Ronald H Towner

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Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• Baker, S. g., Towner, R. H., Martin, C., & Dean, J. s. (2023). Ute and Fremont Indians, Radiocarbon, and Ancient Wood: Dating Ephemeral Colorado Prehistory. Montrose, Colorado: Centuries Research, Inc.

Chapters

• Baker, S. G., Dean, J. S., & Towner, R. H. (2023). The Old Wood Calibration Project and the Fremont Occupation of Northwestern Colorado. In Ute and Fremont Indians, Radiocarbon, and Ancient Wood: Dating Ephemeral Colorado Prehistory(pp 93-110). Montrose, Colorado: Centuries Research.
• Dean, J. S., Towner, R. H., & Baker, S. G. (2023). Findings of the Old Wood Calibration Project. In The Old Wood Calibration Project and the Fremont Occupation of Northwestern Colorado(pp 65=92). Montrose, CO: Centuries Research, Inc.
• Towner, R. H., & Thompson, K. (2017). An Alternative Navajo Archaeology. .. In The Oxford Handbook of Southwestern Archaeology.
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  Chapter has been accepted, but I have no idea when it will be published. Chapter was published in 2017.
• Towner, R. H. (2016). Historical Ecology in Southwestern Archaeology: Long-term Change and Extreme Events. In How, Why, and Beyond: Exploring Cause and Explanation in Historical Ecology, Demography, and Movement(pp 36-58). Boulder: University Press of Colorado.
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  ;Your Role: Author and Co-editor of volume.;
• Towner, R. H., & Salzer, M. W. (2013). Dendroclimatic Reconstructions of Precipitation in the Northern Rio Grande. In From Mountain Top to Valley Bottom Understanding Past Land Use in the Northern Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico. University of Utah Press.
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  Towner, Ronald H., and Mathew W. Salzer2012 Dendroclimatic Reconstructions of Precipitation in the Northern Rio Grande. In Mountain and Valley: Understanding Past Land Use in the Northern Rio Grande Valley, edited by Bradley J. Vierra and Kari M. Schmidt. University of Utah Press. ;Your Role: Senior author;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;
• Towner, R. H. (2011). An Early Navajo Occupation on La Ventana Mesa.. In Words and Sherds: Papers in Honor of Meliha S. Duran and David T. Kirkpatrick. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico.
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  This article informed archaeologists of a little known Navajo occupation south of the traditional Navajo heartland.;Your Role: Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H. 2011 An Early Navajo Occupation on La Ventana Mesa. In Words and Sherds: Papers in Honor of Meliha S. Duran and David T. Kirkpatrick, edited by Emily J. Brown, Carol J. Condie, and Helen K. Crotty, pp. 183-192.. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico 37, Albuquerque.;

Journals/Publications

• Kessler, N. V., Butler,, B. M., Brennan,, T. k., Towner, R. H., Welch, P. D., & Hodgins, G. L. (2022).

  2022         Kessler, Nicholas V., Butler, Brian M., Brennan, Tamira K., Towner, Ronald H., Welch, Paul D., and Hodgins, Gregory L. Wiggle-matched red cedar from a pre-monumental occupation at Kincaid Mounds, Illinois, USA. Journal of Tree-Ring Research 78(2):100-112.

