Monday, July 14, 2014

Marana Rock Piles

Evidence for Large-scale Agave Cultivation in the Marana Community -
Suzanne K. Fish, Paul R. Fish, and John H. Madsen (1992)

"Linkage of agave cultivation with a farming technology represented by widespread remains in the Marana Community has been one of the significant consequences of Northern Tucson Basin Survey research (S. Fish, R Fish, Miksicek, and Madsen 1985; S. Fish, R Fish, and Madsen 1990a), illuminating a new dimension of prehistoric agriculture in the Sonoran Desert. Fields marked by rockpiles and low stone alignments cover many hundreds of hectares. Interdisciplinary study of these prehistoric agricultural complexes has detailed the nature and extent of agave cultivation during the later portions of the Hohokam sequence..."
More: http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/Fish/chapter7.htm

3 comments :

pwax said...

Note:
http://rockpiles.blogspot.com/2007/06/more-az-rock-piles-broken-down-plant.html

Tim MacSweeney said...

I think I sort of remembered seeing that 2007 post, even ran a little Rock Piles search using "Marana" to see if this had been posted before but didn't find your "plant box" thing. It also brought up the memory of suggesting to Nick Bellantoni that the numerous zigzag rows of stones here at Nonnewaug might be a possible water control or hydrolic system like Mavor and Dix suggest in Manitou since those rows more often than not often border streams and swamps, stone worked springs sometimes at the sources. The zigzag shape sort of channels the power of the water to the center rather than eroding the sides, especially during big storms like the cloud bursts yesterday or the 100 year flood 20 years ago...

Tim MacSweeney said...

http://wakinguponturtleisland.blogspot.com/2007/06/100-year-flood.html