Archaic Hunter-Gatherers

Smaller game such as rabbits and deer became the hunted when larger game such as bison and mammoths became extinct.

photo by sally king

During the Archaic Period (6000 BCE - 1150 CE), nomadic groups of people continued to adapt to a changing climate by eating a more diverse diet of smaller game and many varieties of edible plants, fruits, and nuts.

 

Fruits and nuts were also an important food source for the Archaic people.

photo by sally king

Gathering
Archaic peoples moved less than their Paleoindian predecessors, but still followed the seasonal availability of important food sources. Here at Bandelier, rabbits, deer, piñon nuts, and wild grass seeds played a major role in Archaic people’s survival. The use of pottery would not have been practical for these nomadic people. Hand-woven yucca and willow baskets were probably used for gathering and storing plants, nuts and other wild foods. Around 1150, the Ancestral Pueblo people began to move into this area from other locations.