Pecos Classification
Encyclopedia
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 Mexico
, which was organized by the United States archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder
.
maker and Pueblo eras still serves as a basis for discussing the culture of the Ancient Puebloans
of the Four Corners area.
Archaic–Early Basketmaker Era
8th millennium BC to 12th century BC
The pre-Anasazi culture that moved into the modern-day Southwestern United States
after the big game hunters departed are called Archaic. Little evidence for extensive habitation before 8000 BC exists. From evidence near Navajo Mountain
, they were nomadic people
, hunter-gatherer
s traveling in small bands. They gathered wild foods when in season
, and hunted with stone-tipped spears, atlatl
s, and dart
s. Game included rabbit
s, deer
, antelope
, and bighorn sheep
.
The original classification postulated a Basketmaker I Era which was subsequently discredited due to lack of physical evidence. It was combined with the Archaic Era.
This period was called Oshara Tradition
. There was a trend toward a sedentary lifestyle, with small-scale cultivation of plants beginning 1000 BC.
Early Basketmaker II Era
1200 BC to AD 50
The early Anasazi camped in the open or lived in cave
s seasonally. During this period, they began to cultivate gardens of maize
(flint corn
in particular) and squash, but no beans. They used manos and metate
s to grind corn, and the women made basket
s for numerous uses. They had no pottery
.
Late Basketmaker II Era
50 to 500
The people constructed primitive storage bins, cist
s, and shallow pithouses. At this stage, evidence suggests that the beginning of a religious
and decision-making structure had already developed. Shamanistic cults existed ,and petroglyph
s and other rock art indicate a ceremonial structure as well. Groups appear to be increasingly linked into larger-scale decision-making bodies.
Basketmaker III Era
500 to 750
Deep pithouses were developed, along with some above-ground rooms. The bow
and arrow
replace the atlatl and spear. Plain bisque
and some painted black-on-white pottery is made. Cultivation begins of beans, available due to trade from central America
, and edible due to slow cooking in pottery vessels. Wild amaranth
and pinyon pine
were also staples. People of this era may have domesticated turkeys
.
the prototype kivas were large, round, and subterranean.
Pueblo I Era
750 to 900
The Pueblo I Era
saw increasing populations, growing village size, social integration, and more complicated and complex agricultural systems typified this era. The construction and year-round occupation of pueblos begins; the people constructed reservoirs and canal
s to deal with scarce and irregular water resources. Large villages and great kivas appear, though pithouses still remain in use. Above-ground construction is of jacal
or crude masonry
. Plain gray bisque
predominates in pottery, though some red bisque and pottery decorated in black and white appears.
Pueblo II Era
900 to 1150
By 1050, Chaco Canyon (in present-day New Mexico
) was a major regional center, with a population of 1,500–5,000 people. It is surrounded by standardized planned towns, or great houses, built from the wood of more than 200,000 trees. Thirty-foot-wide (30 feet (9.1 m)) road
s, flanked by berm
s, radiate from Chaco in various directions. Small blocks of above-ground masonry rooms and a kiva make up a typical pueblo
. Great kivas were up to 50–70 ft (15.2–21.3 ) in diameter. Pottery consists of corrugated gray bisque and decorated black-on-white in addition to some decorated red and orange vessels. The people imported shells and turquoise
from other cultures through trading.
During the 12th century, populations began to grow after a decline at the end of the Pueblo II era
. More intense agriculture
was characteristic, with terracing
and irrigation
common.
Pueblo III Era
1150 to 1350
Settlements
consist of large pueblos, cliff dwellings, towers and turkey pens. Most villages in the Four Corners area are abandoned by AD1300. The distinction between the Hohokam
and Ancient Pueblo people becomes blurred.
Pueblo IV Era
1350 to 1600
Typically, large pueblos are centered around a plaza
. Socially, this was a period of more conflict than cooperation. The people began making kachina
s for religious and ritual purposes. Plain pottery supplants corrugated. Red, orange and yellow pottery is on the rise as the black-on-white declines. Cotton
is introduced and grown as a commodity.
