Sarah Oas | Archaeology Southwest (original) (raw)
Papers by Sarah Oas
American Antiquity, 2021
Any relative nutritional differences among the diverse maize (Zea mays L.) landraces traditionall... more Any relative nutritional differences among the diverse maize (Zea mays L.) landraces traditionally maintained in the Greater Southwest are little understood. In this article, we investigate a range of nutritional traits of five indigenous maize landraces in the US Southwest based on different kernel endosperm types: pop, flour, flint, dent, and sweet. We present macronutrient and micronutrient values for accessions of each landrace grown in the same environmental grow-out experiment. Macronutrient values vary considerably across these endosperm accessions. Sweet and flour maize had higher values of fat and protein, whereas dent had the highest carbohydrate content. Sweet and flour maize were comparatively the best sources of micronutrients. Sweet maize yielded the highest values of potassium, thiamin, and magnesium, and flour kernels had the highest riboflavin and niacin content. These results indicate that the maintenance of diverse maize landraces had nutritional as well as ecological, symbolic, and culinary value in both the past and today. Compared to modern commercial maize standards, traditional southwestern maize landraces had a somewhat higher caloric value, many had higher vitamin and mineral content, and all accessions but dent displayed higher protein values. This suggests that southwestern maize-focused diets that included diverse landraces may have been more nutritious than previously understood.
American Antiquity
Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to ... more Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to small-scale agricultural communities, requiring multiple risk-mitigating strategies to increase food security. Although site-based investigations of the relationship between climate and agricultural production offer insights into how individual communities may have created long-term adaptations to manage risk, the inherent spatial variability of climate-driven risk makes a landscape-scale perspective valuable. In this article, we model risk by evaluating how the spatial structure of ancient climate conditions may have affected the reliability of three major strategies used to reduce risk: drawing upon social networks in time of need, hunting and gathering of wild resources, and storing surplus food. We then explore how climate-driven changes to this reliability may relate to archaeologically observed social transformations. We demonstrate the utility of this methodology by comparing the ...
In recent years there has been a growing interest in understanding the nature of prehistoric occu... more In recent years there has been a growing interest in understanding the nature of prehistoric occupations and subsistence practices in the tropical forest regions of sub-Sahelian West Africa. These regions have long been considered as promising areas for investigating the antiquity and origins of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) use and cultivation, a resource of immense economic importance today. This thesis examines Later Stone Age (LSA) subsistence practices and explores the interrelationships between LSA populations and plant resources in the tropical forests of Ghana during the Holocene. Using archaeobotanical evidence, I provide a long-term view of plant use at the Bosumpra rockshelter in southern Ghana over the course of the 10,000 years occupation, and I present the first detailed archaeobotanical analysis for pre-Kintampo LSA populations in Ghana. This research documents the use and perhaps early management relationships with the oleaginous , incense tree (Canarium schweinfurthii L.) and oil palm, which are the most abundant food remains for all phases of occupation at Bosumpra. The collection and processing of these taxa, especially incense tree, were important activities performed at the shelter, and likely influenced the timing of the use of the shelter. The results of this study show the gradual displacement of incense tree by oil palm as the dominant tree-fruit resource at Bosumpra, and demonstrate the longstanding importance of both tree-fruit resources at the shelter well past the advent of food-production in Ghana. Remains of pearl millet and cowpea at Bosumpra document the appearance of plant domesticates in these forested habitats. Although this analysis of plant materials from Bosumpra provides data from only a single site, the findings resonate with more widespread work on LSA subsistence practices, especially in regard to the importance of incense tree and oil palm to forest inhabitants. It also provides archaeobotanical evidence supporting previous models of the introduction and spread of West African plant domesticates. Altogether, archaeobotanical data from Bosumpra provide insights into changing practices of plant use and management during the LSA, and a subtle indication of what may be the earliest evidence of interaction and exchange between hunter-gatherers and food producers in this forest region.
