Mogollon Agrarian Ecology

ABSTRACT

The conditions which govern agricultural productivity in the Mogollon area of east central-Arizona are substantially different than those which have been described for the historic Western Pueblos. There is little evidence for how and where the Mogollon were farming in an environment that is marginal for agriculture. A new model of Mogollon agriculture, based on the ecological effects of low-intensity burning of a coniferous forest floor, is presented. It is argued that in comparison to Western Pueblo agricultural strategies, the burn-plot technique was far more likely to have been employed by the Mogollon.