The Puebloans are joined by other cultures. As early as the 15th century, the Navajo were in the process of migrating into the region from the north. In the next century, the Spanish
colonists first came in the 1540s from the south.
1600 to present
The Spanish dominate and take over sites such as the Acoma Pueblo
. Their arrival sends Pueblo subcultures underground.
Ancient Pueblo Peoples
Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Pueblo peoples were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southern Colorado...
culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
into chronological
Chronology
Chronology is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time, such as the use of a timeline or sequence of events. It is also "the determination of the actual temporal sequence of past events".Chronology is part of periodization...
phases, based on changes in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, and cultural remains
Artifact (archaeology)
An artifact or artefact is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest"...
. The original classification dates back to consensus reached at a 1927 archæological conference
Pecos conference
The Pecos Conference is an annual conference of archaeologists which is held in the southwestern United States or northern Mexico.Each August, archaeologists gather under open skies somewhere in the southwestern United States or northern Mexico...
held in Pecos, New Mexico
Pecos, New Mexico
Pecos is a village in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,441 at the 2000 census, growing much faster than in other parts of San Miguel County, partly because Pecos is within commuting distance of Santa Fe. The village is built along the Pecos River which flows from...
, which was organized by the United States archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder
Alfred V. Kidder
Alfred Vincent Kidder was an American archaeologist considered the foremost of the southwestern United States and Mesoamerica during the first half of the 20th century...
.
Original classification
The original Pecos Classification contained eight stages of Southwestern prehistory, but it did not specify dates.- Basketmaker IEarly Basketmaker II EraThe Early Basketmaker II Era, 1500 BC - AD 50 was the first Post-Archaic cultural period of Ancient Pueblo People. The era began with the cultivation of maize in the northern American southwest, although there was not a dependence upon agriculture until about 500 BC.-Basketmaker origin:The...
, or Early Basketmaker II - Basketmaker IILate Basketmaker II EraThe Late Basketmaker II Era was a cultural period of Ancient Pueblo People when people began living in pit-houses, raised maize and squash, and were proficient basket makers and weavers...
, or Late Basketmaker II - Basketmaker IIIBasketmaker III EraThe Basketmaker III Era, AD 500 to 750, also called the "Modified Basketmaker" period, was the third period in which Ancient Pueblo People were cultivating food, began making pottery and living in more sophisticated clusters of pit-house dwellings...
, or Post-Basketmaker - Pueblo I EraPueblo I EraThe Pueblo I Era, from AD 750 to 900, was the first period in which Ancient Pueblo People began living in pueblo structures and realized an evolution in architecture, artistic expression, and water conservation...
, or Proto-Pueblo - Pueblo II EraPueblo II EraThe Pueblo II Era, AD 900 to 1150, was the second pueblo period of the Ancient Pueblo People of the Four Corners region of the American southwest. During this period people lived in dwellings made of stone and mortar, enjoyed communal activities in kivas, built towers and water conversing dams,...
- Pueblo III EraPueblo III EraThe Pueblo III Era, AD 1150 to 1350, was the third period, also called the "Great Pueblo period" when Ancient Pueblo People lived in large cliff-dwelling, multi-storied pueblo, or cliff-side talus house communities...
, or Great Pueblo - Pueblo IV EraPueblo IV EraThe Pueblo IV Era, was the fourth period of ancient pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III Era, Anasazi living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements and migrated south to the Little Colorado River and Rio Grande River valleys...
, or Proto-Historic - Pueblo V, or Historic
Current classification
Although the original classification has been significantly debated and sometimes modified over the years, the split into BasketBasket
A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres, which can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehair, baleen, or metal wire can be used. Baskets are...
maker and Pueblo eras still serves as a basis for discussing the culture of the Ancient Puebloans
Ancient Pueblo Peoples
Ancient Pueblo People or Ancestral Pueblo peoples were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southern Colorado...
of the Four Corners area.
