Prehistoric Indians of the SouthwestWormington, H. M. (Hannah Marie)
History
Prehistoric Indians of the Southwest
Wormington, H. M. (Hannah Marie)
Indians of North America -- Southwest, New -- Antiquities; Southwest, New -- Antiquities
Stone and bone artifacts were not very carefully worked, and many
materials seem to have been utilized without much modification. Stone
tools and implements strongly resemble ancient Cochise specimens. Many
grinding stones were found and quite a number of them were basin-shaped
types such as were used in the preparation of wild plant foods. There
were some simple paint-grinding stones. Little unworked bone was found
and this bears out the theory that no great amount of hunting was done.
Worked specimens were largely made from the long bones of deer. They
include pinlike objects and awls. Some of the latter had notches cut in
the side.
A total of forty-six burials has been uncovered. Some bodies were buried
outside of the houses and some within the walls. These were usually
flexed and most of them had been placed in pits. Only a few artifacts
were found with the skeletons, and it appears that the practice of
burying offerings with the dead was not well established. The skeletons
were poorly preserved and have not yielded much information. Deformation
of the skull was rare, and, when present, was very slight. It has been
suggested that the poor condition of the bones, as compared with animal
bones from the same site, may reflect deficiencies in the people’s diet.
The succeeding periods have been found best represented at Mogollon
Village,[50] about ten miles north of Glenwood, New Mexico; at Harris
Village,[50] a quarter of a mile east of Mimbres, New Mexico; and at
Starkweather Ruin,[99] three and a half miles west of Reserve, New
Mexico.
The excavation of these sites has yielded evidence of occupation by
prehistoric people who practiced agriculture but who were more dependent
on hunting than their neighbors to the north and west. Corn was
cultivated, but there is no evidence of beans or squash. They used the
atlatl or dart-thrower, as well as the bow and arrow. There is no
evidence that turkeys were domesticated, although bone remains indicate
that they were hunted.
THE GEORGETOWN PHASE
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