Little work has been done to examine the political ecology and environmental legacy of sugar colo... more Little work has been done to examine the political ecology and environmental legacy of sugar colonies in the Caribbean. Material excavated from the Morne Patate plantation in southern Dominica occupied from the late seventeenth to mid-nineteenth century offer a perfect opportunity to examine the intersections between Caribbean colonial enterprises and the domestic economises of enslaved households. Analysis of macrobotanical remains associated with the houses, gardens, and provision grounds of the enslaved inhabitants at Morne Patate reveal a mixture of African, American, and European cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Maize (Zea mays) dominates the assemblage, and the recovery of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and millet (Pennisetum glaucum) indicate a concern with high yield cereals and perhaps experimentation with producing crops in a range of local microenvironments. Remains of several coffee cherries (Coffea sp.) from a household context suggest that the enslaved inhabitants at Morne Patate were producing some amount of coffee either for personal consumption or possibly for sale at local markets.
Diversity is generally valued, although it sometimes contributes to difficult social situations, ... more Diversity is generally valued, although it sometimes contributes to difficult social situations, as is recognized in recent
social science literature. Archaeology can provide insights into how diverse social situations play out over the long term.
There are many kinds of diversities, and we propose representational diversity as a distinct category. Representational
diversity specifically concerns how and whether differences are marked or masked materially. We investigate several archaeological
sequences in the U.S. Southwest. Each began with the coming together of populations that created situations of
unprecedented social diversity; some resulted in conflict, others in long-term stability. We trace how representational
diversity changed through these sequences. Specifically, we review the transregional Kayenta migration to the southern
Southwest and focus empirical analyses on regional processes in the Cibola region and on painted ceramics. Results show
that, initially, representational diversity increased above and beyond that caused by the combination of previously separate
traditions as people marked their differences. Subsequently, in some instances, the diversity was replaced by widespread
homogeneity as the differences were masked and mitigated. Although the social causes and effects of diversity are many
and varied, long-term stability and persistence is associated with tolerance of a range of diversities.
Investigations at varying scales have undertaken to understand the role of maize in the diets and... more Investigations at varying scales have undertaken to understand the role of maize in the diets and daily lives of prehistoric societies in the U.S. Southwest. Studies of diet in the northern SW suggest long-term continuity in maize dependent diets as well as the continuous use of local wild resources from at least Basketmaker times c. A.D. 600. (Minnis 1989). Less well understood, however, is how the plant food use changed in relation with widespread increases in settlement size and density in the Pueblo III and IV periods A.D. 1150-1400. Previous studies in the Cibola region provide a detailed temporal and spatial picture of rapid settlement reorganization, population migration and aggregation, and shifting regional social relationships in the Pueblo III and IV periods (e.g., Duff 2002; Kintigh 1985; Kintigh et al 2004; Mills et al 2013). This study draws together archaeological plant data to explore changes in subsistence practices, particularly relating to maize agriculture and the use of wild plant resources over the Pueblo II-Pueblo IV periods (c. A.D. 900-1400) in the greater Cibola region of the U.S. Southwest.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2015
Investigations of hunter-gatherer subsistence, early food production, and the development of agro... more Investigations of hunter-gatherer subsistence, early food production, and the development of agroforestry systems during the Later Stone Age (LSA) of West Africa have proven challenging because of limited recovery and analysis of archaeological evidence relating directly to subsistence. This paper examines changes in the use of plant resources over a 10,000 year period at Bosumpra Cave, southern Ghana. Large quantities of recovered Canarium schweinfurthii (incense tree) and Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) endocarp preserved at the site allow for the assessment of previous observations about changes in the relative importance of tree fruit resources over time. Results point to the possibility that C. schweinfurthii was a managed resource and may be useful as a marker of forager subsistence in tropical forest regions. The exploitation of C. schweinfurthii persisted in the early and middle Holocene, but was eventually overshadowed in the late Holocene by Kintampo food-producing economies based on Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet), Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) and E. guineensis. The Bosumpra deposits also yielded domesticated pearl millet and cowpea, allowing for the comparison of LSA huntergatherer and early food producer subsistence practices and cultural interactions in southern Ghana.
