archaeology of north america

Archaeology of North America

The Archaic Southwest and Lower Pecos

The SouthwestIntroduction Includes most of New Mexico and Arizona,

southern Utah and Colorado, southeastern California and part of northwest Mexico

This region has dramatic environmental contrasts Deserts to forested mountain ranges Low to moderate rainfall

This variation is important to its past Agriculture distinguishes this area from all

others in NA

The SouthwestIntroduction The southwest is often defined culturally in

two ways: By agriculture, farming artifacts, pottery, multi-

room villages with public architecture By the absence of formal social stratification,

large cities, writing and monumental architecture as seen at Mesoamerican sites

They survived as agriculturists in this very harsh environment by staying flexible

Southwest societies were in a constant state of change

The SouthwestSouthwestern Peoples There four major cultural traditions that

can be traced back Yuman-speaking people O’odham Pueblo Indians Apache and Navajo people

The SouthwestSouthwestern Peoples Yuman speaking people

Lived along the Colorado River Valley and the nearby uplands and in Baja California

Practiced floodplain agriculture and also hunting and gathering

Were skilled warriors and traders O’odham

Lived in s. Arizona and n. parts of New Mexico in the deserts, rugged uplands and river valleys

Uto-Aztecan speakers All lived in rancherias; small hamlets with

separate family dwellings

The SouthwestSouthwestern Peoples Pueblo Indians

Lived in Arizona and New Mexico Spoke diverse languages but shared a common

culture Hopi, Zuni, Acoma and other language groups

Agriculturalists that also hunt and gather Live in villages made of adobe and stone that

are often joined All pueblos have a ceremonial room: a Kiva

Apache and Navajo people Athabaskan speakers, likely form Canada in

the 16th century

The SouthwestThe Environment The Southwest lies in several physiological

zones: Rugged mountains to the south and west Large basins between the mountains

The lowest of which is just 30 m above sea level and the highest in the Colorado Plateau at 1500 m

There are several mesas, steep sided canyons, and vast gorges

Volcanic deposits yielding obsidian In the east are the Rockies and the

watershed that provides water for much of the region

The SouthwestThe Environment Climate is arid to semiarid in general, but is

highly localized making it difficult to discuss climate change though time

In much of the western part the rainfall comes twice a year Winter storms from the Pacific bring rain and

even snow between December and March In July and August there are short intense

thunderstorms On average the south desert areas receives

less than 20 cm of rain per year

The SouthwestThe Environment In the east most of the precipitation comes

in July and August in Gulf thunderstorms The gulf stream has a dramatic effect on the

amount and distribution of precipitation, leading to unpredictable cycles of rainfall and droughts

In other words, relying on rainfall alone is dangerous

For agriculture, they used seeps and springs on the Colorado Plateau, and irrigated along the banks of the Rio Grande

The SouthwestThe Plants The vegetation in the southern deserts is

brush As one moves northward it becomes

mixed grasses, shrubs, open pine, pinon pine, and juniper forests

On the Colorado Plateau it is arid grasslands, with wide spread sage brush and open juniper-pinon woodland

The SouthwestThe Plants There are many edible plants in the region

Agave: the leaves and centers are roasted and stored

Sotol, Yukka, cactus fruits, mesquite and cholla Wild onions and potatoes can be roasted and boiled Many seasonal fruits (hackberry and juniper) Nuts and seeds: ground and mixed with cornmeal

In times of low precipitation many of these plants lie dormant and thus they cannot be harvested forcing people to gather these resources over large distances

Agave plant

Yucca plant

Cholla Plant Sotol Plant

The SouthwestThe Animals The animals in the region survive off the

plants and thus too must be flexible Most are omnivorous These animals include

deer, big-horn sheep, pronghorns, Other animals include

Jack rabbits, cottontails, gophers, prairie dogs, voles, birds, waterfowl (along the rivers), and dogs

Some groups even domesticated the turkey

The SouthwestAgriculture The most important resource for these

people during the past 2000 years was domesticated maize

Agriculture requires that There are enough growing days precipitation good temperatures

The high temperatures of the deserts and low of the plateau mean different growing lengths, as does the aridity of the region

The SouthwestAgriculture Due to the constant variability of much of

the southwest (so much so that from one part of a canyon to the other the yield would be different) the farmers had to develop ways to ensure some success

This rested on the careful use of the scarce water sources and involved carefully placing the gardens where they could capitalize on this resource

The SouthwestBasic Framework for SW Archaeology The Pecos Pueblo site on the Rio Grand in

New Mexico was the main site for developing a chronology for the southwest

Alfred Kidder developed this Pecos chronology for the site, occupied before 1540 to 1838, and is still used more or less today

The Pecos classification is based on architecture, pottery, stools and to some extent skeletal characteristics

