VII. Southwest Traditions

The American Southwest is a variable desert/mountain environment that incorporates the lower parts of Utah and Colorado, all of Arizona and New Mexico and the northern deserts of Mexico. These deserts have more fertile volcanic soils for agriculture and rivers that run into larger bodies of water (unlike the Great Basin on both counts). As a result CBS agriculture was somewhat more successful; always dependent on irrigation and rain. In the late summer huge tropical weather fronts from the Gulf of Mexico or the Sea of Cortez usually push into the Southwest and the Plains, which provided a much needed dose of water at the driest time.

Since these farming cultures developed a greater material culture, American Archaeology saw this area as its primary field lab which is best represented by the Pecos Project and Pecos Conference established by Alfred Kidder. In 1927 archaeologists gathered to develop a classification system for the Southwest. Subsequently many excavations were conducted in the Southwest; producing large amounts of data. This is the unfortunate distortion when the discipline is based on Western European materialist values. However, it also means that pot-hunters zeroed in on such areas and at times archaeology served to protect many sites that surely would have been destroyed. In addition to these factors the Southwest is one of the few areas where American Indians are still residing in their homelands on much reduced reservations or Pueblos, but in their traditional areas. As a result their is considerably more interaction between the living peoples and archaeologists in the Southwest. Here is the general classification system for the Southwest, including the links to living people. Some of the dates are not always the same as the text. Notice that dates are rather specific, which is due the advantage of tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) timbers in later periods.

All of these Southwest Traditions (except the Dene) develop CBS agriculture that either depended on rain (called dry horticulture/agriculture) or used irrigation systems (called wet horticulture/agriculture). CBS (corn, beans, and squash) are the principle domestic plants developed in Meso-America ~ 7,000 B.C. in the Tehuacan Valley , Puebla. At some time in the late Desert Archaic, by about 2,500-1,000 B.C., some of these domestic plants began to be grown in the Southwest area. The word corn is confusing since it is an English term meaning any kind of hard kernel grain, thus our corn should be referred to as American corn or maize; which is a grass, Zea mays, that was a hybrid developed with unusually large ears with no husk on the individual kernels. During the Fall many grocery stores will feature multi-colored ears of corn and refer to it as Indian corn, however all corn including yellow and white sweet corn is Indian corn. The Dent and Flint varieties (sometimes referred to as feed corn) were allowed to mature into hard kernels (called ripe corn) that were cooked in wood ash/water (limewater) to produce pazole or hominy and ground up to produce grits or masa. Sweet corn was harvested early (called green corn) and steamed on the cob in earthen pits.

Other domestic plants made their way up into the Southwest or were developed in the Southwest.

The Anasazi and Mogollon represent the ancient Pueblo people. They eventually developed the distinctive above ground multi-level stone masonry apartment-like complexes with unique underground or semi-underground structures used for religious purposes, called a kiva. The Mogollon and Anasazi are sometimes referred to as 'cliff-dwellers', but they did not always live in rockshelters or cliffs, and sometimes built structures in open canyons or on mesa tops. The Mogollon were located in the mountains of SE Arizona/SW New Mexico and Chihuahua, Mexico. Some scholars divided the Mogollon into the Sinagua, Salado and Mimbres cultures/phases, but this is probably over simplistic. Some overlap exists between Anasazi, Mogollon and Hohokam, especially in terms of ceramic traditions.  Certainly, the Mimbres culture had very specialized zoomorphic ceramic designs that emerge around A.D. 1100, but show up in other locations and traditions later. In fact we can not be sure specifically which prehistoric sites may have had people moved on to establish that Pueblos of today. Both Anasazi and Mogollon are thought to emerge from Desert Archaic Traditions and developed pottery and CBS horticulture. Initially both traditions developed semi-subterranean pit houses and slowly developed above ground stone masonry houses and storage facilities that eventually reached 4-5 stories. However, the pit house did not disappear but evolved as the underground kiva. We will look at the Anasazi as an example of greater detail.