Archaic–Early Basketmaker EraArchaic–Early Basketmaker EraThe Archaic–Early Basketmaker Era, 7000 - 1500 BC was an Archaic cultural period of ancestors to the Ancient Pueblo People. They were distinguished from other Archaic people of the Southwest by their basketry which was used to gather and store food...
8th millennium BC to 12th century BC
The pre-Anasazi culture that moved into the modern-day Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
after the big game hunters departed are called Archaic. Little evidence for extensive habitation before 8000 BC exists. From evidence near Navajo Mountain
Navajo Mountain
Navajo Mountain is a peak in San Juan County, Utah, with its southern flank extending into Coconino County, Arizona. It holds an important place in the traditions of three local Native American tribes.-Geologic history:...
, they were nomadic people
Nomad
Nomadic people , commonly known as itinerants in modern-day contexts, are communities of people who move from one place to another, rather than settling permanently in one location. There are an estimated 30-40 million nomads in the world. Many cultures have traditionally been nomadic, but...
, hunter-gatherer
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
s traveling in small bands. They gathered wild foods when in season
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
, and hunted with stone-tipped spears, atlatl
Atlatl
An 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...
s, and dart
Dart (missile)
Darts are missile weapons, designed to fly such that a sharp, often weighted point will strike first. They can be distinguished from javelins by fletching and a shaft that is shorter and/or more flexible, and from arrows by the fact that they are not of the right length to use with a normal...
s. Game included rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
, antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
, and bighorn sheep
Bighorn Sheep
The bighorn sheep is a species of sheep in North America named for its large horns. These horns can weigh up to , while the sheep themselves weigh up to . Recent genetic testing indicates that there are three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: Ovis canadensis sierrae...
.
The original classification postulated a Basketmaker I Era which was subsequently discredited due to lack of physical evidence. It was combined with the Archaic Era.
This period was called Oshara Tradition
Oshara Tradition
Oshara Tradition was a Southwestern Archaic Tradition centered in north-central New Mexico, the San Juan Basin, the Rio Grande Valley, southern Colorado, and southeastern Utah....
. There was a trend toward a sedentary lifestyle, with small-scale cultivation of plants beginning 1000 BC.
Early Basketmaker II EraEarly Basketmaker II EraThe Early Basketmaker II Era, 1500 BC - AD 50 was the first Post-Archaic cultural period of Ancient Pueblo People. The era began with the cultivation of maize in the northern American southwest, although there was not a dependence upon agriculture until about 500 BC.-Basketmaker origin:The...
1200 BC to AD 50
The early Anasazi camped in the open or lived in cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s seasonally. During this period, they began to cultivate gardens of 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...
(flint corn
Flint corn
Flint corn, is the same species as, but a different variant of maize...
in particular) and squash, but no beans. They used 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 to grind corn, and the women made basket
Basket
A basket is a container which is traditionally constructed from stiff fibres, which can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehair, baleen, or metal wire can be used. Baskets are...
s for numerous uses. They had no pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
.
Late Basketmaker II EraLate Basketmaker II EraThe Late Basketmaker II Era was a cultural period of Ancient Pueblo People when people began living in pit-houses, raised maize and squash, and were proficient basket makers and weavers...
50 to 500
The people constructed primitive storage bins, cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
s, and shallow pithouses. At this stage, evidence suggests that the beginning of a religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
and decision-making structure had already developed. Shamanistic cults existed ,and petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
s and other rock art indicate a ceremonial structure as well. Groups appear to be increasingly linked into larger-scale decision-making bodies.
Basketmaker III EraBasketmaker III EraThe Basketmaker III Era, AD 500 to 750, also called the "Modified Basketmaker" period, was the third period in which Ancient Pueblo People were cultivating food, began making pottery and living in more sophisticated clusters of pit-house dwellings...
