Archaic–Early Basketmaker Era
Encyclopedia
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 began to be used to process seeds and nuts. With the extinction of megafauna
Megafauna
In terrestrial zoology, megafauna are "giant", "very large" or "large" animals. The most common thresholds used are or...
, hunters adapted their tools, using spears with smaller projectile points and then 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...
and darts. Simple dwellings made of wood, brush and earth provided shelter.
Hunter gatherer culture
HoloceneHolocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
climate changes [beginning about 10,000 BC] resulted in warmer and drier weather, a contributing factor in the extinction of megafauna, such as the mastodon
Mastodon
Mastodons were large tusked mammal species of the extinct genus Mammut which inhabited Asia, Africa, Europe, North America and Central America from the Oligocene through Pleistocene, 33.9 mya to 11,000 years ago. The American mastodon is the most recent and best known species of the group...
and mammoth
Mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct genus Mammuthus. These proboscideans are members of Elephantidae, the family of elephants and mammoths, and close relatives of modern elephants. They were often equipped with long curved tusks and, in northern species, a covering of long hair...
that were hunted by the preceding Paleo-Indians. Besides climate change, the large animals may have perished due to increased human population and their improved hunting techniques. By 6,000 BC two-thirds of all North American animals weighing more than 100 pounds were extinct and the bison antiquus
Bison antiquus
Bison antiquus, sometimes called the ancient bison, was the most common large herbivore of the North American continent for over ten thousand years, and is a direct ancestor of the living American bison....
was the only large animal to survive on the Great 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...
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About 5,000 BC Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
glacial
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
runoff affected Colorado Plateau
Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 km2 within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico,...
storm patterns which resulted in significant soil erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
. Between 2,500 and 2,000 BC there was significant soil build up. When the climate became too arid to produce sufficient food people relocated until the rate of precipitation increased. Over time there was an increase in drought-resistant plants and the plants that required regular watering did not survive. Woodlands of spruce and fir were replaced by juniper and pinyon trees in the northern Rio Grande valley. Further south, there were fewer juniper and pinyon trees. Both climatic changes resulted in human movement pattern changes to obtain food.
The Paleo-Indian had a straightforward movement pattern: follow and hunt the big animals. The Archaic individuals followed a new pattern called "making the seasonal rounds" where they moved to familiar places based upon the growing seasons of plants, their major source of food. In the spring, summer and early fall women harvested seeds, nuts, fruit, grasses, juniper berries
Juniper berry
A juniper berry is the female seed cone produced by the various species of junipers. It is not a true berry but a cone with unusually fleshy and merged scales, which give it a berry-like appearance. The cones from a handful of species, especially Juniperus communis, are used as a spice,...
and mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
beans. Any surplus food was stored for later use. Men hunted small game like rabbits using traps and snares. During the fall and winter men hunted deer, big horn sheep, bison and antelope with the 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...
and darts.
| 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... |
Goosefoot Chenopodium Chenopodium is a genus of about 150 species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classifications separate it and its relatives as Chenopodiaceae, but... |
Pinyon nuts | Ricegrass | 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... |
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| Seeds and grass | Seeds and greens | Nuts | Seeds | Fruit |
Although the number of people increased during the Archaic era, they traveled in small groups throughout the arid lowlands of juniper and sage to the moister climate of the pinyon forest about 6000 feet (1,828.8 m) in elevation. Different sets of 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 were found within a regional geographic area, made from local stone, an indication that Archaic people ranged across shorter expanses of land. Since they more fully utilized diverse plant and game resources within a region, they didn't need to travel as far to find food. The different shaped tools may have been used for people to identify themselves. The bands of people likely socialized with neighboring tribes, rather than people from distant lands.
Based upon the introduction of cultivation, new dwellings types and artifacts, it is believed that people from southern Arizona moved north and integrated with bands of people in the Colorado Plateau
Colorado Plateau
The Colorado Plateau, also called the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. The province covers an area of 337,000 km2 within western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico,...
. By the end of the period, some people cultivated food and became less mobile, but agriculture would not be consistently adopted until the 1st century AD in the Early Basketmaker II Era
Early Basketmaker II Era
The 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...
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Excavation of their campsites and rock shelters revealed that the Archaic-Early Basketmaker people made baskets, tools, gathered wild plants, and killed and processed game. Slab-lined storage cists, found both inside and outside of shelters, were used to store food which indicates a change from a totally nomadic lifestyle.
Basketmaker origin
The population of the Basketmaker people is likely not tied to one particular group of people, but reflective of the migration of agricultural people from the south and adoption of agriculture by local Archaic populations. For instance people on the Mogollon RimMogollon Rim
The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geological feature running across the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately from northern Yavapai County eastward to near the border with New Mexico.-Description:...
of New Mexico had cultivated 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...
and adopted a less transitory lifestyle before the Early Basketmaker people.
Projectile points, a basketry style known as "two rod and bundle", and other similarities existed between artifacts of the Early
Early Basketmaker II Era
The 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...
and Late Basketmaker II Era
Late Basketmaker II Era
The 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...
s and the San Pedro stage of the Cochise tradition
Cochise Tradition
The Cochise Tradition refers to the southern archeological tradition of the four Southwestern Archaic Traditions, in the present day Southwestern United States....
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To adopt the Basketmaker lifestyle, Archaic people would have adopted the cultivation of maize, a less mobile lifestyle and taken up residence in pit-houses. Other differences between the Archaic and Basketmaker cultures were the forms of basketry, symbols used in petroglyphs, burial practices and volume of traded items.
