Synopses & Reviews
The Sobaípuri-O’odham occupied the San Pedro and Santa Cruz valleys of southern Arizona from the 1400s. Their descendants reside at the contemporary community if Wa:k (San Xavier del Bac). Most of the protohistory and history concerning the Sobaípuri-O’odham has been gleaned from documents written by the early Spanish colonizers and other Europeans and emphasizes the influence of Father Eusebio Kino; there are few accounts of the indigenous people themselves.In recent years, however, archaeological surveys and excavations in southern Arizona have revealed new information about this group. Where the Earth and Sky Are Sewn Together includes these archaeological findings to provide an enhanced interpretation of the Sobaípuri-O’odham lifeway, addressing questions that have been unanswerable by historical documents alone. Seymour considers new methods and theory for tackling the difficulties of working with a sparse archaeological record and proposes some very different answers. This book represents a much revised rendition of the historian’s Sobaípuri-O’odham, a people who once dominated southern Arizona’s landscape.
Review
“Where the Earth and Sky Are Sewn Together provides a unique perspective on the Soba’puri, O’odham, and Hohokam not captured in other books. The author provides a compelling amount of new data from her recent fieldwork. This is an extraodinary and exciting achievement.”—W. Bruce Masse, Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico
Review
"Well-documented, written, and illustrated. Seymour has prepared a synthesis that makes a strong effort to bring her thoughts and ideas from nearly 25 years of Sobaipuri research together in one volume. This volume presents an archaeology of the Sobaipuri that actually enhances the documentary record. Extensive new archaeological fieldwork carried out by the author provides new insights on Spanish documentary sources, sometimes supporting, sometimes correcting, and most often expanding our knowledge base. This well-thought-out and extensively documented book represents a significant new contribution to our understanding of the Sobaipuri-O’odham."
–Historical ArchaeologyReview
"Seymour has prepared a synthesis that makes a strong effort to bring her thoughts and ideas from nearly 25 years of Sobaipuri research together in one volume. [A] well-documented, written, and illustrated volume. Expansive and detailed. This well-thought-out and extensively documented book represents a significant new contribution to our understanding of the Sabipuri-O'odham."—Historical Archaeology
Review
"A major contribution to the study of the prehistory and early history of southern Arizona. The quality of the photographs is outstanding and the maps enhance the discussions of the historic and archaeological sites. A fine example of the value of a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates multiple sources of information to obtain a better understanding of the deep and varied heritage of Arizona."—The Journal of Arizona History
Synopsis
A re-evaluation of the extent, history, and meaning of the Casas Grandes site and its far-reaching connections.
Synopsis
This volume offers a reevaluation of the extent, history, and meaning of the great site and its far-reaching connections. It also considers influences on the Hohokam and peoples of west Mexico, positing the existence of a vast sphere of Casa Grandes cultural influence.
Synopsis
This volume contains a varied and instructive set of studies of human behavioral adaptation to environmental change in the ancient Southwest making significant contributions to southwestern prehistory, settlement pattern studies, agriculture, behavioral ecology, paleo-environmental reconstruction, and statistical and computer-aided modeling.
Synopsis
Archaeology provides an ideal avenue for examining long-term processes and interrelationships between human behavior and environmental stability, variation, and change. The American Southwest is particularly well suited for such 'deep-time' investigations because of its comprehensive archaeological record, rich ethnographic and historical data on its peoples, and unmatched reconstructions of multiple environmental variables across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales.
This volume contains a varied and instructive set of studies of human behavioral adaptation to environmental change in the ancient Southwest. It makes significant contributions to southwestern prehistory, settlement pattern studies, agriculture, behavioral ecology, paleo-environmental reconstruction, and statistical and computer-aided modeling. The mix of case studies and syntheses covers the Colorado Plateau, Sonoran Desert, Mogollon Highlands, and Rio Grande Valley and summarizes the work of some of the leading researchers in the region.
Synopsis
Where the Earth and Sky Are Sewn Together includes recent archaeological findings to provide an enhanced interpretation of the Sobaípuri-O’odham lifeway, addressing questions that have been unanswerable by historical documents alone.
About the Author
David E. Doyel owns and operates Estrella Cultural Research and is adjunct faculty in anthropology at Arizona State University.
Jeffrey S. Dean is professor of dendrochronology (Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research) and professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, and curator of archaeology for the Arizona State Museum.
Table of Contents
ContentsList of FiguresList of TablesPrefaceAcknowledgments1. The Fertile Fields of the Sobaípuri-O’odham2. Background and Basis3. Integrating Sources4. Distinguishing the Sobaípuri5. O’odham Housing6. O’odham Domestic Space7. Sobaípuri Foodways and Hearth-Related Practices8. Sobaípuri Land Use9. Dating Sites10.
Ranchería and Community11. Sobaipuri Occupational Duration12. Contrarian Perspectives on Sobaípuri Transformation13. A Relation to the Sobaípuri PastReferences CitedIndex