Apishapa culture
Encyclopedia
The Apishapa culture, or Apishapa Phase, a prehistoric
culture
from A.D. 1000-1400, was named based upon an archaeological site
in the Lower Apishapa canyon in Colorado
. The Apishapa River
, a tributary of the Arkansas River
, formed the Apishapa canyon. In 1976, there were 68 Apishapa sites on the Chaquaqua Plateau in southeastern Colorado.
or people indigenous to Colorado of the Woodland Period
culture.
, represented a tradition of hunter gatherers who sometimes farmed beans and five types of maize
. They gathered wild plants and hunted bison, deer, prong horn, rabbit and other small game with bow and arrow, atlatl
, spear
s and darts
. At Picture Canyon
, known for its rock art
, the Apishapa lived on the canyon rim and farmed on the canyon floor. Horizontal lines of writing were found there, similar to 50 sites in Oklahoma and southeastern Colorado, which have been translated to include solar, planting and travel related information.
Identified by archaeologist
Robert G. Campbell in 1975, the Apishapa culture of southeastern Colorado's Chaquaqua Plateau was thought to be an outgrowth of the Graneros from the Texas panhandle
. Other noted archaeologists, however, dispute the connection between the Apishapa and the Panhandle culture
, a prehistoric culture of the southern High Plains
during the Middle Ceramic Period from A.D. 1200-1400. The Apishapa culture, while similar, is no longer considered a part of the Panhandle culture. It is also similar, except for architecture, to the culture of the Upper Republican River
basin.
s, single or multi-room stone or slab structures or in campsites, generally in protected areas near flowing water and canyon
bottomland, and located on protected points or isolated mesa
s.
James Gunnerson, an archaeologist from the University of Nebraska, conducted studies on two notable Apishapa sites, Snake Blakeslee and Cramer in 1985 and 1986 dated between A.D. 1250-1350. The Cramer site (Site ID 5PE484) at the mouth of Apishapa canyon showed evidence of structures made of stone slabs, the walls about 3.3 feet (1 m) thick, built into a depression of 12 to 20 in (30.5 to 50.8 cm) deep. The largest dwelling was 23 to 25 ft (7 to 7.6 m) in diameter. It is hypothesized that four posts in the center of the rooms supported a roof and the outer wall was filled in with brush and grass and covered with wet clay. The Snake Blakeslee site (Site ID 5LA1247), located about 5 miles from the Cramer site in Apishapa canyon, consists of at least 11 rooms in 2 room blocks. Other Apishapa sites include the Sorenson site along the Purgatoire River
with stone slab buildings of 3-25 rooms and the Avery Ranch site (Site ID 5PE56) located in Turkey Canyon on Fort Carson army installation in Colorado. The Avery Ranch site was inhabited during two periods, between about A.D. 1020-1040 and again A.D. 1200-1290.
on the Wallace site and on the north end of Fort Carson in Colorado. In New Mexico
, a campsite was found on the Steamboat Island Fort.
s, such as the Pyeatt, Trinchera Cave
, Medina, and Upper Plum Canyon. Franktown Cave
also has remains of pottery like that of the Apishapa.
and used smaller side-notched, triangular projectile point
s than other Plains
tribes. Unlike other Plains people, they did not use tools made of bison
bones. Artifacts from this phase include a wide range of tools, cord-wrapped pottery and baskets.
In addition to projectile points, other stone tools found at Apishapa sites include knives, scrapers, gravers, choppers, axes and drills. Manos and metate
s were used for food preparation. Bones artifacts, such as awl
s, yucca
and rabbit
fur cordage and woven matting were also found.
and changing climatic conditions
.
Based upon the presence of distinctive black on white pottery, they may also have traded with the Ancient Pueblo People, or Anasazi. Other evidence of trade includes Medicine Creek jaspar from Nebraska
, alibates dolomite
from the Texas Panhandle, Olivella seashell
s from the Pacific Ocean
, obsidian
and other forms of pottery
.
s, manos, scrapers, gravers, projectile points, and flakes of alibate. See Picture Canyon Tipi ring period.
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...
culture
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
from A.D. 1000-1400, was named based upon an archaeological site
Archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place in which evidence of past activity is preserved , and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record.Beyond this, the definition and geographical extent of a 'site' can vary widely,...
in the Lower Apishapa canyon in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado 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...
. The Apishapa River
Apishapa River
Apishapa River is a tributary of the Arkansas River that flows from a source near West Spanish Peak in southern Colorado. It joins the Arkansas east of Fowler, Colorado....
