History and Environment in the Mimbres Valley Article

History and Environment in the Mimbres Valley - Article Example The valley thus experienced a variation in the population over the years, and this affected its overall ecology. The research focuses on how the people survived in this valley; how its ecology changed, and how this differs from the present. The area features a short river, predominantly pinon, juniper and oak trees, orchards and alfalfa, and a floodplain, which continues to be farmed by gravity-fed small irrigation canals. The riverine environment contrasts significantly from surrounding areas, which also has more drought-resistant vegetation. Although it appears the land is fairly preserved, the significant recent degradation as the third cycle of human interference is resulting in more permanent consequences for plant and animal life. The original Mimbres people transformed from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to farming supplemented their diet with wild plants and animals and were self-sufficient. Culturally, they resembled the Hopi and other pueblos. As their population increased, they cut down more trees, engaged in more intensive farming, used more weedy plants, and overexploited select larger animal species. This also denuded the valley bottom from plant life. Some of the check dams constructed in marginal areas to retain rainwater still remain. The first cycle of degradation then occurred between A.D. 1000 to 1130 despite evidence of some measures of environmental conservation. However, as noted by Lt. Emory in 1846, the environmental balance was later restored. This is attributable to the population decline by the 1400s and the preservation of the river. The next cycle of degradation was caused by the opening of a shelter during the later 1800s, in particular from the wood gathered to fuel it resulting in large-scale deforestation aided by steel tools, wagons, and horses. However, this situation reversed after the smelter was closed.