The Anasazi were centered in the four corners region on mesas and plateaus, beginning by living in canyon/cliff dwelling in semi-subterranean pit houses. They continued to predominately use baskets, thus 'Basketmaker'. With time their settlements increased in size and by A.D. 700 (Pueblo I) the people built small single level D-shaped stone masonry structures with nearby kivas. These became more dispersed in Pueblo II A.D. 900-1100, but by Pueblo III, A.D. 1100 villages had a tighter and integrative configuration with multi-storied stone masonry that was plastered over and white washed. The kivas got bigger and more numerous; in some areas huge communal or Great Kivas were built between multi-villages. Artifacts, like pottery (because of preservation and the ability to generate seriation charts) provide distinctive regional and chronological sequences in addition to tree ring dating. During the Pueblo III times the following regions are distinctive:

 Also, Pueblo III was distinguished by unprecedented communal building projects that may have integrated a number of communities and areas. Our Site # 4: Pueblo Bonito represents some kind of central focus to Chaco Canyon and beyond. Additionally the people built some a road system that may have linked other centers. By A.D. 1130s the Chacoan power collapsed.

The collapse marks the  Pueblo IV sequence, which brings us to one of the great puzzles and controversies of Southwestern archaeology. The collapse is marked by either a decline and/or abandonment of Pueblo III towns and centers. Minimally severe droughts (A.D. 1125-1180; 1270-1274; 1275-1289) were a primary cause for people to change or move. Secondary problems of war, religious conflict, disease, etc. may have contributed. The dissolution of trading partners in Meso-America added to local problems. Also, the drought may have further hurt with the great building project causing deforestation in the mountains resulting in erosion and ruining the existing drainage systems. Evidence of cannibalism has fueled further debate and controversy. Unlike certain areas where ritualistic cannibalism was practiced more recent  Pueblo cultures had strong taboos against cannibalism. This would indicate a traumatic and desperate breach of such taboo; or even the reason for it. Proof of who committed the cannibalism is not definitive. Nevertheless Pueblo IV represents the decline and eventual relocation to the 100 + Pueblos that were on some mesa tops , but mostly along the Rio Grande River, reliable source of water. Those that settled on mesa tops like the Hopi adopted dry agriculture techniques, but certainly intensified their religious practices with the Kachina Cult.

The third great Southwest Tradition was the Hohokam. They centered their civilization in the lower desert floors in the Salt and Gila River Valleys near present day Phoenix and Tucson. These CBS based cultures developed irrigation canals that are still being used by the present Salt River Project. These canals 15-20' wide and 100s of miles long allowed for desert reclamation, that started as early as A.D. 400. However, subsequent cultural development  >Colonial Period may have come from new people (pioneers/conquerors) or just ideas or influence from Meso-America. Many cultural artifacts have definitive origins in Meso-America.

During the Sedentary Period (A.D. 900-1200 at towns like Snaketown the Meso-American influence is strongest with trade partnerships from Meso-America to Hohokam and Mogollon; with continuation to Anasazi and Patayan cultural traditions. At Casa Grande the Classic Period (A.D. 1200-1400) revealed a much greater influence from Mogollon/Anasazi cultures with building of the Great House and polychrome ceramics.(Casa Grande- Great House w/ shelter built to protect it in 1932) Again drought and outsiders brought a declines of the Hohokam, which translates in Pima (Akimel O'odam) as "all used up" or "those who are gone".

The Patayan were influenced by Mogollon and Hohokam  traditions, but also had the Colorado Plateau and Colorado River as a different environmental influence. Basically the Patayan used CBS horticulture by planting in the rivers floodplains while continuing to hunt and gather in the desert. Mesquite beans were a staple from the desert, along with some fishing and water plants. Ceramic traditions and cremation practices came from the Hohokam and were in turn an influence on Southern Californians. The river adaptation was practiced by the ancestors of the Mohave, Cocopa and Maricopa peoples. Some of the Plateau people lived in the river bottom for part of the year and moved up to the Plateau for game and pinyon pine nuts in the Fall/Winter. These were the ancestors of the Havasupai who still live at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Very little archaeological evidence has ever been discovered to definitely pin point the entrance of the Athabascan (Dene) peoples of the Southwest. They include the Navajo, Jicarilla Apache, Western Apache, Chiricahua Apache and the Mescalero Apache. The Lipan Apache and Kiowa-Apache were on the edge of the Eastern Deserts of the Southwest and Western Plains( Llano Estacada or Staked Plains). The minimal archaeological evidence of houses and ceramics at sites in the  Chacra Mesa area of New Mexico put Athabascan/Dene entrance into the Southwest at about A.D. 1100. However, others contest their origins citing possible Ute or Pueblo peoples and come up with dates of ~A.D. 1500 for Athabascan presence in the Southwest. Certainly, the Athacbascan/Dene people occupied areas trthat had been abandoned by the other traditions or took advantage of a declining culture due to drought and other factors. The Athabascan/Dene were mostly Hunters and gatherers and the Navajo and some Western Apache groups were the only active CBS horticulturalists.