Hohokam Settlement Along the Slopes of the Picacho Mountains, Volume 5: Environment and Subsistence

This is the fifth volume in a six volume series presenting the results of archaeological studies at Hohokam sites along the Tucson Aqueduct.The volume focuses on pollen, flotation and faunal studies in an effort to understand the paleonenvironment of the study area during the periods the sites were occupied and the subsistence strategies of the sites' occupants. Primary site-specific emphasis is on determining feature functions as they relate to biological results. The studies presented document considerable variation in Hohokam subsistence patterns within a relatively small region. While the occupants of the Brady Wash area sites relied on corn and agave, the Hohokam in the Picacho area sites relied primarily on Cheno-ams, mesquite, agave and hunted wild animals. The summary statements on paleoenvironment and subsistence deal with methodological problems in an effort to suggest improvements in specialist studies in Hohokam archaeology.