Shelters
Since the people of the Archaic-Early Basketmaker Era were nomadNomad
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...
ic hunter gatherers who roamed the Colorado Plateau to hunt game or gather seasonal wild plants, their homes were easily built. The bands of people generally inhabited rock alcoves or lived out in the open in brush shelters and lean-tos. The dwellings were made by digging a shallow basin and building a frame of wooden logs in the shape of a cone, dome or a tent. The frames were covered with brush and earthen daub that acted as sealant for protection against the elements. Rocks may have been placed around the base of the shelter or lean-to and fire pits were sometimes used inside the homes. The shallow-basined lodgings are considered a precursor to the Basketmaker
Basketmaker (culture)
The Basketmaker culture of the Ancient Pueblo People began about 1500 BC and continued until about AD 500 with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era...
pit-house
Pit-house
A pit-house is a dwelling dug into the ground which may also be layered with stone.These structures may be used as places to tell stories, dance, sing, celebrate, and store food. In archaeology, pit-houses are also termed sunken featured buildings and are found in numerous cultures around the world...
s.
In the summer, campsites were made at high elevations: on the top of mesas or ridges. They also had temporary campsites in the mountains, low mesas and ponds formed by spring runoff. Structures, built in the later part of this period, were built at lower elevation
Elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface ....
s. The shallow-basined lodgings are considered a precursor to the Basketmaker
Basketmaker (culture)
The Basketmaker culture of the Ancient Pueblo People began about 1500 BC and continued until about AD 500 with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era...
pit-house
Pit-house
A pit-house is a dwelling dug into the ground which may also be layered with stone.These structures may be used as places to tell stories, dance, sing, celebrate, and store food. In archaeology, pit-houses are also termed sunken featured buildings and are found in numerous cultures around the world...
s.
Material goods
Items found at the Archaic-Early Basketmaker sites include:- Stone scrapers, lithic scatters (tool-making debris), projectile pointProjectile pointIn 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, knives, milling tools and debris. - Crude manos and metateMetateA 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 wild nuts and seeds - Spears, atlatlAtlatlAn 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 darts - Snares
- Baskets
- Rope and sandals
- Clothing made of hides
- Animal (bighorn sheep, elk, deer) figurines made of twigs
- Bone and wooden artifactsArtifact (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"...
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Archaic-Early Basketmaker sites
- Chaco Canyon. More than 70 campsites are located within the Chaco CanyonChaco 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...
of New Mexico that span the period from 7000 to 1500 BC. One site is Atlatl Cave.
- Chinle valley. Lukachukai and Salina Springs in the Chinle Valley of northeastern Arizona are late Archaic-Early Basketmaker sites.
- Cove–Red valley area in New Mexico.
- LaPlata valley of northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado.
- Mesa Verde area. A domed Archaic shelter was found near Mesa VerdeMesa 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...
, Colorado.
- Navajo Mountain area. Dust Devil cave, dated about 6000 BC, is located on Navajo MountainNavajo MountainNavajo 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:...
in Arizona.
- Pecos area. There were five Archaic-Early Basketmaker sites found in the Pecos RiverPecos RiverThe headwaters of the Pecos River are located north of Pecos, New Mexico, United States, at an elevation of over 12,000 feet on the western slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County. The river flows for through the eastern portion of that state and neighboring Texas before it...
valley that were likely for hunting deer and gathering wild plants. Eight additonal hunting sites are located in the nearby mountains, devoid of wild plant gathering evidence. Three pit-houses were found from the latter years of the period. Sporadic sightings of projectile points and other artifacts were also found.
- Tohatchi Flats in New Mexico.
- Ute Mountain. Ute MountainUte MountainUte Mountain , is a peak within the Ute Mountains, a small mountain range in the southwestern corner of Colorado. It is on the northern edge of the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation. The Reservation forms the southwestern corner of the state and of Montezuma County.Nomenclature for this peak and its...
sites are classified by Hurley as late Archaic/Early Basketmaker, but the time period is from 500 BC–AD 100, perhaps more indicative of the degree of technology and culture capabilities than the time period.
Sites that may represent a transition to Basketmaker traditions:
- Upper Gunnison River basin. About 8,000 to 3,000 years before present (roughly 6,000 to 1,000 BC) inhabitants lived in dwellings and had storage systems similar to those of the Basketmaker IIBasketmaker (culture)The Basketmaker culture of the Ancient Pueblo People began about 1500 BC and continued until about AD 500 with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era...
and San Pedro phase of the Cochise TraditionCochise TraditionThe Cochise Tradition refers to the southern archeological tradition of the four Southwestern Archaic Traditions, in the present day Southwestern United States....
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- Yarmony House. Two pit-houses dated about 6140 to 6410 years before present (about 4000 BC) appear similar to BasketmakerBasketmaker (culture)The Basketmaker culture of the Ancient Pueblo People began about 1500 BC and continued until about AD 500 with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era...
pit-houses. One of the dwellings, set within a shallow basin, was 19.7 feet (6 m) in diameter with an 11 feet (3.4 m) antechamberAntechamberAn antechamber is a smaller room or vestibule serving as an entryway into a larger one. The word is formed of the Latin ante camera, meaning "room before"....
, or front room. Within the home were a fire pit, slab-lined storage cists, animal bones, and metateMetateA 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 and manos to grind wild food. The number of elk, deer, rabbit and other animal bones, and evidence that they were processed to extract bone marrow and grease, suggests that the site was used during the winter season or another period when food was scarce. The site is located in Eagle County, ColoradoEagle County, ColoradoEagle County is the thirteenth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado in the United States. The county is named for the Eagle River. The county population was 41,659 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is the Town of Eagle...
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