Domesticated food production is widely acknowledged as a crucial innovation that led to significant transformations in human demography and social organization. Here, we address demographic and social dimensions of the Neolithic Revolution in the Mesa Verde region of Southwest Colorado. We first propose a new method of dating habitations to one of two phases of the Basketmaker III period (AD 600–725) using relative frequencies of vessel forms in pottery assemblages. Then we adapt this method to new survey and excavation data from Indian Camp Ranch to investigate demographic processes behind the formation of Mesa Verde Pueblo society. Finally, we investigate the distribution of agricultural storage space across Basketmaker III households to investigate the development of private property during this period. Our results indicate that both in-migration and intrinsic growth were involved in the formation of Mesa Verde pueblo society; that agricultural households initially clustered around public architecture but became increasingly dispersed over time; and that household agricultural outputs took the form of a log-normal distribution typical of societies with private property rights. Collectively, these findings provide evidence that private property rights co-evolved with the commitment to agriculture and settled communities in Southwest Colorado, as researchers have suggested for other world areas.

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This article draws together data from two of Crow Canyon Archaeological Center's recent research projects and combines these data in new ways to elucidate the relationship between Mesa Verde region soil development and nonirrigation farming practices. The Pueblo Farming Project (PFP) seeks to preserve traditional farming knowledge and educate the public concerning traditional farming and the place of corn in Pueblo cultures. The Basketmaker Communities Project (BCP) focuses on understanding the Basketmaker III Period and the development of Early Pueblo communities. Pedologic data from each of Crow Canyon's experimental gardens, a mature piñon-juniper forest, and four Basketmaker sites reveal patterns of soil development. The Mesa Verde Loess-based soils become indurated with use and must be remediated, fallowed, or abandoned, with implications for site choice and residence time. Induration and productivity appear to vary inversely over time, with impacts due to management, vegetation, exposure, and uselife. Understanding the interplay of climate, cultural practice, and pedogenesis is, therefore, key to deciphering this geocultural record and pursuing agricultural sustainability in this region. We present a framework for unifying these lines of investigation and to facilitate moving future studies forward together. [Colorado Plateau, pedology, paleoecology, agriculture, archaeology]