The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 526

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Southwestern Historical Quarterly

rupted archaeological column spanning the time period between the
first human occupation of the valley and the Spanish Conquest," and
ultimately to discover "processes and causes leading to the rise of
primary civilization." Several seasons of field work (January, 1961, to
August, 1964), provided the kinds of data needed. A variety of sites
(caves, shelters, open) produced materials which allowed the estab-
lishment of an unbroken record of human occupation and activity
covering some 9,0oo years. This time span was periodized into nine
phases ranging from the Ajuereado (characterized by a small popula-
tion of primitive hunters and collectors) which ended well before 6500
B.C., to the Venta Salada (marked by a large sophisticated population
organized in city-states and supported by irrigation agriculture) which
was dated A.D. 700-1540. This is the longest continuous record of Man's
occupancy of an area found to date in the New World and probably
anywhere. Furthermore, analysis of the plant remains indicated that
in the Tehuacan Valley there had occurred an evolution from gathering
of wild plants to a full and complex agricultural system. Possibly
maguey (Agave) and cactus (Opuntia) were first cultivated, followed
by other plants among which maize ultimately became the most im-
portant. The first cobs representing ears of wild maze were found here,
and the evidence is that the wild ancestor of cultivated corn was corn.
An outstanding element in the success of this project was the par-
ticipation of many anthropologists (from archaeologists to ethnogra-
phers) and botanists, supplemented by other experts in geology, mala-
cology, etc. However, this was not the first interdisciplinary project of
its kind to be undertaken in Middle America (as claimed in the pref-
ace). The Carnegie Institution of Washington many years ago under-
took an interdisciplinary study of the Yucatan archaeologic region.
The various chapters of these two volumes, contributed by sixteen
authors, are valuable for detail, but general conclusions have been
postponed for the final summary volume.
University of Texas at Austin DONALD D. BRAND
The Apache Frontier: Jacobo Ugarte and Spanish-Indian Relations in
Northern New Spain, 1769-1791. By Max L. Moorhead. Norman
(University of Oklahoma Press), 1968. Pp. xiv+3o09. Illustrations,
maps, bibliography, index. $6.95.
The subject of this volume is the policy of the Spanish towards the

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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969, periodical, 1969; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117146/m1/480/ocr/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

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