Sarah Herr | Desert Archaeology, Inc. (original) (raw)

Papers by Sarah Herr

Life beyond the Boundaries

During the eleventh and twelfth centuries A.D., the Mogollon Rim region of east-central Arizona w... more During the eleventh and twelfth centuries A.D., the Mogollon Rim region of east-central Arizona was a frontier, situated beyond and between larger regional organizations such as Chaco, Hohokam, and Mimbres. On this southwestern edge of the Puebloan world, past settlement poses a contradiction to those who study it. Population density was low and land abundant, yet the region was overbuilt with great kivas, a form of community-level architecture. Using a frontier model to evaluate household, community, and regional data, Sarah Herr demonstrates that the archaeological patterns of the Mogollon Rim region were created by the flexible and creative behaviors of small-scale agriculturalists. These people lived in a land-rich and labor-poor environment in which expediency, mobility, and fluid social organization were the rule and rigid structures and normative behaviors the exception. Herr's research shows that the eleventh- and twelfth-century inhabitants of the Mogollon Rim region we...

Archaeology of Bandelier National Monument: village formation on the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico, 2004

Advances in Archaeological Practice

The year 2020 was an awakening for some. For others, it reiterated the persistent social injustic... more The year 2020 was an awakening for some. For others, it reiterated the persistent social injustice in the United States. Compelled by these events, 30 diverse individuals came together from January to May 2021 for a semester-long seminar exploring inequity in archaeological practice. The seminar's discussions spotlighted the inequity and social injustices that are deeply embedded within the discipline. However, inequity in archaeology is often ignored or treated narrowly as discrete, if loosely bound, problems. A broad approach to inequity in archaeology revealed injustice to be intersectional, with compounding effects. Through the overarching themes of individual, community, theory, and practice, we (a subset of the seminar's participants) explore inequity and its role in various facets of archaeology, including North–South relations, publication, resource distribution, class differences, accessibility, inclusive theories, service to nonarchaeological communities, fieldwork...

The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021

This report documents the findings of archaeological testing conducted for Bourn Partners as part... more This report documents the findings of archaeological testing conducted for Bourn Partners as part of their due diligence assessment of approximately 60 acres of land. Archaeological testing was conducted by Desert Archaeology, Inc., between 25 July and 2 August 2005. A total of 18 person-days was spent on the field investigations by Sarah Herr, Greg Whitney, Richard Antone, and Sarah Luchetta. William H. Doelle, Ph.D., of Desert Archaeology, Inc., was the principal investigator. Cultural resource surveys conducted in 1937 and 2002 (Stephen 2002) recorded three Hohokam period artifact scatters on or near the 60-acre parcel under consideration—AZ AA:12:1 (ASM), AZ AA:12:2 (ASM), and AZ AA:12:5 (ASM). The goals of the current testing were to evaluate the potential for significant archaeological remains on the property. Testing confirmed the presence of three sites on the parcel, the original AA:12:1 and AA:12:2, and a historic-period canal, AZ AA:12:1011 (ASM). However, the sites were ...

In this volume, the easternmost portion of the State Route (SR) 260 —Payson to Heber Archaeologic... more In this volume, the easternmost portion of the State Route (SR) 260 —Payson to Heber Archaeological project is described. Driving east from where the SR 260 project begins near Payson, Arizona, the environment changes from rolling hills and meadows to narrow ridges and perennial streams. There are few open areas as the road winds between the Mogollon Rim to the north and Christopher Mountain to the south. Prehistoric and historic sites are situated on the hills and terraces above the permanent waterways, including Christopher Creek, Sharp Creek, and Hunter Creek. These streams provide natural corridors through a rugged environment. A mile east of the Christopher Creek segment, the road begins a steep, 2-mile climb up the Mogollon Rim to crest in the aspen forests of the Chevelon drainage. The planned realignment of SR 260 between Payson and Heber by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has resulted in a multiphase archaeological investigation of the construction right-of-...

Engaged Archaeology in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico, 2021

Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2018

ABSTRACTWhile our fascination with understanding the past is sufficient to warrant an increased f... more ABSTRACTWhile our fascination with understanding the past is sufficient to warrant an increased focus on synthesis, solutions to important problems facing modern society require understandings based on data that only archaeology can provide. Yet, even as we use public monies to collect ever-greater amounts of data, modes of research that can stimulate emergent understandings of human behavior have lagged behind. Consequently, a substantial amount of archaeological inference remains at the level of the individual project. We can more effectively leverage these data and advance our understandings of the past in ways that contribute to solutions to contemporary problems if we adapt the model pioneered by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis to foster synthetic collaborative research in archaeology. We propose the creation of the Coalition for Archaeological Synthesis coordinated through a U.S.-based National Center for Archaeological Synthesis. The coalition will b...