Page 1. MAROS MACROBOTANICALS: AN ARCHAEOBOTANICAL ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AGE AGRICULTURE IN THE MARO... more Page 1. MAROS MACROBOTANICALS: AN ARCHAEOBOTANICAL ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AGE AGRICULTURE IN THE MAROS SITE OF SANTUL MIC By Sarah Elizabeth Oas Honors Thesis in the Department of Anthropology ...
Upcoming Presentations by Sarah Oas
A long tradition of scholarship in the social sciences focused on how collective identities form ... more A long tradition of scholarship in the social sciences focused on how collective identities form and change within and across human societies has identified two key modes by which actors identify with large groups. Relational identification refers to a process in which individuals identify with larger collectives based on direct networks of interactions or relationships, such as exchange or kin ties. In contrast, in categorical identification, individuals identify with more formal units such as political groups, religious organizations, or states, based on perceived similarities with others in these groups, not necessarily tied to direct or frequent interaction. Successful and transformative collective action occurs most frequently when groups of individuals share both relational networks of social interaction and membership in the same perceived social categories (Nexon 2009; Tilley 1978). Drawing on the work of sociologists and political scientists interested in exploring the dynamics of historical and modern social movements, archaeologists have begun adapting this vein of collective action theory for use with archaeological data related to social systems of the distant past (Peeples 2011). The operationalization of this theory depends on identifying appropriate material proxies for social categories and relational networks. For example, membership in common categorical groups requires symbolization to facilitate recognition. Thus, public architecture or widely shared and highly visible iconography may provide information about the nature and scale of categorical identification. Relational networks, on the other hand, can be reconstructed using both formal methods of social network analysis, based on the distribution of portable forms of material culture, as well as the recognition of similarities in low visibility culture traits, such as styles of domestic architecture or ceramic technology. This session demonstrates how varied forms of material culture can be employed in the recognition and analysis of how collective identities formed and changed within past societies. The papers in the session illustrate the utility of the collective social identification framework through its application in a variety of archaeological settings. Case studies involve materials dating from ca. 500 CE up to the 18 th century and geographically span North America, including Northwest Mexico, the U.S. Southwest, the Central Illinois River Valley, the Greater Toronto area of Ontario, and Northwest Florida. Thematically, the case studies involve the recognition of
Dissertation by Sarah Oas
Journal Articles by Sarah Oas
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2024
Archaeologists routinely create backdirt during excavation, but it is rarely acknowledged and rem... more Archaeologists routinely create backdirt during excavation, but it is rarely acknowledged and remains surprisingly undertheorized. In this paper, we treat backdirt as a uniquely archaeological product that is socially constructed and guided by culturally and historically situated motivations. Using Chaco Canyon as a case study, we examine the ways in which project priorities changed over nearly 150 years of excavation and (more recently) re-excavation. We illustrate the importance of understanding backdirt as a social product by comparing the avifaunal assemblages created by two major excavation projects at the great house of Una Vida. Differences in these assemblages demonstrate how changes in research goals structured what was collected, what was left as backdirt, and how this ultimately impacts interpretations about Chaco history. Finally, we offer thoughts about the future role of backdirt in archaeological praxis as a space to welcome feminist and Indigenous perspectives in the construction of archaeological narratives.
Books by Sarah Oas
Forty Years of Archaeobotany at Crow Canyon and 850 Years of Plant Use in the Central Mesa Verde Region, 2023
Corrected Figure 22.1 for: Oas, Sarah E. and Karen R. Adams. 2023. "Forty Years of Archaeobotany ... more Corrected Figure 22.1 for: Oas, Sarah E. and Karen R. Adams. 2023. "Forty Years of Archaeobotany at Crow Canyon and 850 Years of Plant Use in the Central Mesa Verde Region." In Research, Education, and American Indian Partnerships at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, edited by Susan C. Ryan, pp. 347-358, University of Colorado, Denver.