, a tributary of the Arkansas River
Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. The Arkansas generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's initial basin starts in the Western United States in Colorado, specifically the Arkansas...
, formed the Apishapa canyon. In 1976, there were 68 Apishapa sites on the Chaquaqua Plateau in southeastern Colorado.
Origin
The Apishapa culture, primarily found in the Arkansas River basin of southeastern Colorado, may have evolved from the Panhandle culturePanhandle culture
Panhandle culture is a prehistoric culture of the southern High Plains during the Middle Ceramic Period from AD 1200-1400. Panhandle sites are primarily in the panhandle and west central Oklahoma and the northern half of the Texas Panhandle....
or people indigenous to Colorado of the Woodland Period
Woodland period
The Woodland period of North American pre-Columbian cultures was from roughly 1000 BCE to 1000 CE in the eastern part of North America. The term "Woodland Period" was introduced in the 1930s as a generic header for prehistoric sites falling between the Archaic hunter-gatherers and the...
culture.
Culture
Apishapa sites, found in Colorado and New MexicoNew 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...
, represented a tradition of hunter gatherers who sometimes farmed beans and five types 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...
. They gathered wild plants and hunted bison, deer, prong horn, rabbit and other small game with bow and arrow, 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...
, spear
Spear
A 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 and darts
Darts
Darts is a form of throwing game where darts are thrown at a circular target fixed to a wall. Though various boards and games have been used in the past, the term "darts" usually now refers to a standardised game involving a specific board design and set of rules...
. At Picture Canyon
Picture Canyon (Colorado)
Picture Canyon, located in the Comanche National Grassland in southeastern Colorado, just north of the Oklahoma border, was named for its prehistoric rock art. There is evidence of prehistoric inhabitation of sites in Picture Canyon by Paleo-Indian, Archaic and Post-Archaic cultures, from about...
, known for its rock art
Rock art
Rock art is a term used in archaeology for any human-made markings made on natural stone. They can be divided into:*Petroglyphs - carvings into stone surfaces*Pictographs - rock and cave paintings...
, the Apishapa lived on the canyon rim and farmed on the canyon floor. Horizontal lines of writing were found there, similar to 50 sites in Oklahoma and southeastern Colorado, which have been translated to include solar, planting and travel related information.
Identified by archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
Robert G. Campbell in 1975, the Apishapa culture of southeastern Colorado's Chaquaqua Plateau was thought to be an outgrowth of the Graneros from the Texas panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
. Other noted archaeologists, however, dispute the connection between the Apishapa and the Panhandle culture
Panhandle culture
Panhandle culture is a prehistoric culture of the southern High Plains during the Middle Ceramic Period from AD 1200-1400. Panhandle sites are primarily in the panhandle and west central Oklahoma and the northern half of the Texas Panhandle....
, a prehistoric culture of the southern High Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
during the Middle Ceramic Period from A.D. 1200-1400. The Apishapa culture, while similar, is no longer considered a part of the Panhandle culture. It is also similar, except for architecture, to the culture of the Upper Republican River
Republican River
The Republican River is a river in the central Great Plains of North America, flowing through the U.S. states of Nebraska and Kansas.-Geography:...
basin.
Dwellings
The people of the Apishapa phase lived in rock shelterRock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s, single or multi-room stone or slab structures or in campsites, generally in protected areas near flowing water and canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
bottomland, and located on protected points or isolated mesa
Mesa
A mesa or table mountain is an elevated area of land with a flat top and sides that are usually steep cliffs. It takes its name from its characteristic table-top shape....
s.
Stone slab buildings
Generally, stone slab dwellings were one-room round or oval buildings, however there were also groupings of roomblocks up to 37 rooms.James Gunnerson, an archaeologist from the University of Nebraska, conducted studies on two notable Apishapa sites, Snake Blakeslee and Cramer in 1985 and 1986 dated between A.D. 1250-1350. The Cramer site (Site ID 5PE484) at the mouth of Apishapa canyon showed evidence of structures made of stone slabs, the walls about 3.3 feet (1 m) thick, built into a depression of 12 to 20 in (30.5 to 50.8 cm) deep. The largest dwelling was 23 to 25 ft (7 to 7.6 m) in diameter. It is hypothesized that four posts in the center of the rooms supported a roof and the outer wall was filled in with brush and grass and covered with wet clay. The Snake Blakeslee site (Site ID 5LA1247), located about 5 miles from the Cramer site in Apishapa canyon, consists of at least 11 rooms in 2 room blocks. Other Apishapa sites include the Sorenson site along the Purgatoire River
Purgatoire River
The Purgatoire River is a river in southeastern Colorado, United States. The river is also known locally as the Purgatory River or the Picketwire River...
with stone slab buildings of 3-25 rooms and the Avery Ranch site (Site ID 5PE56) located in Turkey Canyon on Fort Carson army installation in Colorado. The Avery Ranch site was inhabited during two periods, between about A.D. 1020-1040 and again A.D. 1200-1290.
