Reshaping the Colonial Landscape: A Palynological Study of Environmental Change in Colonial New Mexico

As a region, the Rio Grande Valley has a long established history of complex agricultural regimes beginning with the introduction of maize in the 10^th century BC. These systems reached their peak in the Puebloan societies of the Southwest, who relied on maize as a staple crop and integrated agriculture as a central component of ritual life. With the beginning of Spanish settlement in the 17^th century, the indigenous system of agriculture began to exist in contrast to Hispanic modes of land use, which were imposed as part of colonial expansion. This study utilizes palynological data from a single soil core obtained in the vicinity of known Puebloan and Hispanic archaeological sites to examine how changing agricultural practices affected local plant communities. The data illustrates the persistence of localized maize agriculture, the expansion of animal husbandry, and alteration to lowland tree and shrub communities between the Prehispanic and Colonial periods.