POLLEN ANALYSIS OF PITSTRUCTURES AND HEARTHS: SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO

Twelve pollen samples were selected for pollen analysis in conjunction with the Navajo-Hopi Land Exchange Archaeological Project in the BLM designated Area III. This area contained a scatter of features and artifacts and is located within the Mesilla Bolson--an intermontane lowland--in Dona Ana County, southeastern New Mexico. The site is situated in a copice dune topography above the floodplain of the Rio Grande West of El Paso. Mesquite is the dominant element in this sparsely vegetated area. All features sampled for pollen were contained within Area III. The features included exterior hearths, pitstuctures, and hearths and pitfeatures within pitstructures ranging in age from 1580 BC to 980 AD. These features were sampled for their pollen content in an effort to define the vegetal portion of the subsistence base.