Introduction

This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part presents methods for dealing with the mobility/sedentism continuum. It discusses the history of ideas about sedentism and mobility in the western Anasazi region, along with a general review of the data archaeologists have used to form their interpretations. The part argues that archaeologists must determine the duration of site occupations before we can answer questions about mobility and sedentism. It examines artifact uselives and durations using information from ethnographic sources and from the Dolores Archaeological Project in the eastern Anasazi region. The part proposes that there is substantial agriculture during all time periods of the mountain Mogollon, but that agricultural dependence, a factor related to changes in the mobility/sedentism continuum, increases during the transition from pit structures to pueblos. It shows that the organization of technology varies concomitantly with mobility.