The SouthwestBasic Framework for SW Archaeology There are 8 cultural stages:

Basketmaker I: a pre-agricultural stage. This is now called Archaic

Basketmaker II (Basketmaker): farmers and using spear-throwers

Basketmaker III (Post Basketmaker): pottery, pit and slab houses

Then 5 Pueblo stages (I – V): connected to the rise of Pueblo culture to historic times

The SouthwestBasic Framework for SW Archaeology The problem with this chronology is that Kidder

defined it as a cultural evolution In reality it is much more complex, with great

diversity not only in the periods but between the regions within the southwest

Now the southwest is put into a broad cultural framework Paleo-Indian: 13 000 BP – 6500 BC Southwestern Archaic: 6500 BC – AD 200

Then four major cultural traditions subdivided into chronological phases

The SouthwestBasic Framework for SW Archaeology Anasazi: (?1 AD – present)

Early ancestors In the northern southwest Main sites include Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde

Hohokam: (C. AD 400 – 1500) Those who have gone The southern desert regions of the southwest Rectangular, single unit dwellings, low platform

mounds, ball courts, cremations, irrigation systems and pebble and anvil decorated pottery

Trading with Mesoamerica

The SouthwestBasic Framework for SW Archaeology Mongollon: (?250 BC – AD 1450)

Early Spanish Colonial governor of New Mexico Located in the mountains in southeastern Arizona

and southwestern New Mexico Noted for the plain and corrugated brown or red

ceramics found over a large area Pithouses

Patayan: (AD 875 – present) Old People West of the Hohokam region and north to the

Grand Canyon Not yet well defined

The SouthwestThe Paleo-Indians +10 500 – 6500 BC Well documented Clovis and Folsom sites The bones of extinct animals are found at

several sites Mammoth and bison kill sites are seen

Blackwater Draw Bison dominated in the east and plants in

the west Population was small and dispersed By the end of this period the population

had began to develop more diverse subsistence strategies connected to the local resources.

The SouthwestSouthwestern Archaic (c. 6500 BC – AD 200)

Around the Mid Holocene when climate began to warm (the Altithermal) the vegetation changed into what it is today Forests were replaced with desert scrub and

grasslands The beginning of the Archaic is marked

with dried weather in several places The Altithermal is followed by fluctuations

in the aridity of the region


Diversification of their resources was vital They relied heavily on plant foods and smaller

animals The population was on the move in search

of resources, meaning that the sites are transitory settlements, occupied for only short periods of time

For this reason the archaeological record is very incomplete

Only in the odd cave yields a more complete preserved record

The SouthwestSouthwestern Archaic (c. 6500 BC – AD 200) During this period the people lived and

made use of a variety of environments depending on the conditions

This is seen in the archaeological record as a multidimensional mosaic of hunter and gather societies with great local and short term variation

Mano and metates appear in this period throughout the southwest attesting the processing of seeds


Some scholars have tried to use the projectile points to distinguish the local traditions through time The complexity makes this very difficult Hafting techniques are also looked at

The fact that many Archaic sites have not been securely dated adds to the problem

In general, from Paleo-Indian into the Early Archaic, projectile points styles are similar over large areas


By the Middle Archaic there is a diversity of point styles used over small areas, likely connected to the local resources and perhaps the stone itself

Some argue that this may also be linked with some population growth and the limiting of territories as a result, with less mobility

At this same time trade became much more important


Despite the complexity and problems for this period, Cynthia Irwin-Williams identified four interacting Archaic traditions San-Dieguito-Pinto Tradition (6500 BC – AD 200) Oshara Tradition (c. 5500 BC – c. AD 600) Cochise Tradition (? + 5000 – c. 200 BC) Chihuahua (? 6000 BC – AD 250)

For now these traditions are provisional at best

The SouthwestSouthwestern Archaic (c. 6500 BC – AD 200) San-Dieguto-Pinto (Western) Tradition

This is the western most tradition It evolves from the Paleo-Indian groups It is identified based on the Pinto Basin points

with straight stems and concave bases Oshara (Northern) Tradition

May also have Paleo-Indian roots Has several phases, each with its own

projectiles Link with long-term cultural development for

the local Archaic cultures into the Pueblo-Anasazi culture

Pinto Basin Points


Cochise (Southern) Tradition Several phases within this tradition, the latter

of which are better known Tool kit has a variety of projectile points and

many seed processing artifacts Many of the projectile points are large, with

corner or side notches and straight or convex bases

Population growth is noted by c. 1500 BC By this time they were also cultivating maize

and other crops

The SouthwestSouthwestern Archaic (c. 6500 BC – AD 200) Cochise (Southern) Tradition

Groups are exploiting a wide range of regions Possibly living in more permanent settlements

Seen by the large oval pithouses (0.5 m below the ground) that would have required effort to build

The later Mongollon tradition may have developed out of this tradition

Chihuahua (Southeastern) Tradition Poorly defined, but likely includes local

adaptations that evolved over long periods of time


A Population Movement and Climate Model Claudia and Michael Berry note that there are

several gaps during the Archaic period seen with C14 dates. Technically if there is gradual change in this region over time these gaps should not be there.

