Late Basketmaker II Era
Encyclopedia
Pit-house
A pit-house is a dwelling dug into the ground which may also be layered with stone.These structures may be used as places to tell stories, dance, sing, celebrate, and store food. In archaeology, pit-houses are also termed sunken featured buildings and are found in numerous cultures around the world...
s, raised maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and squash, and were proficient basket makers and weavers. They also hunted game and gathered wild foods, such as pinyon nuts
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
.
The Early and Late Basketmaker II Eras (Pecos Classification
Pecos Classification
The Pecos Classification is a division of all known Ancient Pueblo Peoples culture into chronological phases, based on changes in architecture, art, pottery, and cultural remains. The original classification dates back to consensus reached at a 1927 archæological conference held in Pecos, New...
) are often described as one "Basketmaker period".
Communities
The primary dwellings of this era were round or circular pit-housePit-house
A pit-house is a dwelling dug into the ground which may also be layered with stone.These structures may be used as places to tell stories, dance, sing, celebrate, and store food. In archaeology, pit-houses are also termed sunken featured buildings and are found in numerous cultures around the world...
s that were built on open land and partially below the ground surface. The entrance to the house faced east or south. Logs and rocks were often used for the dwellings foundation. The building materials for the walls could include stacked logs, jacal
Jacal
The jacal is an adobe style housing structure historically found throughout parts of the south-western United States and Mexico. The structure was employed by some Native people of the Americas prior to European colonization and was later employed by both Hispanic and Anglo settlers in Texas and...
or poles and brush. In the center of the dwelling was a fire pit
Fire pit
Fire pits have been in existence for a very long time and despite many technological advancements since the advent of man's use of fire, they have remained a popular item because of their versatility. A fire pit can physically vary from a pit dug into the ground to an elaborate gas burning...
.
Some early people built their dwellings within the natural protection of rock shelter
Rock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s, especially during the beginning of this period.
Agriculture
The Basketmaker II people raised maizeMaize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and squash, the first people of the northern American southwest to do so, which required them to be located near sources of water and good soil. Carbon isotope analysis of bones of Archaic people compared to Basketmakers indicates that the Basketmakers' diet was rich in maize.
Manos and metate
Metate
A metate is a mortar, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican culture, metates were typically used by women who would grind calcified maize and other organic materials during food preparation...
s were used to grind maize and other foods. Food was stored below ground in storage cists, often lined with slabs of stone.
Material goods
Excavated items from this period include:- good quality, tightly woven baskets
- woven yucca bags, sandals and blankets
- robes and blankets made of feather and fur
- stone projectile pointProjectile pointIn archaeological terms, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a projectile, such as a spear, dart, or arrow, or perhaps used as a knife....
s, scrapers and knives - atlatlAtlatlAn atlatl or spear-thrower is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing.It consists of a shaft with a cup or a spur at the end that supports and propels the butt of the dart. The atlatl is held in one hand, gripped near the end farthest from the cup...
and throwing spearSpearA spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s (the main tools for hunting) - bone stitching awlStitching awlA stitching awl is a simple tool with which holes can be punctured in a variety of materials, or existing holes can be enlarged. It is also used for sewing heavy materials, such as leather or canvas. It is a thin, tapered metal shaft, coming to a sharp point, either straight or slightly bent....
s, whistleWhistleA whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
s, and gaming pieces - cord made from yucca and cedar barkCedar bark textileCedar bark textile was used by indigenous people in the Pacific Northwest region of modern-day Canada and the United States. Historically, most items of clothing were made of this material...
- oval-shaped cradles
- stone pipes
About AD 200, the middle of this period, there was some experimentation with a crude form of brown pottery.
Cultural groups and periods
The cultural groups of this period include:- Anasazi - southern UtahUtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, southern ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, northern ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
and northern and central New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. - HohokamHohokamHohokam is one of the four major prehistoric archaeological Oasisamerica traditions of what is now the American Southwest. Many local residents put the accent on the first syllable . Variant spellings in current, official usage include Hobokam, Huhugam and Huhukam...
- southern Arizona. - Mogollon - southeastern Arizona, southern New Mexico and northern MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. - PatayanPatayanPatayan is a term used by archaeologists to describe prehistoric and historic Native American cultures who inhabited parts of modern day Arizona, west to Lake Cahuilla in California, and in Baja California, between 700–1550 CE...
- western Arizona, California and Baja California.
Notable Late Basketmaker II sites
- Chaco Culture National Historical ParkChaco Culture National Historical ParkChaco Culture National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park hosting the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park is located in northwestern New Mexico, between Albuquerque and Farmington, in a remote canyon cut by the Chaco Wash...
- New Mexico - Durango Rock Shelters Archeology SiteDurango Rock Shelters Archeology SiteDurango Rock Shelters Archeology Site is also known as the Fall Creek Rock Shelters Site. An Ancient Pueblo People archaeological site, it is located in Durango in La Plata County, Colorado. People from the Late Basketmaker II and Basketmaker III Eras inhabited the site between AD 0 and AD...
- Colorado (Basketmaker II type siteType siteIn archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture...
) - Glen CanyonGlen CanyonGlen Canyon is a canyon that is located in southeastern and south central Utah and northwestern Arizona within the Vermilion Cliffs area. It was carved by the Colorado River....
- Utah and Arizona - Hovenweep National MonumentHovenweep National MonumentHovenweep National Monument is located on land in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, located between Cortez, Colorado and Blanding, Utah on the Cajon Mesa of the Great Sage Plain...
- Colorado - Petrified Forest National ParkPetrified Forest National ParkPetrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's headquarters are about east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 , which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park...
- Arizona - Virgin AnasaziVirgin AnasaziThe Virgin Anasazi were the westernmost Ancestral Puebloan group in the American Southwest. They occupied the area in and around the Virgin River and Muddy Rivers, the western Colorado Plateau, the Moapa Valley and were bordered to the south by the Colorado River. They occupied areas in present day...
- Colorado Plateau of Nevada, Utah and Arizona