  . Journal of Tree-Ring Research, 78(2), 100-112.
• Towner, R. H. (2021). The Curious Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menseisii) trees in Schulman Grove, Mesa Verde National Park, Southwestern Colorado, USA. American Antiquity, 86(3), 549-568. doi:10.1017/aaq.2021.4
• Towner, R. H. (2022). Culturally Modified Trees: Peeled and Scarred Ponderosa Pine Trees in the Zuni Mountains, New Mexico, USA. Tree-ring Research, 78(1), 36-44. doi:https://doi.org/10.3959/TRR2021-12
• Towner, R. H. (2022). Dateless Dendroarchaeology. Forests 13, 281. https://, 13, 281. doi:doi.org/10.3390/f13020281
• Baker, S. G., Dean, J. S., & Towner, R. H. (2016). The Old Wood Calibration Project and Colorado's Ute History: A Progress Report. Southwestern Lore, 82(3), 12-34.
• Towner, R. H. (2016). Arboreal Archaeology and Early Navajo Land Use. Journal of Archaeological Research Reports.
• Towner, R. H. (2016). Early Navajo Land Use in Northwestern New Mexico: Big Bead Mesa in Regional Perspective.. Journal of Field Archaeology.
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  It has been accepted, but I have no idea when it will come out.
• Towner, R. H., & Kessler, N. V. (2016). Slash and Trash: Dendroarchaeological and Ecological Inferences from a 20th Century Logging Camp in Western New Mexico. International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 20(2), 249-263.
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  Paper has been published
• Towner, R. H. (2015). Collecting and Preparing Dendroarchaeological Samples. Advances in Archaeological Practice.
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  Article is accepted, but I have no idea yet when it will come out.
• Towner, R. H. (2015). Herb Dick's Gallina: Tree-Ring Dating in the Llaves Valley. Archaeology Southwest.
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  Ity was published Winter 2015 (ASW 29:1).
• Towner, R. H., McCloskey, G. l., Bellorado, B. a., & Renteria, R. r. (2015). Herb Dick's Gallina: Tree-Ring Dating in the Llaves Valley. Archaeology Southwest.
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  It has been accepted, but I have no idea when it will come out.
• Towner, R. H. (2013). David M. Brugge, the Navajo Land Claim, and Hosh Di'kani'. NMAC News, 4(1), 5-8.
• Towner, R. H., & Galassinni, S. (2013). Cambium-peeled Trees in the Zuni Mountains, New Mexico USA.. Kiva, 78(2), 207-227.
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  Towner, Ronald H., and Stacy GalassinniIn press Cambium-peeled Trees in the Zuni Mountains, New Mexico USA. Kiva.;Your Role: Senior Author;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaborator is Federal Agency (USFS) employee;
• Towner, R. H., Creasman, P. P., Bryant, B., Jeffrey, S. D., & Leavitt, S. W. (2012). Historical Perspective: Reflections on the Foundation, Persistence, and Growth of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Circa 1930-1960.. Tree-Ring Research.
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  ;Your Role: 3rd author;Full Citation: Creasman, Paul P., Bryant Bannister, Ronald H. Towner, Jeffrey S. Dean, and Steven W. Leavitt 2012 Historical Perspective: Reflections on the Foundation, Persistence, and Growth of the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Circa 1930-1960. Tree-Ring Research 68(2):81-89.;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;Collaborative with faculty member at UA: Yes;
• Towner, R. H., & Heckman, R. (2011). Early Navajo Archaeology on McKean Mesa, Dinetah. Kiva.
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  This paper delineated aspects of early navajo social organization in Dinetah;Your Role: Senior Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H., and Robert A. Heckman2011 Early Navajo Archaeology on McKean Mesa, Dinétah. Kiva 76(4):453-481;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: Collaboration with Private industry scholar, Robert Heckman;
• Towner, R. H. (2010). Depopulation, not Abandonment: New Tree-Ring Dates from Dinetah.. NewsMac: Newsletter of the New Mexico Archaeological Council.
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  this paper informed archaeologists work9ing in New Mexico of late dates from Navajo sites in the ancestral Navajo heartland.;Your Role: Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H.2010 Depopulation, not Abandonment: New Tree-Ring Dates from Dinétah. NewsMac: Newsletter of the New Mexico Archaeological Council 2010-2:2-6.;
• Towner, R. H., & Creasman, P. P. (2010). Dendroarchaeology of the Savage Homestead.. Historical Archaeology.
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  This paper brought the techniques and methods of dendroarchaeology to an international audience.;Your Role: Senior Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H., and P. Paul Creasman2010 Dendroarchaeology of the Savage Homestead. Historical Archaeology 44(4):8-27.;Collaborative with faculty member in unit: Yes;
• Towner, R. H., & Creasman, P. P. (2010). Historical dendroarchaeology in the El Malpais area: Lessons from the Savage homestead. Historical Archaeology, 44(4), 8-27.
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  Abstract: The El Malpais National Conservation Area (EMNCA) of west central New Mexico contains dozens of early-20th-century archaeological sites. One site, the Savage homestead (LA 74544), contains evidence of a relatively intensive settlement history in the form of more than 20 structures, roads, fields, and artifacts. The Savage homestead settlement history is investigated through dendrochronological, documentary, archaeological, and oral history data. The assembled data testify to the tenacity and strength of a widow with six children subsisting in the isolation of the high desert of New Mexico and threading her way through the federal paperwork maze to earn a homestead patent - a task accomplished, but an occupation that was short-lived. The social, economic, and environmental contexts of the occupation and abandonment suggest implications for understanding the regional occupation of the area both historically and prehistorically.