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Oct 17, 2017

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2017

Despite abundant historical interest in Apache subjugation and early reservation periods, Apache ... more Despite abundant historical interest in Apache subjugation and early reservation periods, Apache persists as a lacuna in Southwest archaeology. Vexing conceptual and practical challenges to site identification and analyses, coupled with a lack of research specifically focused on Apache histories, regions, and material cultures, have retarded the creation of archaeological knowledge comparable or even complementary to the richness and diversity of Apache oral traditions and ethnographies. These challenges are being confronted as archaeologists integrate ethnographic data and collaborations with Apache culture bearers and community leaders to address Apache chronologies, identities and ethnogeneses, landscapes, and heritages. This chapter selectively reviews Southern Athapaskan culture history and previous research, then provides a data-based discussion of pre-reservation Western Apache archaeology. The conclusion recommends problem-focused and collaborative studies of interest to bot...

The Saa Archaeological Record, 2009

KIVA, 2009

Abstract The rugged landscape of central Arizona has been ethnographically and historically docum... more Abstract The rugged landscape of central Arizona has been ethnographically and historically documented as a Western Apache homeland. Despite more than 400 years of occupation, our understanding of the period before A.D. 1850 remains poorly known, and the archaeological record has attracted little directed research. This is due, in part, to the problems identifying the material traces of an Apache past in this area. The results of two recent projects in the sub-Mogollon Rim region of the Tonto National Forest provide an opportunity to integrate archaeological research with written and oral histories. Examples from the Archer Site, Butterfly Springs, and Plymouth Landing demonstrate how survey and intensive excavation augmented by the knowledge of Apache cultural advisors and ethnography helped move our research from the documentation of faint archaeological traces to strong interpretations of Apache history. The identification of diagnostic artifacts and behaviors can facilitate the detection of Apache occupations at an early stage of research, permitting more systematic inquiry. Apache archaeology in this region will help us to understand the economy, social organization, and ideology of the mobile families and bands who lived beyond the sight of European settlers of the past and mainstream archaeology today. Abstract El paisaje quebrado del centro de Arizona ha sido documentado etnográfica e históricamente como el lugar de origen de los Apache occidentales. A pesar de tener más de 400 años de ocupación, el periodo anterior a 1850 A.D. aún es pobremente conocido y los artefactos arqueológicos han generado pocas investigaciones directas. Los resultados de dos proyectos recientes efectuados en la región del perímetro sub-Mogollon, en el bosque nacional Tonto, ofrecen la oportunidad de integrar la investigación arqueóldgica con las historias orales y escritas. Ejemplos de los sitios Archer, Butterfly Springs, y Plymouth Landing demuestran cómo la investigación y la excavación intensivas complementadas por el conocimiento de los consejeros culturales Apache, y la etnografía ayudan a reforzar la documentación de dábiles trazos arqueológicos y convertirlas en fuertes interpretaciones de la historia Apache. La identificación de artefactos y comportamientos pueden facilitar la detección de ocupaciones Apache en una etapa temprana de la investigación, permitiendo más investigaciones sistemáticas. La arqueología en esta región Apache puede ayudarnos a comprender la economía, la organización social, la ideología de familias y bandas móviles que vivieron fuera de la mirada de los colonos europeos, en el pasado, y de la arqueología dominante hoy.

Life beyond the Boundaries

Archaeology of Bandelier National Monument: village formation on the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico, 2004

Advances in Archaeological Practice

The 86th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, 2021

Engaged Archaeology in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico, 2021

