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An Optimal Irrigation Model: Theory, Experimental Results, and Implications for Future Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2019

Shannon A. Boomgarden Open the ORCID record for Shannon A. Boomgarden [Opens in a new window] ,
Duncan Metcalfe  and
Ellyse T. Simons
Shannon A. Boomgarden*
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
Duncan Metcalfe
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
Ellyse T. Simons
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum of Utah, University of Utah, 301 Wakara Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
*
(S.Arnold@utah.edu, corresponding author) https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2808-0172
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Abstract

A series of farming experiments was conducted between 2013 and 2017 in Range Creek Canyon, Utah, to better understand the opportunities and constraints faced by prehistoric farmers in the Southwest. The experiments were designed to collect data on the optimal amount of supplemental water that should be applied to maize fields given the costs in labor and benefits in greater yield. We investigate expected variation in water management strategies using an optimal irrigation model (OIM). The model makes clear that the payoff for farming is best understood as a continuum of relative success and that irrigation is one activity (probably of many) that may improve farming efficiency as well as increase harvest yields. The optimal harvest will always be less than the maximum harvest when there are significant operating costs associated with irrigation. Estimating the costs and benefits of irrigation in a specific area allows for an assessment of whether irrigation is expected, and if so, how much effort should be devoted to water management. A local dendroclimatological study is used to provide the prehistoric context for the Fremont who occupied Range Creek Canyon, and irrigation is expected even in periods of greater precipitation.

Entre los años 2013 y 2017 se llevó a cabo una serie de experimentos agrícolas en el cañón de Range Creek, Utah, para comprender mejor las oportunidades y limitaciones a las que se enfrentaron los agricultores prehistóricos del Suroeste. Los experimentos fueron diseñados para recolectar datos sobre la cantidad óptima del abasto de agua que debía aplicarse a los campos de maíz, considerando el costo de la mano de obra y los beneficios en la producción de la cosecha. Se investigó la variación esperada en las estrategias de gestión del agua utilizando un modelo de irrigación óptimo (OIM, por sus siglas en inglés). El modelo deja en claro que el beneficio obtenido en la agricultura es mejor entendido como un continuo de éxito relativo y que la irrigación es una actividad, probablemente una de muchas, que puede mejorar la eficiencia de la agricultura y aumentar el rendimiento en la cosecha. La cosecha óptima siempre será menor que la cosecha máxima cuando existan costos operativos significativos asociados con la irrigación. La estimación de los costos y beneficios de la irrigación en un área específica permite evaluar si esta debe llevarse a cabo, y de ser así, cuánto esfuerzo debe dedicarse a la gestión del agua. Se empleó un estudio dendroclimatológico para proporcionar el contexto prehistórico de los Fremont que habitaron el cañón de Range Creek y el uso de la irrigación es de esperarse incluso durante períodos de mayor precipitación.

Keywords

experimental archaeologyFremontRange Creek Canyonfarmingmaizeoptimal foraging theoryirrigationUtahexperimentos arqueologíaFremontRange Creek Canyonagrícolasmaízirrigaciónteoría de forrajeo óptimoUtah
Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 84 , Issue 2 , April 2019 , pp. 252 - 273
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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