500 to 750
Deep pithouses were developed, along with some above-ground rooms. The bow
Bow (weapon)
The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...
and arrow
Arrow
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
replace the atlatl and spear. Plain bisque
Bisque
Bisque may refer to:* Bisque , a piece of unglazed pottery* Bisque , a thick, creamy soup made from puréed seafood or vegetables* Bisque, a free turn in a handicap croquet match* Bisque, a free point in a handicap real tennis match...
and some painted black-on-white pottery is made. Cultivation begins of beans, available due to trade from central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, and edible due to slow cooking in pottery vessels. Wild amaranth
Amaranth
Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold...
and pinyon pine
Pinyon pine
The pinyon pine group grows in the southwestern United States and in Mexico. The trees yield edible pinyon nuts, which were a staple of the Native Americans, and are still widely eaten...
were also staples. People of this era may have domesticated turkeys
Turkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...
.
the prototype kivas were large, round, and subterranean.
Pueblo I EraPueblo I EraThe Pueblo I Era, from AD 750 to 900, was the first period in which Ancient Pueblo People began living in pueblo structures and realized an evolution in architecture, artistic expression, and water conservation...
750 to 900
The Pueblo I Era
Pueblo I Era
The Pueblo I Era, from AD 750 to 900, was the first period in which Ancient Pueblo People began living in pueblo structures and realized an evolution in architecture, artistic expression, and water conservation...
saw increasing populations, growing village size, social integration, and more complicated and complex agricultural systems typified this era. The construction and year-round occupation of pueblos begins; the people constructed reservoirs and canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s to deal with scarce and irregular water resources. Large villages and great kivas appear, though pithouses still remain in use. Above-ground construction is of 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 crude masonry
Masonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
. Plain gray bisque
Bisque
Bisque may refer to:* Bisque , a piece of unglazed pottery* Bisque , a thick, creamy soup made from puréed seafood or vegetables* Bisque, a free turn in a handicap croquet match* Bisque, a free point in a handicap real tennis match...
predominates in pottery, though some red bisque and pottery decorated in black and white appears.
Pueblo II EraPueblo II EraThe Pueblo II Era, AD 900 to 1150, was the second pueblo period of the Ancient Pueblo People of the Four Corners region of the American southwest. During this period people lived in dwellings made of stone and mortar, enjoyed communal activities in kivas, built towers and water conversing dams,...
900 to 1150
By 1050, Chaco Canyon (in present-day New Mexico
New Mexico
New 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...
) was a major regional center, with a population of 1,500–5,000 people. It is surrounded by standardized planned towns, or great houses, built from the wood of more than 200,000 trees. Thirty-foot-wide (30 feet (9.1 m)) road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
s, flanked by berm
Berm
A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm originates in the Middle Dutch and German berme and came into usage in English via French.- History :...
s, radiate from Chaco in various directions. Small blocks of above-ground masonry rooms and a kiva make up a typical pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
. Great kivas were up to 50–70 ft (15.2–21.3 ) in diameter. Pottery consists of corrugated gray bisque and decorated black-on-white in addition to some decorated red and orange vessels. The people imported shells and turquoise
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
from other cultures through trading.
During the 12th century, populations began to grow after a decline at the end of the Pueblo II era
Pueblo II Era
The Pueblo II Era, AD 900 to 1150, was the second pueblo period of the Ancient Pueblo People of the Four Corners region of the American southwest. During this period people lived in dwellings made of stone and mortar, enjoyed communal activities in kivas, built towers and water conversing dams,...
. More intense agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
was characteristic, with terracing
Terrace (agriculture)
Terraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice...
and irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
common.
Pueblo III EraPueblo III EraThe Pueblo III Era, AD 1150 to 1350, was the third period, also called the "Great Pueblo period" when Ancient Pueblo People lived in large cliff-dwelling, multi-storied pueblo, or cliff-side talus house communities...
