EMAP (2001) Macrobotanical Remains from the Flying Fish (LA37767) and Pague Well (LA130191) Sites

Eight flotation samples from two Eastern Mimbres Archaeological Project (EMAP) sites were
analyzed. Cultigens, primarily maize, were present in most of the samples. A limited array of wild seed
taxa were represented as well. The represented wood resources appear to have been drawn from the
Great Basin Conifer Woodland biotic province, and augmented by the use of riparian resources. The
woods in the assemblages were consistent with a plant resource use pattern that focused on locallyavailable
taxa. turning to the seeds and propagules, it is suggested that subsistence efforts were
apparently devoted to floodplain taxa that provided the largest harvests- principally maize and, to a
lesser extent, weedy crop pests like goosefoot and pigweed.
This report describes the laboratory methods that were used to handle and identify specimens in
the flotation samples, and lists the taxa that were observed in them. The ethnographically documented
uses of each identified taxon are briefly reviewed. In the concluding discussion, the shared characteristics
of the identified food resources are discussed. The implications of the amounts and kinds of wood
charcoal represented are also discussed.