Campsites
Apishapa campsites have been found in Carrizo Ranches, north of PuebloPueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
on the Wallace site and on the north end of Fort Carson in Colorado. In 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...
, a campsite was found on the Steamboat Island Fort.
Rock shelters
People of the Apishapa culture also made their homes in rock shelterRock shelter
A rock shelter is a shallow cave-like opening at the base of a bluff or cliff....
s, such as the Pyeatt, Trinchera Cave
Trinchera Cave Archeological District
The Trinchera Cave Archeological District is an archaeological site in Las Animas County, Colorado with artifacts primarily dating from 1000 BC to 1749 AD, although there were some Archaic period artifacts found...
, Medina, and Upper Plum Canyon. Franktown Cave
Franktown Cave
Franktown Cave, located southwest of the town of Franktown in Douglas County, Colorado, was a prehistoric rock shelter between about 6,400 BC and AD 1725. Excavations at the site unearthed a remarkable number of perishable items, including corn, plant material and clothing...
also has remains of pottery like that of the Apishapa.
Material goods
They made cord-wrapped potteryPottery
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 used smaller side-notched, triangular projectile point
Projectile point
In 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 than other Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
tribes. Unlike other Plains people, they did not use tools made of bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
bones. Artifacts from this phase include a wide range of tools, cord-wrapped pottery and baskets.
In addition to projectile points, other stone tools found at Apishapa sites include knives, scrapers, gravers, choppers, axes and drills. 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 for food preparation. Bones artifacts, such as awl
Stitching awl
A 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, yucca
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
and rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
fur cordage and woven matting were also found.
Interaction with other indigenous people
The Apishapa appeared to build their villages, sometimes called "forts," in highly-defendable positions. One set of sites occurs along a 6.835 miles (11 km) area along a canyon, seemingly so that signals could be relayed from one location to another. They may have needed to defend their stores of food due to population explosionOverpopulation
Overpopulation is a condition where an organism's numbers exceed the carrying capacity of its habitat. The term often refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth...
and changing climatic conditions
Historical impacts of climate change
Climate has affected human life and civilization from the emergence of hominins to the present day. These historical impacts of climate change can improve human life and cause societies to flourish, or can be instrumental in civilization's societal collapse....
.
Based upon the presence of distinctive black on white pottery, they may also have traded with the Ancient Pueblo People, or Anasazi. Other evidence of trade includes Medicine Creek jaspar from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, alibates dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
from the Texas Panhandle, Olivella seashell
Seashell
A seashell or sea shell, also known simply as a shell, is a hard, protective outer layer created by an animal that lives in the sea. The shell is part of the body of the animal. Empty seashells are often found washed up on beaches by beachcombers...
s from the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
and other forms of 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...
.
Outcome
The number of Apishapa occupations decreased in the 1300s and there is no evidence of Apishapa occupations after 1400 on the Chaquaqua Plateau. What followed was evidence of tipi villages in the presence of earth rings about 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter, surrounded by spaced rocks. Archaeological artifacts at the sites include metateMetate
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, manos, scrapers, gravers, projectile points, and flakes of alibate. See Picture Canyon Tipi ring period.
See also
- Apishapa cultural findings at:
- Franktown CaveFranktown CaveFranktown Cave, located southwest of the town of Franktown in Douglas County, Colorado, was a prehistoric rock shelter between about 6,400 BC and AD 1725. Excavations at the site unearthed a remarkable number of perishable items, including corn, plant material and clothing...
- Trinchera Cave Archeological DistrictTrinchera Cave Archeological DistrictThe Trinchera Cave Archeological District is an archaeological site in Las Animas County, Colorado with artifacts primarily dating from 1000 BC to 1749 AD, although there were some Archaic period artifacts found...
- Franktown Cave
- List of prehistoric sites in Colorado
- Prehistory of ColoradoPrehistory of ColoradoPrehistory of Colorado provides an overview of the activities that occurred prior to Colorado's recorded history. Colorado experienced cataclysmic geological events over billions of years. The way the events occurred in Colorado, though, shaped our land and ecosystems...