The Ake Site is a name for a prehistoric archaeological location near the town of Datil

Datil, New Mexico

Datil is an unincorporated town in Catron County, New Mexico, United States. Located at the intersection of U.S. Route 60 and New Mexico State Road 12, Datil is on the edge of the Cibola National Forest. The Very Large Array is also nearby. Rock climbers are attracted to Datil because it hold the...

 in the San Augustine Basin of Catron County

Catron County, New Mexico

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*89.8% White*0.4% Black*2.7% Native American*0.2% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.1% Two or more races*3.7% Other races*19.0% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, 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...

. It was listed on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties in 1975, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1976. The Ake Site is particularly important for the age and length of its use by prehistoric

Prehistory

Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...

 peoples. It has been dated during the Clovis

Clovis culture

The Clovis culture is a prehistoric Paleo-Indian culture that first appears 11,500 RCYBP , at the end of the last glacial period, characterized by the manufacture of "Clovis points" and distinctive bone and ivory tools...

 period between 10,999 BC and 8000 BC, and during the Folsom

Folsom tradition

The Folsom Complex is a name given by archaeologists to a specific Paleo-Indian archaeological culture that occupied much of central North America...

 period between 7999 BC and 5999 BC, making it among the oldest sites in the American Southwest.

Other sites around Ake are not as old, with the nearby Bat Cave dating from 4999 BC to 1000 BC and nearby 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...

s dating from 1000 BC to 1000 AD.

External links

• Map illustrating the location of the Ake Site