Accumulations research in the Southwest United States: middle-range theory for big-picture problems

Accumulations research examines three variables fundamental to understanding the archaeological record: time, population size, and the accumulation of artifacts. This type of research has been conducted for over a century, and remains productive because it addresses both basic archaeological problems and questions of broad anthropological interest. This paper illustrates the principles and benefits of accumulations research by analyzing the accumulation of cooking potsherds at ancestral Pueblo archaeological sites in south-western Colorado. Evidence is summarized to demonstrate that cooking potsherds are an especially good artifact category for accumulations research. Then, an annual accumulation rate for broken cooking potsherds is developed and used to analyze the occupation spans of nineteen small habitation sites. Finally, the relationship between midden accumulations and occupation span is used to analyze the occupational history of a large village. Throughout, accumulations research is used to tie together historical patterns in site structure, agricultural intensification, household residential mobility, land tenure, village formation, and political development.