Pre-History and Archaeology

Southern Arizona is full of archeology sites, spanning thousands of years, from mammoth kill sites such as Murray Springs, to the impressive Casa Grande Ruins, created by the Hohokam people, and more recent Chiricahua Apache wikiup rings. Chiricahua National Monument also has a rich archeological record, which scientists are still exploring. Remember, if you see an artifact, leave it where you found it, it so others can learn from it. It is illegal to collect any artifacts from national park sites. When artifacts are removed from their original location, they lose much of their scientific value, and can no longer tell an accurate story about what happened there.

Paleoindians and Archaic Hunter-Gatherer Cultures

During the late Pleistocene era, about 12,000 years ago (10,000 BCE), Paleoindians hunted large mammals like horses, mammoths, and bison around ancient Lake Cochise in the verdant Sulphur Springs Valley. After the lake dried up, the hunter-gatherers who succeeded the Paleoindians began to use resources from not just the valley floors but also the hills and mountains that surrounded them. Archeologists call the hunter-gatherer cultural tradition which followed the Paleoindians, Archaic. The Archaic timeframe is from ~6000 to 1500 BCE. These groups probably used resources from many elevations, and pursued large and small animals, fish, plant foods, nuts, berries, cactus fruit, seeds, and even insects.

Artifacts associated with the Archaic populations include atlatl dart points, knives, scrapers, ground stones, baskets, sandals, as well as petroglyphs and pictographs. Once domesticated plants (like corn, beans, and squash), began spreading into the southwest, the tools people used changed. Between 1500 BCE to 200 CE, recognizable manos and metates show up, as well as larger dwellings. While agriculture was beginning to develop, archeologists believe that families still migrated seasonally across habitats and elevations to find the resources they needed to survive. Some archeological sites within Chiricahua National Monument indicate temporary camps, single-event (like hunting) processing stations, and milling stations (for corn).

 

Mogollon Traditions

By 200 CE, people were becoming more localized around farming endeavors. These close family communities often had several pit houses, ceremonial stations, and some single-use and multiple use processing stations (for hunting, as well as processing plant seeds). People made both plain and red-slipped brownware pottery. Archeological evidence indicates that around 1000 CE, these separate family clusters began to gather and form larger socio-political or religious groups, focused on the Mimbres Valley, in southwest New Mexico.

From about 1000 CE to 1150 CE, people began to build above ground habitation, instead of pit houses, and make the distinct Mimbres black-on-white pottery. Some pueblos from this period had over 100 rooms (especially near Animas Creek, in New Mexico). Based on archeological evidence, it is likely that one or two families/family groups used what is now Chiricahua National Monument as their home, in addition to using the many resources available here.

 

Salado Traditions

Around the same time as the end of Chaco Culture, the Mogollon traditions disappeared as well. Later, between 1200-1400 CE, the Salado Culture reoccupied the same area, but were culturally distinct. The Salado were large family groups clustered together and they were influenced by the Hohokam and Casas Grandes cultures. Based on archeological evidence, the Salado traded with people in northern Mexico and built adobe pueblos and room blocks organized around a central plaza. There is only one site that can specifically be classified as Salado, although there are some sites that have been hard for archeologists to classify.

Archeology in Chiricahua National Monument

Archeologists continue to research and explore the way humans have used the Chiricahua Mountains over the millennia. Scientific methods often improve and change over the years, so the current best practice is usually to leave artifacts (pottery, stone tools, arrowheads, beads, etc.) where they are, so that future archeologists can continue to research and learn about the past.

References:
National Register of Historic Places form for Chiricahua Archeology District
Prehistoric Cultural Traditions and Archeological Sites at Chiricahua National Monument

Want to learn more? Check out the articles below, or peruse these fact sheets from the American Southwest Virtual Museum.