American Antiquity, 2021
Any relative nutritional differences among the diverse maize (Zea mays L.) landraces traditionall... more Any relative nutritional differences among the diverse maize (Zea mays L.) landraces traditionally maintained in the Greater Southwest are little understood. In this article, we investigate a range of nutritional traits of five indigenous maize landraces in the US Southwest based on different kernel endosperm types: pop, flour, flint, dent, and sweet. We present macronutrient and micronutrient values for accessions of each landrace grown in the same environmental grow-out experiment. Macronutrient values vary considerably across these endosperm accessions. Sweet and flour maize had higher values of fat and protein, whereas dent had the highest carbohydrate content. Sweet and flour maize were comparatively the best sources of micronutrients. Sweet maize yielded the highest values of potassium, thiamin, and magnesium, and flour kernels had the highest riboflavin and niacin content. These results indicate that the maintenance of diverse maize landraces had nutritional as well as ecological, symbolic, and culinary value in both the past and today. Compared to modern commercial maize standards, traditional southwestern maize landraces had a somewhat higher caloric value, many had higher vitamin and mineral content, and all accessions but dent displayed higher protein values. This suggests that southwestern maize-focused diets that included diverse landraces may have been more nutritious than previously understood.
American Antiquity
Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to ... more Spatially and temporally unpredictable rainfall patterns presented food production challenges to small-scale agricultural communities, requiring multiple risk-mitigating strategies to increase food security. Although site-based investigations of the relationship between climate and agricultural production offer insights into how individual communities may have created long-term adaptations to manage risk, the inherent spatial variability of climate-driven risk makes a landscape-scale perspective valuable. In this article, we model risk by evaluating how the spatial structure of ancient climate conditions may have affected the reliability of three major strategies used to reduce risk: drawing upon social networks in time of need, hunting and gathering of wild resources, and storing surplus food. We then explore how climate-driven changes to this reliability may relate to archaeologically observed social transformations. We demonstrate the utility of this methodology by comparing the ...
In recent years there has been a growing interest in understanding the nature of prehistoric occu... more In recent years there has been a growing interest in understanding the nature of prehistoric occupations and subsistence practices in the tropical forest regions of sub-Sahelian West Africa. These regions have long been considered as promising areas for investigating the antiquity and origins of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) use and cultivation, a resource of immense economic importance today. This thesis examines Later Stone Age (LSA) subsistence practices and explores the interrelationships between LSA populations and plant resources in the tropical forests of Ghana during the Holocene. Using archaeobotanical evidence, I provide a long-term view of plant use at the Bosumpra rockshelter in southern Ghana over the course of the 10,000 years occupation, and I present the first detailed archaeobotanical analysis for pre-Kintampo LSA populations in Ghana. This research documents the use and perhaps early management relationships with the oleaginous , incense tree (Canarium schweinfurthii L.) and oil palm, which are the most abundant food remains for all phases of occupation at Bosumpra. The collection and processing of these taxa, especially incense tree, were important activities performed at the shelter, and likely influenced the timing of the use of the shelter. The results of this study show the gradual displacement of incense tree by oil palm as the dominant tree-fruit resource at Bosumpra, and demonstrate the longstanding importance of both tree-fruit resources at the shelter well past the advent of food-production in Ghana. Remains of pearl millet and cowpea at Bosumpra document the appearance of plant domesticates in these forested habitats. Although this analysis of plant materials from Bosumpra provides data from only a single site, the findings resonate with more widespread work on LSA subsistence practices, especially in regard to the importance of incense tree and oil palm to forest inhabitants. It also provides archaeobotanical evidence supporting previous models of the introduction and spread of West African plant domesticates. Altogether, archaeobotanical data from Bosumpra provide insights into changing practices of plant use and management during the LSA, and a subtle indication of what may be the earliest evidence of interaction and exchange between hunter-gatherers and food producers in this forest region.
