Gardens of Prehistory: The Archaeology of Settlement Agriculture in Greater Mesoamerica

5. The Productivity of Maguey Terrace Agriculture in Central Mexico During the Aztec Period

HOUSE-lOT GARDENS o . ( I ) i J METERS ~".---...----...--...----'" ............. 50 . N Figure 4-7. Rock Wall at Site Son K:4:118 au. Note that the wall is parallel to the edge of the mesa top and downslope of three houses-in-pits. inferred that the locations of the houses themselves might be evidence of house-lot gardens. A review of the rancherias or smaller permanent habitation sites in the Valley of Sonora revealed that this premise has some validity. For this portion of the study, settlements that had nine or more houses were not considered on the basis that larger sites would have relatively less space available for gardens than would smaller sites and that the locational characteristics of the houses on the mesa tops would be much more uniform for larger sites than for smaller ones. Most of the 130 rancherias found so far in the valley have been damaged to some extent by either historic or present-day occupation, erosion, or recent road construction. Indeed only 38 sites appear to have evidence of all of their late prehistoric structures visible on the surface. An analysis of these sites revealed that most were located along the north side of the mesa tops overlooking arroyos (fig. 4-10). 87 Figure 4-8. Rectangular Rock Enclosure at Site Son K:4:48 au. This enclosure might be evidence of a prehistoric house-lot garden . HOUSE-LOT GARDENS N house- in - pit -o ~===~road~=== _..._ ...""'"'-..._ ..._..._..._...--......---.. o 50 ! ! METERS Figure 4-9. Rock Enclosure at Site Son K:4:144 au. Note that the low rock enclosure is next to and downslope of the house foundation in the far southeastern corner of the site, at the edge of the mesa. Given that the mesa tops where sites tend to be located are not flat, but slope slightly toward the river and toward the arroyos on the south sides of the mesas, 32 (or 84 percent) of the intact rancherias have most of their houses on the northern and upslope sides of the mesas. Clearly, there was a tendency not to build on the downslope portions of the mesas. It was in these areas that house-lot gardens might well have been located. CONCLUSION This study has demonstrated two things. First, house-lot gardens indeed are being used today in northern Mexico, and they are cul89 DOOLITTLE ---... __..._....--.... Arrqj2...... _··· ,...-..._..._... N 7 6 7 .--................_..._..._ ..."-. ....--..._... Arroyo ... _ ... Figure 4-10. Composite Map Showing a Stylized Mesa Top Bounded on One Side by the River and on Two Sides by Tributary Arroyos. The numbers in the grids indicate the number of rancherias in the Valley of Sonora that had most of their houses in that particular location on their respective individual mesas. turally important features that beg further and more in-depth study. Second, good evidence exists to indicate that similar gardens were used in the region prehistorically. They too require further investigation. The systematic study of prehistoric house-lot gardens is actually in infant stages of development. Although botanists and geographers have long been interested in present-day gardens, most of their studies have been conducted in tropical areas where plant diversity is great. 90 HOUSE-LOT GARDENS For the study of prehistoric gardens, archaeologists working in arid lands where preservation is great now have the opportunity to make considerable advances in our understanding of horticulture and its cultural implications. The previous pages have outlined some of the things to look for during archaeological surveys. Most notable in this respect are unusual rock features located in proximity to houses, especially on their downslope and south sides. Also not to be overlooked are open areas in these same locales. Although physical evidence of gardens might not always be immediately apparent, such vacant places might be indicative of ancient horticultural plots. Future studies should look for such evidence. They should also go one step further and systematically assess suspicious features and areas. Specifically, the next generation of prehistoric garden studies should involve the analysis of sediments for chemical alterations due to, and biotic remains of, cultivation. For example, sediment analyses such as those developed by Robert C. Eidt (1984) can be used to distinguish cultivated from uncultivated areas and, hence, determine whether or not a specific place once had a garden. Similarly, identification of opal phytoliths found in sediments should prove helpful in...