They believe the population fluctuations are relate to climate changes in the region.

They divide the Archaic into 3 main periods Periods I, II and III


Period I (8000 – 3000 BC) This is a period of fluctuating warm-wet and

cold-dry climates Very little is known archaeologically The sparse population likely concentrated

around clusters of food resources, but intermittently

The Pinto point is connected with this period (the earliest Archaic point in the east)


Period II (3000 – 1000 BC) This period began with increased rainfall Population increased as a result, and peaked New points appear, including the Gypsum and

other contracting stemmed points These points have strong connections to the

Tehuacan Valley and elsewhere in Mexico This may be a time when groups are moving

up from Mexico because of deteriorating climate there and increased rainfall in the southwest


Period III (1000 BC – AD 500) Climate becomes drier now Agriculture (maize crops) takes hold This is connected with the San Pedro stage of

the Cochise culture Just before AD 500 there is another jump in

sites = when the agriculturists become sedentary cultivators


This model is more sophisticated in that it combines the climate data with the archaeology

It also notes that different things are happening in different areas, where and when productivity varies

It is also different in the sense that it is not only of gradual change but rather of population movements – which is more likely the case These movements would be in response of

climate changing and with it the local resources The Archaic people also would have developed

conservative strategies

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres In the Lower Pecos Valley and extreme

southwestern Texas is a semi-arid to sub-humid brushland dominated by thorny brush

There are coastal marshes along the Gulf that are protected by barrier islands

This area is but part of the greater arid southwest region of NA

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres Pollen data tells us that in the Early

Holocene this area had a pinon pine and juniper woodland cover that changed to grassland and cactus vegetation in the Mid Holocene

Then at the time of European settlement it became even more arid into a thorny brush land

These changes forced the hunting and gathering population to adapt

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres The Lower Pecos Canyonlands lie around

the Pecos and Devils rivers, and the Rio Grande to the southwest

The canyonlands are famous for their dry caves and pictographs

Bonfire Shelter is the southern most and earliest known bison jump in the Americas The cliff was 37 m high About 40 Bison antiquus date between 10 000

and 8000 BC were killed Then 8000 years later Archaic hunters

stampeded three herds over the cliff totaling about 800 bison

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres The dry caves in the region yield a great

deal of information Twined, plaited and coiled baskets, sandals, mats

and bags made out of plant fibers They wove partitions to separate areas of the caves Bags, blankets, robes and pouches were made of

deer, bison and rabbits Digging sticks and curved boomerang-like sticks for

killing rabbits were found, as were atlatls Freshwater shells made into spoons and scoops,

bone and antler pins and weaving tools are also common

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres The superb preservation allows for the

understanding of a long cultural sequence beginning 11 000 BC to the present

The sequence begins with the Bonfire cave occupation and into the early Archaic Bonfire phase between 10 000 and 7 000 BC

The Pecos Archaic is then divided into Early, Middle and Late Periods from 7000 BC – historic times

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres In central Texas there is a long occupation

from Clovis to historic times, with a sequence of dart points through the Archaic

The Archaic sequence is well documented at Baker Cave (from 7000 BC AD 1400) above a tributary of the Devils river

Interestingly, specialized cooking earth ovens are seen in this area and by the Middle Archaic they are in regular use for plant cooking Thousands of burned rock middens are found

throughout central Texas

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres The canyonlands are best known for the

rock art Pictographs and petroglyphs are both found

The earliest art is of abstract human figures

in various mineral colours Some animals (deer, fish, zoomorphs),

human forms and Shamans (with their paraphernalia) are painted almost life-size

This is called Pecos River Style

The SouthwestThe South and East c. 11 000 BC - Pres Other paintings show group activities, like

deer roundups, processions (with some with headdresses), bison or deer being driven into net-like barrier or to jumps

Later arts show bows and arrows, and historic art has crosses, horses, cattle and active hostility to Spaniards

The SouthwestHistorical Peoples of the Region In central and southern Texas the 11 000

years of continuous occupation is traced back

Ethnohistoric studies of historic groups suggest that their ancestors were displaced by Spaniards from the south and the Plains Apache and Comanche from the north and west

At that time there were perhaps dozens of small hunting and gathering groups living in the area

archaeology of north america

Documents

colorado plateau

past agriculture

moderate rainfall

parts of new mexico

colorado river valley

rugged uplands

northwest mexico

southern deserts