Food, Pueblo II, Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region


Introduction Paleoindian Overview Food Housing Artifacts Archaic Overview Food Housing Artifacts Basketmaker II Overview Food Housing Artifacts Basketmaker III Overview Food Housing Artifacts Pueblo I Overview Food Housing Artifacts Pueblo II Overview Food Housing Artifacts Pueblo III Overview Food Housing Artifacts	The Pueblo II Period: A.D. 900 to 1150 Food During the Pueblo II period, people continued to heavily rely on domesticated corn, beans, and squash, and they ate more domesticated turkey than they had during earlier periods. This ever-increasing reliance on agriculture, however, made the people more vulnerable to drought and other climatic changes that affected the amount of food, especially corn, that could be grown. So, beginning in the Pueblo II period, people began to construct reservoirs, check dams, and farming terraces in an effort to capture and conserve water for agricultural use (Figure 1). Check dams and terraces were used not only for water control, but for soil conservation as well, because they prevented the topsoil from washing away. Figure 1: Check Dam Wild plants and animals continued to round out the Pueblo diet during this time. In fact, archaeologists think that Pueblo people probably had an efficient strategy that combined hunting, gathering, and farming. Corn would have attracted deer, rabbits, and rodents to agricultural fields, making them easy prey for anyone tending the crops. And certain edible weeds that thrive in the disturbed soil of gardens could have easily been harvested during routine weeding.

The Pueblo II Period: A.D. 900 to 1150

Food