Early Irrigation on the Colorado Plateau near Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico

The introduction of maize agriculture into the Southwest and onto the Colorado Plateau was accompanied by irrigation techniques. Twenty-six radiocarbon dates at two sites, K'yana Chabina and K'yawa:na'a Deyatchinanne, in the Zuni area of New Mexico, establish the use of irrigation canals to between 3,000 and 1,000 years ago. Associated features and the presence of nearby habitation sites independently corroborate the chronology of canal building. The geomorphology of the Zuni landscape and the morphology of the irrigation canals are consistent with the artificial construction of the canals. Pollen evidence points to an agricultural landscape and the cultivation of maize.