Vanishing River

Like the land through which it flows, northern Arizona's Verde River has been severely impacted by human activities over the last 1,500 years. This book and an accompanying compact disk tell the story of the river, the land, and the people who once lived there, providing a compelling reconstruction of the river, the land, and landscapes of Hohokam, Sinagua, Yavapai, Western Apache, and Euroamerican peoples. The reconstruction is based on more than six years of research conducted by the Lower Verde Archaeological Project, which melded the talents of archaeologists, ethnographers, soil scientists, and others in a multidisciplinary approach to human land use. Topics covered include chronology and site structure; prehistoric farming practices, migration, ceramic production, and exchange; and Western Apache and Yavapai material culture and ethnohistory. Historical accounts of the river and land along with paleoenvironmental reconstructions provide a perspective on environmental change, while contemporary methodological and theoretical approaches unify the research. Descriptive materials on excavation, artifact analysis, and specialized studies—which would fill more than three volumes—are presented on CD. The digital format allows for the use of over 300 photographs, most in full color, along with a short movie that introduces the project and provides an encapsulated view of the most important findings of the research.