The landscape context of Anasazi pebble‐mulched fields in the Galisteo Basin, Northern New Mexico

Anasazi farmers in northern New Mexico occasionally applied a pebble mulch to their gardens during the 14th and 15th centuries A. D. to increase crop yield and to buffer against drought. Regional variations in surface geology and soils are compared to the distribution of pebble‐mulch gardens near Pueblo San Marcos in the Galisteo Basin, south of Santa Fe. The slope angle and aspect of 96 individual garden plots are also examined to determine the role of microenvironment as a siting consideration within the broader geological‐pedological context. It is found that Anasazi pebble‐mulch gardens were consistently sited on south‐facing, relatively flat slopes of erosional benches, within naturally occurring surface/near surface deposits of gravel. This suggests that the Anasazi intentionally exploited regionally scaled variations in geology and soils in their pursuit of agricultural diversification.