Little work has been done to examine the political ecology and environmental legacy of sugar colo... more Little work has been done to examine the political ecology and environmental legacy of sugar colonies in the Caribbean. Material excavated from the Morne Patate plantation in southern Dominica occupied from the late seventeenth to mid-nineteenth century offer a perfect opportunity to examine the intersections between Caribbean colonial enterprises and the domestic economises of enslaved households. Analysis of macrobotanical remains associated with the houses, gardens, and provision grounds of the enslaved inhabitants at Morne Patate reveal a mixture of African, American, and European cereals, fruits, and vegetables. Maize (Zea mays) dominates the assemblage, and the recovery of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and millet (Pennisetum glaucum) indicate a concern with high yield cereals and perhaps experimentation with producing crops in a range of local microenvironments. Remains of several coffee cherries (Coffea sp.) from a household context suggest that the enslaved inhabitants at Morne Patate were producing some amount of coffee either for personal consumption or possibly for sale at local markets.
Diversity is generally valued, although it sometimes contributes to difficult social situations, ... more Diversity is generally valued, although it sometimes contributes to difficult social situations, as is recognized in recent
social science literature. Archaeology can provide insights into how diverse social situations play out over the long term.
There are many kinds of diversities, and we propose representational diversity as a distinct category. Representational
diversity specifically concerns how and whether differences are marked or masked materially. We investigate several archaeological
sequences in the U.S. Southwest. Each began with the coming together of populations that created situations of
unprecedented social diversity; some resulted in conflict, others in long-term stability. We trace how representational
diversity changed through these sequences. Specifically, we review the transregional Kayenta migration to the southern
Southwest and focus empirical analyses on regional processes in the Cibola region and on painted ceramics. Results show
that, initially, representational diversity increased above and beyond that caused by the combination of previously separate
traditions as people marked their differences. Subsequently, in some instances, the diversity was replaced by widespread
homogeneity as the differences were masked and mitigated. Although the social causes and effects of diversity are many
and varied, long-term stability and persistence is associated with tolerance of a range of diversities.
Investigations at varying scales have undertaken to understand the role of maize in the diets and... more Investigations at varying scales have undertaken to understand the role of maize in the diets and daily lives of prehistoric societies in the U.S. Southwest. Studies of diet in the northern SW suggest long-term continuity in maize dependent diets as well as the continuous use of local wild resources from at least Basketmaker times c. A.D. 600. (Minnis 1989). Less well understood, however, is how the plant food use changed in relation with widespread increases in settlement size and density in the Pueblo III and IV periods A.D. 1150-1400. Previous studies in the Cibola region provide a detailed temporal and spatial picture of rapid settlement reorganization, population migration and aggregation, and shifting regional social relationships in the Pueblo III and IV periods (e.g., Duff 2002; Kintigh 1985; Kintigh et al 2004; Mills et al 2013). This study draws together archaeological plant data to explore changes in subsistence practices, particularly relating to maize agriculture and the use of wild plant resources over the Pueblo II-Pueblo IV periods (c. A.D. 900-1400) in the greater Cibola region of the U.S. Southwest.
Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 2015
Investigations of hunter-gatherer subsistence, early food production, and the development of agro... more Investigations of hunter-gatherer subsistence, early food production, and the development of agroforestry systems during the Later Stone Age (LSA) of West Africa have proven challenging because of limited recovery and analysis of archaeological evidence relating directly to subsistence. This paper examines changes in the use of plant resources over a 10,000 year period at Bosumpra Cave, southern Ghana. Large quantities of recovered Canarium schweinfurthii (incense tree) and Elaeis guineensis (oil palm) endocarp preserved at the site allow for the assessment of previous observations about changes in the relative importance of tree fruit resources over time. Results point to the possibility that C. schweinfurthii was a managed resource and may be useful as a marker of forager subsistence in tropical forest regions. The exploitation of C. schweinfurthii persisted in the early and middle Holocene, but was eventually overshadowed in the late Holocene by Kintampo food-producing economies based on Pennisetum glaucum (pearl millet), Vigna unguiculata (cowpea) and E. guineensis. The Bosumpra deposits also yielded domesticated pearl millet and cowpea, allowing for the comparison of LSA huntergatherer and early food producer subsistence practices and cultural interactions in southern Ghana.
