5 Geoarchaeology of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region

Wednesday, 17 May 2006
1:40 PM - 4:20 PM

GEOARCHEOLOGY OF A PREHISTORIC SITE OF THE SAN ANDRES MOUNTAINS, SOUTH-CENTRAL NEW MEXICO

Paper number: 5-2
Program: THEME SESSIONS
Time: 2:00 PM – 2:20 PM

Authors

Abstract

The Fleck Draw Archeological District is located on the western flank of the San Andres Mountains in the northern portion of Dona Ana County, New Mexico. The general geographic location is completely inside the White Sands Missile Range (access restricted). The hydrological site area covers approximately nine square miles. The site was inhabited from about AD 900 to 1400 and supported a population ranging from 200 to 500 individuals under very different environmental conditions than those of today.

Four major sites occur within the study area: Cedar Well, Fleck Ranch, Fleck Draw, and Indian Tank. The Cedar Well site encompasses a large intensively agricultural area utilized primarily in the 900-1150 interval. The Fleck Ranch Site is a village comprised of a cluster of roomblocks occupied within the AD 1275-1300 interval. Fleck Draw is a large aggregated pueblo occupied in the AD 1300-1400 time span. The Indian Tank site is large adobe two-storey pueblo that spans the AD 1275-1400 interval. Indian Tank exhibits a possible hand-dug well that must have been fed by a shallow ground-water table. Today, the watershed above Indian Tank currently does not support a perennial stream in Fleck Draw. However, geomorphic features and prehistoric agriculture artifacts suggests that effective precipitation during the period of occupation was greater than it is today.