MOBILE HORTICULTURALISTS IN THE WESTERN PAPAGUERÍA

Excavations at two sites in the western Papaguerian desert of southwestern Arizona contribute to our understanding of cultural chronology, subsistence strategies, population mobility, and land-use adaptations in one of the least investigated archaeological areas of the U.S. Southwest. The sites, Mobak and Rainy Day, are located in the northeastern corner of the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range in Maricopa County, Arizona, and were investigated in 1998. These localities reflect a 2,000-year history of seasonal resource procurement and processing, with evidence for at least occasional Ak-Chin-style cultivation of maize and squash. Our evidence suggests that prehistoric inhabitants practiced a flexible land-use strategy based on casual agriculture and movements between desert and riverine environments.