• Towner, R. H., & Beckett, S. (2009). An Early 20th Century Navajo Occupation in the El Malpais Area.. NewsMac: Newsletter of the New Mexico Archaeological Council. 2009-1: 2-4..
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  The publication is important because there was no known documentation of Navajo archaeological sites in the area prior to this publication.;Your Role: Senior Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H., and Sara N. Beckett2009 An Early 20th Century Navajo Occupation in the El Malpais Area. NewsMac: Newsletter of the New Mexico Archaeological Council. 2009-1: 2-4.;Collaborative with undergraduate student: Yes;
• Towner, R. H., Salzer, M. W., Parks, J. A., & Barlow, K. R. (2009). Assessing the Importance of Past Human Behavior in Dendroarchaeological Research: Examples from Range Creek Canyon, Utah USA.. Tree-ring Research 65(2):117-127.
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  This publication is important because it demonstrates how the behavior of past people influences dendroarchaeological date distributions.;Your Role: Senior Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H., Mathew W. Salzer, James A. Parks, and K. Renee Barlow 2009 Assessing the Importance of Past Human Behavior in Dendroarchaeological Research: Examples from Range Creek Canyon, Utah USA. Tree-ring Research 65(2):117-127;Other collaborative: Yes;Specify other collaborative: co-authors include LTRR staff, adjunct faculty, and a Curator at the Eastern Utah Museum;
• Towner, R. H., Salzer, M. W., Parks, J. A., & Barlow, K. R. (2009). Assessing the importance of past human behavior in dendroarchaeological research: Examples from range creek canyon, Utah, U.S.A.. Tree-Ring Research, 65(2), 117-127.
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  Abstract: Dendroarchaeological samples can contain three kinds of information: chronological, behavioral, and environmental. The decisions of past people regarding species selection, beam size, procurement and modification techniques, deadwood use, and stockpiling are the most critical factors influencing an archaeological date distribution. Using dendrochronological samples from prehistoric and historic period sites in the same area of eastern Utah, this paper examines past human behavior as the critical factor in dendroarchaeological date distributions. Copyright © 2009 by The Tree-Ring Society.
• Towner, R. H. (2008). The Navajo depopulation of Dinétah. Journal of Anthropological Research, 64(4), 511-527.
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  Abstract: The ancestral heartland of the Navajo people (Diné) is Dinétah, an area of northwestern New Mexico centered around the Largo and Gobernador drainages. The date of the Navajo entry into the area remains the subject of debate, but there is abundant evidence of an intensive and extensive Navajo occupation of the area in the 1500s-1700s. There is also ample evidence that the area was depopulated, if not abandoned, by the 1770s. Traditionally, the Navajo "abandonment" of Dinetah as a habitation region in the mid-1700s has been considered a seminal event in Navajo cultural development. Drought and Ute raiding have been invoked as causes for a Navajo migration toward the south and west. In this paper, I suggest that the emigration was a long-term social process that involved many push and pull factors. It began much earlier than previously thought, and the area continued to be used intermittently for many years after it was supposedly abandoned. This reevaluation of the abandonment has important implications for the protohistoric and early historic period archaeology and history of large areas of northern New Mexico and Arizona. Copyright © by The University of New Mexico.
• Feathers, J. K., Dykeman, D. D., & Towner, R. H. (2005). Understanding dating applications: Reply to Espenshade. North American Archaeologist, 26(3), 283-287.
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  Abstract: A recent critique (Espenshade, 2004) of an application of luminescence dating in New Mexico represents a misreading of the original work and a misunderstanding of how dates should be interpreted in archaeology. It is well known that the dating event (what is actually being dated) and the target event (what one wants to date) can differ. This difference accounts for the discrepancies noted in the New Mexico study and also makes problematic Espenshade's proposed solution. © 2005, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.
• Towner, R. H. (2002). Archeological Dendrochronology in the Southwestern United States. Evolutionary Anthropology, 11(2), 68-84.
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  Abstract: Dendrochronology, the science of tree-ring dating, Is the most accurate and precise nondocumentary dating method available to researchers studying the recent past. Tree-ring dates are accurate and precise to the year and sometimes the season, and have no associated statistical uncertainty or standard error. Other prominent archeological dating techniques that use natural materials (for example, radiocarbon and archeomagnetism) have been calibrated using dendrochronological samples. 1 It is this precision and accuracy that has allowed archeologists working in the southwestern United States to construct the most detailed chronologies in the world, and to explore a plethora of environmental, social, and behavioral questions regarding past human adaptation to the region.

