POLLEN ANALYSIS FOR THE DOS POBRES/SAN JUAN DATA RECOVERY PROJECT, SOUTHERN ARIZONA

The Phelps Dodge Dos Pobres/San Juan Data Recovery project includes numerous
sites, sixteen of which were sampled for pollen. These sites are located on the lower slopes of
the Gila Mountains. Most of the sites are arrayed in a northwest to southeast trending swath.
The arrangement of the sites on the landscape implies an exploitation of a specific elevation
range, or more specifically, a specific vegetation community associated with that elevation
range. Pollen analysis identifies the major constituents of the vegetation community in the
vicinity of these sites. The majority of features sampled were rock piles and rock features that
were collected in an effort to identify any possible association of these features with agriculture.
This necessitated both a standard pollen count and scanning all samples to observe large
pollen that might represent agricultural crops. During this process other large pollen types also
were recorded, expanding the pollen data base.