agriculture come about in the American Southwest? What environmental and social factors led to the cultivation of plants? How, in turn, did the use of these new agricultural products affect the ancient peoples living in the region? In pursuit of answers to these questions, Barbara Roth synthesizes data from both CRM and academic research to explore the emergence and impact of Southwestern agriculture. Roth examines agricultural beginnings across the entire Southwest, both northern and southern, and across culture groups residing there. Beyond simply addressing the arrival and widespread adoption of specific cultigens, she pays particular attention to human factors such as patterns of production and variability in agricultural developments. Her consideration of broad social and environmental dynamics affecting forager diets and adaptive strategies sheds new light on what we know-and what we should ask-about the transition from foraging to farming.

This book brings together the work of archaeologists investigating prehistoric hunter-gatherers (foragers) and early farmers in both the Southwest and the Great Basin. Most previous work on this topic has been regionally specific, with researchers from each area favoring a different theoretical approach and little shared dialogue. Here the studies of archaeologists working in both the Southwest and the Great Basin are presented side by side to illustrate the similarities in environmental challenges and cultural practices of the prehistoric peoples who lived in these areas and to explore common research questions addressed by both regions. Three main themes link these papers: the role of the environment in shaping prehistoric behaviour, flexibilityin foraging and farming adaptations, and diversity in settlement strategies. Contributors cover a range of topics including the varied ways hunter-gatherers adapted to arid environments, the transition to farming and the reasons for it, the variation in early farming across the Southwest and Great Basin, and the differing paths followed as they developed settled villages.

In the early 1970s, understanding of the Mimbres region as a whole was in its infancy. In the following decades, thanks to dedicated work by enterprising archaeologists and nonprofit organizations, our understanding of the Mimbres region has become more complex, nuanced, and rich. New Perspectives on Mimbres Archaeology brings together these experts for the first time in a single volume. They discuss current knowledge of the people who lived in the Mimbres region of the southwestern United States and how our knowledge has changed since the Mimbres Foundation, directed by Steven A. LeBlanc, began the first modern archaeological investigations in the region. Many of these authors have spent decades conducting the fieldwork that has allowed for a broader understanding of Mimbres society. Focusing on a variety of important research topics of interest to archaeologists-including the social contexts of people and communities, the role of ritual and ideology in Mimbres society, evidence of continuities and cultural change through time, and the varying impacts of external influences throughout the region-New Perspectives on Mimbres Archaeology presents recent data and interpretations on the entire pre-Hispanic sequence of occupation. Additional contributions include a history of nonprofit archaeology by William H. Doelle and a concluding chapter by Steven A. LeBlanc reflecting on his decades-long work in Mimbres archaeology and outlining important areas for the next wave of research. Contributors: Roger Anyon Darrell Creel Michael W. Diehl William H. Doelle Patricia A. Gilman Thomas E. Gruber Robert J. Hard Michelle Hegmon Steven A. LeBlanc Stephen H. Lekson James R. McGrath Paul E. Minnis Ben A. Nelson Margaret C. Nelson F. Michael O'Hara III Kathryn Putsavage John R. Roney Barbara J. Roth Will G. Russell Jonathan A. Sandor Karen Gust Schollmeyer Jakob W. Sedig Robert J. Speakman Robert J. Stokes Matthew Taliaferro Elizabeth Toney Christopher A. Turnbow Aaron R. Woods