1150 to 1350
Settlements
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
consist of large pueblos, cliff dwellings, towers and turkey pens. Most villages in the Four Corners area are abandoned by AD1300. The distinction between the Hohokam
Hohokam
Hohokam 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...
and Ancient Pueblo people becomes blurred.
Pueblo IV EraPueblo IV EraThe Pueblo IV Era, was the fourth period of ancient pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III Era, Anasazi living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements and migrated south to the Little Colorado River and Rio Grande River valleys...
1350 to 1600
Typically, large pueblos are centered around a plaza
Plaza
Plaza is a Spanish word related to "field" which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. All through Spanish America, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be...
. Socially, this was a period of more conflict than cooperation. The people began making kachina
Kachina
A kachina is a spirit being in western Pueblo cosmology and religious practices. The western Pueblo, Native American cultures located in the southwestern United States, include Hopi, Zuni, Tewa Village , Acoma Pueblo, and Laguna Pueblo. The kachina cult has spread to more eastern Pueblos, e.g....
s for religious and ritual purposes. Plain pottery supplants corrugated. Red, orange and yellow pottery is on the rise as the black-on-white declines. Cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
is introduced and grown as a commodity.
The Puebloans are joined by other cultures. As early as the 15th century, the Navajo were in the process of migrating into the region from the north. In the next century, the Spanish
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...
colonists first came in the 1540s from the south.
Pueblo V Era
1600 to present
The Spanish dominate and take over sites such as the Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo is a Native American pueblo approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States. Three reservations make up Acoma Pueblo: Sky City , Acomita, and McCartys. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity...
. Their arrival sends Pueblo subcultures underground.
Notable Puebloan sites
- Mesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde National Park is a U.S. National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, United States. It was created in 1906 to protect some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world...
- Bandelier National MonumentBandelier National MonumentBandelier National Monument is a National Monument preserving the homes of the Ancestral Pueblo People. It is named after Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, who researched the cultures of the area. Bandelier was designated a National Monument on February 11, 1916, and most of its backcountry...
- Chaco Canyon in 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...
- Canyon de Chelly National MonumentCanyon de Chelly National MonumentCanyon de Chelly National Monument was established on April 1, 1931 as a unit of the National Park Service. It is located in northeastern Arizona within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation...
- Gila Cliff Dwellings National MonumentGila Cliff Dwellings National MonumentGila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is a U.S. National Monument in the Gila Wilderness of southwestern New Mexico. The national monument was established by executive proclamation on November 16, 1907, by President Theodore Roosevelt. It is located in the extreme southern part of Catron County...
- Keet Seel in Navajo National MonumentNavajo National MonumentNavajo National Monument is located within the northwest portion of the Navajo Reservation in northern Arizona.Navajo National Monument preserves three of the most intact cliff dwellings of the ancestral puebloan people . The Navajo people who live here today call these ancient ones Anasazi...
See also
- List of dwellings of Pueblo peoples
- 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...
- HopiHopiThe Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
- TiwaTiwa peopleThe Tiwa are group of related Tanoan pueblo peoples in New Mexico and Texas. They traditionally spoke a Tiwa language , and are divided into the two Northern Tiwa groups, in Taos and Picuris, and the Southern Tiwa in Isleta and Sandia, around what is now Albuquerque, and near El Paso.-Name:Tiwa is...
- Zuni people
- John Wesley PowellJohn Wesley PowellJohn Wesley Powell was a U.S. soldier, geologist, explorer of the American West, and director of major scientific and cultural institutions...
- Richard WetherillRichard WetherillRichard Wetherill , a member of a prominent Colorado ranching family, was an amateur explorer in the discovery, research and excavation of sites associated with the Ancient Pueblo People...
- Antiquities ActAntiquities ActThe Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, giving the President of the United States authority to, by executive order, restrict the use of...