Page 1. MAROS MACROBOTANICALS: AN ARCHAEOBOTANICAL ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AGE AGRICULTURE IN THE MARO... more Page 1. MAROS MACROBOTANICALS: AN ARCHAEOBOTANICAL ANALYSIS OF BRONZE AGE AGRICULTURE IN THE MAROS SITE OF SANTUL MIC By Sarah Elizabeth Oas Honors Thesis in the Department of Anthropology ...
A long tradition of scholarship in the social sciences focused on how collective identities form ... more A long tradition of scholarship in the social sciences focused on how collective identities form and change within and across human societies has identified two key modes by which actors identify with large groups. Relational identification refers to a process in which individuals identify with larger collectives based on direct networks of interactions or relationships, such as exchange or kin ties. In contrast, in categorical identification, individuals identify with more formal units such as political groups, religious organizations, or states, based on perceived similarities with others in these groups, not necessarily tied to direct or frequent interaction. Successful and transformative collective action occurs most frequently when groups of individuals share both relational networks of social interaction and membership in the same perceived social categories (Nexon 2009; Tilley 1978). Drawing on the work of sociologists and political scientists interested in exploring the dynamics of historical and modern social movements, archaeologists have begun adapting this vein of collective action theory for use with archaeological data related to social systems of the distant past (Peeples 2011). The operationalization of this theory depends on identifying appropriate material proxies for social categories and relational networks. For example, membership in common categorical groups requires symbolization to facilitate recognition. Thus, public architecture or widely shared and highly visible iconography may provide information about the nature and scale of categorical identification. Relational networks, on the other hand, can be reconstructed using both formal methods of social network analysis, based on the distribution of portable forms of material culture, as well as the recognition of similarities in low visibility culture traits, such as styles of domestic architecture or ceramic technology. This session demonstrates how varied forms of material culture can be employed in the recognition and analysis of how collective identities formed and changed within past societies. The papers in the session illustrate the utility of the collective social identification framework through its application in a variety of archaeological settings. Case studies involve materials dating from ca. 500 CE up to the 18 th century and geographically span North America, including Northwest Mexico, the U.S. Southwest, the Central Illinois River Valley, the Greater Toronto area of Ontario, and Northwest Florida. Thematically, the case studies involve the recognition of
Journal of Field Archaeology, 2024
Archaeologists routinely create backdirt during excavation, but it is rarely acknowledged and rem... more Archaeologists routinely create backdirt during excavation, but it is rarely acknowledged and remains surprisingly undertheorized. In this paper, we treat backdirt as a uniquely archaeological product that is socially constructed and guided by culturally and historically situated motivations. Using Chaco Canyon as a case study, we examine the ways in which project priorities changed over nearly 150 years of excavation and (more recently) re-excavation. We illustrate the importance of understanding backdirt as a social product by comparing the avifaunal assemblages created by two major excavation projects at the great house of Una Vida. Differences in these assemblages demonstrate how changes in research goals structured what was collected, what was left as backdirt, and how this ultimately impacts interpretations about Chaco history. Finally, we offer thoughts about the future role of backdirt in archaeological praxis as a space to welcome feminist and Indigenous perspectives in the construction of archaeological narratives.
Forty Years of Archaeobotany at Crow Canyon and 850 Years of Plant Use in the Central Mesa Verde Region, 2023
Corrected Figure 22.1 for: Oas, Sarah E. and Karen R. Adams. 2023. "Forty Years of Archaeobotany ... more Corrected Figure 22.1 for: Oas, Sarah E. and Karen R. Adams. 2023. "Forty Years of Archaeobotany at Crow Canyon and 850 Years of Plant Use in the Central Mesa Verde Region." In Research, Education, and American Indian Partnerships at the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, edited by Susan C. Ryan, pp. 347-358, University of Colorado, Denver.