Seismic Refraction at Ancestral Puebloan Sites on the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico

Abstract A velocity model of the crust in northwestern New Mexico has been constructed from an interpretation of direct, refracted, and reflected seismic waves. The model suggests a sedimentary section about 3 km thick with an average P-wave velocity of 3.6 km/sec. The crystalline upper crust is 28 km thick and has a P-wave velocity of 6.1 km/sec. The lower crust below the Conrad discontinuity has an average P-wave velocity of about 7.0 km/sec and a thickness near 17 km. Some evidence suggests that velocity in both the upper and lower crust increases with depth. The P-wave velocity in the uppermost mantle is 7.95 ± 0.15 km/sec. The total crustal thickness near Farmington, New Mexico, is about 48 km (datum = 1.6 km above sea level), and there is evidence for crustal thinning to the southeast.

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Upper crustal structure beneath the Jemez Mountains Volcanic Field, New Mexico, determined by three-dimensional simultaneous inversion of seismic refraction and earthquake data

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/jb091ib06p06188 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 91 (B6) ◽

pp. 6188 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

L. A. Ankeny ◽

L. W. Braile ◽

K. H. Olsen

Keyword(s):

New Mexico ◽

Crustal Structure ◽

Seismic Refraction ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Volcanic Field ◽

Simultaneous Inversion ◽

Jemez Mountains ◽

Earthquake Data

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Late Holocene droughts and cave ice harvesting by Ancestral Puebloans

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-76988-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Bogdan P. Onac ◽

Steven M. Baumann ◽

Dylan S. Parmenter ◽

Eric Weaver ◽

Tiberiu B. Sava

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

New Mexico ◽

Native Americans ◽

Water Availability ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Human Environment ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Ancestral Puebloan ◽

Ancestral Puebloans ◽

Marginal Environment

AbstractWater availability for Native Americans in the southwestern United States during periods of prolonged droughts is poorly understood as regional hydroclimate records are scant or contradicting. Here, we show that radiocarbon-dated charcoal recovered from an ice deposit accumulated in Cave 29, western New Mexico, provide unambiguous evidence for five drought events that impacted the Ancestral Puebloan society between ~ AD 150 and 950. The presence of abundant charred material in this cave indicates that they periodically obtained drinking water by using fire to melt cave ice, and sheds light on one of many human–environment interactions in the Southwest in a context when climate change forced growing Ancestral Puebloan populations to exploit water resources in unexpected locations. The melting of cave ice under current climate conditions is both uncovering and threatening a fragile source of paleoenvironmental and archaeological evidence of human adaptations to a seemingly marginal environment.

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Ancestral Pueblo trails and the cultural landscape of the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico

Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00091201 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 76 (293) ◽

pp. 756-765 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

James E. Snead

Keyword(s):

New Mexico ◽

Cultural Landscape ◽

Specific Reference ◽

Ancestral Pueblo ◽

Economic Space ◽

Pajarito Plateau ◽

Spanish Colonization ◽

The Subject ◽

Archaeological Analysis

Although trails are widely recognized as an important element in the shaping of social and economic space, poor preservation and complex interpretations have meant that they are rarely the subject of systematic archaeological analysis. Ancestral Pueblo trails of New Mexico's Pajarito Plateau, in contrast, are both well-preserved and easily identified, providing an opportunity to study patterns of movement through the landscape during the 500 years prior to Spanish colonization. This study discusses the broader issues of analysing archaeological trails with specific reference to the Pajarito case.

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