Proceedings Publications

• Towner, R. H. (2011). An Early Navajo Occupation on La Ventana Mesa..
  More info

  This article informed archaeologists of a little know Navajo occupation south of the traditional Navajo heartland.;Your Role: Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H. 2011 An Early Navajo Occupation on La Ventana Mesa. In Words and Sherds: Papers in Honor of Meliha S. Duran and David T. Kirkpatrick, edited by Emily J. Brown, Carol J. Condie, and Helen K. Crotty, pp. 183-192.. Papers of the Archaeological Society of New Mexico 37, Albuquerque.;

Presentations

• Hodgins, G. W., Pearson, C. L., & Towner, R. H. (2017, August). Sub-annual resolution measurements of the 773CE-774CE Miyake Event in archaeological wood from Chaco Canyon, in Southwestern United States.. 14th International Conference on Accelerator Mass Spectrometry. Ottawa, Canada.
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  The Ancestral Puebloan occupation at Chaco Canyon spanned the mid-ninth to mid-twelfth centuries CE. During this period, the largest monumental constructions in North American were created and these incorporated more than 240,000 wood artifacts. We selected a dendrochronologically dated ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) specimen from the Chacoan great house Chetro Ketl whose life began just before 773CE. Rapid early growth produced large ring widths across the 774CE 14C excursion and allowed sub-annual sampling. The geographic origins of Chetro Ketl wood was previously determined using strontium isotope analysis and dendrochronological techniques to be from mountains 75 to 85 km to the southwest and west of Chaco. The past cool and dry climate, and the altitude at which ponderosa pine flourishes in these mountains today suggests the growth season of theChetro Ketl sample was restricted to between May and mid-August. Thus sub-annual dissection divided this ring cellulose into roughly May-June, and July-August time-frames. Radiocarbon measurements on these subsamples suggests that the 774CE spike actually started in late summer 773CE. It was unambiguously in full swing by May 774CE.
• Towner, R. H. (2016, April). Tree-Ring Dating the Navajo Occupation of the Southwest. Ameridendro Conference. Mendoza, Argentina: Tree-Ring Society.
• Renteria, R. R., & Towner, R. H. (2015, Spring). Dendroarchaeology of the Otero Cabin, Valle Calder, New Mexico. Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA: Society for American Archaeology.
• Towner, R. H. (2015, June). Dendrarchaeology in the Southwest. University of Arizona Rock Art Ranch Fieldschool. Holbrook, AZ.
• Towner, R. H. (2015, Spring). Fire Ecology, Archaeology, and Native Americans in the Jemez Area. Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA: Society for American Archaeology.
• Towner, R. H., McCloskey, G. L., Renteria, R. R., Bellorado, B. A., & Kessler, N. V. (2015, Spring). Tree-Ring Dating the Gallina: The Herb Dick Collection and Beyond. Society for American Archaeology Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA: Society for American Archaeology.
• Towner, R. H. (2014, April). Watching for Roque: Dendroarchaeology of Vaqueros Canyon, Dinetah. Society for American Archaeology. Austin, TX: Society for American Archaeology.
• Towner, R. H. (2014, June). Dendrarchaeology in the Southwest. University of Arizona Rock Art Ranch Fieldschool. Holbrook, AZ.
• Towner, R. H. (2014, June). Dendroarchaeology in the Southwest. Pima College Burro Creek Fieldschool.
• Towner, R. H. (2013, October). Dendroclimatic Implications for the Documented Eastern Ute Territories, ca. AD 1300-1800. Rocky Mountain Anthropological Conference.
• Towner, R. H. (2012, 2012-10-01). Early Navajo Tree-Ring Dating in Dinetah. BLM Dinetah Workshop. Farmington, NM.
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  Presentation and in-field instruction concerning tree-ring dating of early Navajo sites.;Invited: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference/Workshop;
• Towner, R. H., & Rosenstein, D. (2012, 2012-04-01). Sterling Powder House at Jutten Lodges: Lessons in 14C Dating of Ute sites.. Society for American Archaeology. Memphis, TN.
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  ;Your Role: co-author; project PI;Submitted: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Towner, R. H., & Rosenstein, D. (2012, 2012-04-01). The Old Wood Calibration Project, Western Colorado'. Society for American Archaeology. Memphis, TN.
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  ;Your Role: Senior author, Project PI;Submitted: Yes;Collaborative with graduate student: Yes;Type of Presentation: Academic Conference;
• Towner, R. H. (2011, 2012-02-01). Tree-Rings and Early Navajo Social Organization. Socity for American Archaeology. Sacramento.
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  ;Submitted: Yes;Type of Presentation: Professional Organization;

Others

• Towner, R. H., & Zavelle, A. (2010, Fall). Dendroarchaeology in the El Malpais NCA.. Report to the BLM.
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  ;Your Role: Senior Author;Full Citation: Towner, Ronald H., and Atticus Zavelle2010 Dendroarchaeology in the El Malpais NCA. Report submitted to Rio Puerco Field Office, BLM, Albuquerque.;Collaborative with undergraduate student: Yes;