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Evaluating Tree-Ring Interpretations at Walpi Pueblo, Arizona

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard V. N. Ahlstrom ,
Jeffrey S. Dean  and
William J. Robinson
Richard V. N. Ahlstrom
Affiliation:
SWCA, Inc., Environmental Consultants, Tucson, AZ 85719
Jeffrey S. Dean
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
William J. Robinson
Affiliation:
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
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Abstract

The availability both of documentary data on the history of the Hopi pueblo of Walpi and of tree-ring dates from the village provides a rare opportunity to evaluate tree-ring interpretations in the light of independent chronological evidence. Three major events in the history of the community are reflected in the village's overall tree-ring date distribution: the initial settlement around A.D. 1400 of the site of Koechaptevela, located on the flank of First Mesa, the movement of the community around A.D. 1690 to the present location of Walpi on top of First Mesa, and the reconstruction of much of the village between A.D. 1880 and 1940. Analysis of the overall date distribution and of dates from individual rooms shows that many timbers in the village have been reused, sometimes more than once. For this reason, interpretation must rely on date clusters, though even they can be misleading when beams procured at the same time have been reused as a group. The significance of beam reuse to the interpretation of Walpi's tree-ring dates is a function, first, of the relocation of the village over a short distance around 1690 and, second, of the village's survival for almost 600 years. Because of Walpi's size and longevity, patterning in the pueblo's tree-ring evidence is most relevant to the interpretation of large, long-lived prehistoric and protohistoric sites in the Southwest. Historical details provided by tree-ring evidence are also likely to be of special interest to Native Americans, such as the Hopi, who live in these pueblos still.

Résumé

Résumé

La existencia de fechas dendrocronológicas así como datos documentales sobre la historia del pueblo Hopi de Walpi proporciona una rara oportunidad para evaluar interpretaciones dendrocronológicas a las luz de evidencias cronológicas independientes. Tres grandes eventos en la historia de la comunidad se encuentran reflejados en la distribución general de fechas dendrocronológicas del pueblo: el asentamiento inicial del sitio de Koechaptevela alrededor de 1400 D.C. en lafalda de First Mesa, el traslado de la comunidad a la presente localidad de Walpi en la cumbre de First Mesa hacia 1690 D.C., y la reconstrucción de gran parte de la aldea entre 1880 y 1940 D.C. El análisis de la distribución general defechas y de fechas correspondientes a cuartos individuales indica que muchas vigas en el pueblo fueron reutilizadas más de una vez. Por esta razón, las interpretaciones deben estar basadas en grupos de fechas, aún cuando inclusive éstos pueden inducir conclusiones erráoneas cuando vigas obtenidas en la misma época han sido reutilizadas como un conjunto. La importancia de la reutilización de vigas para la interpretación de las fechas de Walpi es el resultado, en primer lugar, del traslado del pueblo a corta distancia alrededor de 1690 y, segundo, de la supervivencia de la aldea durante casi 600 años. Debido al tamaño y a la longevidad de Walpi, los patrones en la evidencia dendrocronológica del pueblo son sumamente relevantes para la interpretación de grandes sitios históricos y protohistóricos del suroeste de los Estados Vnidos que fueron ocupados durante largos períodos. A su vez, detalles históricos proporcionados por la evidencia dendrocronológica pueden ser de especial interés para los nativos Norteamericanos, como los Hopi, quienes aún viven en tales pueblos.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 56 , Issue 4 , October 1991 , pp. 628 - 644
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1991

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