The Initial Farming Population of the Northern Rio Grande: A Multidisciplinary Analysis.

This paper leverages a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the origin of the initial farming population of the Northern Rio Grande. In doing so, I evaluate two contrasting hypotheses concerning the source areas of these migrants. The first hypothesis, which I call the "Southern Origin" hypothesis, represents the predominant narrative and proposes that the most likely source of the early Tewa Basin population was agricultural communities of the Middle Rio Grande to the south. The second hypothesis, which I call the "Northern Origin" hypothesis, posits that the most likely source was late Pueblo I and early Pueblo II agricultural communities within the Navajo Reservoir/Fruitland District in northwestern New Mexico. Although evidence from paleodemography, archaeology, and linguistics is most consistent with the Northern Origin hypothesis, it also reveals complexities that suggest that alternative scenarios for Northern Rio Grande initial farming population growth need to be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]