Advances in Archaeological Practice, 2018

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Oct 17, 2017

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2017

The Saa Archaeological Record, 2009

KIVA, 2009

Anthropological Papers No. 32, Center for Desert Archaeology, Tucson, 2007

The U.S. 89 Archaeological Project investigated 41 prehistoric sites, approximately 30 km (19 mi... more The U.S. 89 Archaeological Project investigated
41 prehistoric sites, approximately 30 km (19 miles)
north of Flagstaff, Arizona. All sites were on Coconino
National Forest land, specifically the Peaks
Ranger District. The project was conducted by Desert
Archaeology, Inc., personnel for the Arizona Department
of Transportation prior to the widening and
improvement of 26.7 km (16.6 miles) of U.S. 89, between
the southern boundary of Wupatki National
Monument in the north, to the town of Fernwood in
the south. Archaeological fieldwork occurred over
two primary field seasons in 1997 and 1998, with a
very brief field season in 1999. In all, close to 12 person-
years of labor were expended on the fieldwork.
The U.S. 89 project area crosses diverse environmental
zones, ranging from juniper-sage grasslands
in the north at approximately 5,700 ft (1,737 m) asl,
to ponderosa pine forests at over 7,200 ft (2,195 m)
asl in the south. Mixed pinyon pine and juniper
woodlands comprise the middle elevations. Five elevation
zones were defined, using increments of 500
ft as a proxy for changes in precipitation, temperature,
and vegetation. Additionally, all project area
sites are within 25 km (16 miles) of Sunset Crater,
with the closest sites only 5-6 km (3-4 miles) west of
the volcano. Sunset Crater erupted for a very short
period (months to a few years) sometime between
A.D. 1050 and 1125. Basalt lava from the eruption
covered an area of approximately 8 km2, while another
2,300 km2 was covered by cinder and ash deposits.
Sunset Crater cinders were found on all project
area sites. An isopach map of cinder depth
constructed for this project indicates that, at a minimum,
the U.S. 89 sites were covered with 5-50 cm of
volcanic material, which had a significant impact on
prehistoric settlement, subsistence, and economic
systems. Prehistoric adaptations to environmental
variability, as well as to the Sunset Crater eruption,
were primary research themes.
A wide range of site types are present in the project
area. These include large, permanent habitations
containing 10-30 masonry rooms and pithouses,
smaller homesteads or seasonal farmsteads with two
to eight structures, single-room fieldhouses, limitedactivity
areas, special-use sites, and agricultural field
systems. A total of 73 structures was excavated, including
41 pithouses, 26 masonry rooms, and 6
ramadas. Close to 100,000 artifacts were recovered,
with ceramics by far the dominant artifact type, comprising
more than 80 percent of the assemblage. The
earliest sites were occupied around A.D. 400, with
the occupation of the project area continuing into
the early to mid-A.D. 1100s. The most intensive
occupation was between A.D. 1050 and 1125, the approximate
time of the Sunset Crater eruption.
The project area crosses what has long been considered
to be a boundary between two distinct archaeological
culture areas: the Sinagua to the south
and the Cohonina to the north and northwest. Dr.
Harold S. Colton, founder of the Museum of Northern
Arizona, first recognized this boundary in the
1930s, and placed it at Deadman Wash, which
crosses the approximate center of the U.S. 89 project
area. Although later researchers moved the boundary
to the Coconino Divide, approximately 8 km (5
miles) south of Deadman Wash, it is still well within
the current project area: about half the intensively
investigated U.S. 89 sites lie south of this point, and
about half lie to the north. This provides an excellent
opportunity to address the question of the cultural
affiliation of project area inhabitants, as well
as the legitimacy of archaeological culture areas in
general. All project analysts were asked to examine
this issue in the context of their particular data sets.
The results of the U.S. 89 investigations are presented
in several Anthropological Papers of the Center
for Desert Archaeology: Anthropological Papers
No. 30, Part 1 and Part 2, contains background information
about the project and descriptions of the
41 investigated sites: Anthropological Papers No. 31
presents the results of the flaked stone, ground stone,
shell, animal bone, and mortuary analyses; and
Anthropological Papers No. 33 contains the environmental
analyses, with chapters on the botanical assemblage
(pollen and flotation studies), prehistoric
agriculture, the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano,
and a detailed paleoenvironmental reconstruction.
Finally, the overall project synthesis and conclusions
are presented in Anthropological Papers No. 37. In
that volume, the data presented in the preceding volumes
are used to reconstruct the settlement, subsistence,
and economic systems of the prehistoric populations
that inhabited the U.S. 89 project area and
the Flagstaff area in general.
Results of the U.S. 89 project area ceramic analysis
are presented in this volume. The assemblage
contains 81,153 sherds, a raw laboratory count that
does not consider ceramic conjoins and refits. Thus,
it differs slightly from numbers used in most of the
analyses in this volume, which are based on minimum
number of vessels.
An overview of the U.S. 89 ceramic assemblage
is provided in Chapter 1, and the ceramic wares and
types found in the project area and the designations
used by the U.S. 89 project analysts are discussed in
Chapter 2. Chapter 3 presents the analysis of ceramic
form and function, specifically examining possible
differences in cultural affiliation. The results of the
petrographic research of ceramic temper, which suggests
ceramics are only being manufactured in the
southern half of the U.S. 89 project area, are discussed
in Chapter 4, while the significance of the
petrographic data to the U.S. 89 settlement is discussed
in Chapter 5.
Finally, all of the U.S. 89 ceramic data are synthesized
in Chapter 6, with a discussion of the project
research themes and general Flagstaff area ceramic
use; the implications of the ceramic assemblage in
reconstructing project area settlement patterns is also
discussed. Appendix A contains recorded ceramic
type data, by context, from all U.S. 89 sites that contained
ceramics, while Appendix B contains a specialized
study of the recovered worked sherds. The
remaining appendices (C-G) contain databases used
in the analyses of the assemblages discussed in the
volume chapters.