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
The earliest period represented at these sites is known as the
_Georgetown_. The estimated dates are from 500 to 700 A. D.[50] Some
archaeologists do not agree, and feel that 700 A. D. is the earliest
date which may be given for the first Mogollon settlements in New
Mexico.[99] During Georgetown times dwellings were small, roughly
circular, pit houses which were entered by inclined passageways. A fire
pit lay midway between the center of the room and the entrance. Roofs
were supported by a main pole in the center of the structure and
secondary poles along the walls. One larger pit house was found at
Harris Village which, it is thought, may have been used for ceremonial
purposes. It did not contain the deflector, sipapu, or benches which
characterize most Pueblo kivas. It differs from the Georgetown
domiciliary structures not only in size but in the greater length of the
entrance passage and the possession of a straight front wall.
Most pottery was undecorated. Only four sherds of painted pottery, which
consisted of a crude gray ware with broad red lines, were found. The
predominant types were a plain buff or brown ware and a polished red
ware such as were found at the SU site. A few of the former fall in the
category of textured pottery. This is pottery which has been embellished
through techniques, such as scoring, incising, or punching, which change
the character of the surface. There are no corrugated types in the early
Mogollon, but a few pieces have banded necks, or have been scored.
Textured pottery became increasingly common in later periods.
Metates were made of unshaped stone blocks and were basin-shaped.
Projectile points were short and broad stemmed. Large stemmed blades and
stemmed drills were also made. Pipes were made of clay. They were short
and were formed in one piece.
Little is known of the physical type of the people and their burial
customs, since only one grave has been found which may be attributed to
this period. This contained the skeleton of an adult male with a
slightly deformed skull who had been buried beneath the floor of a
Georgetown house at Starkweather Ruin.
THE SAN FRANCISCO PHASE
Following the Georgetown in New Mexico comes the _San Francisco_ stage
for which the dates 700 to 900 A.D. have been tentatively suggested.[50]
A few datable logs have been found in structures assigned to the latter
part of the period. The approximate age is given in round numbers with
the terminal date as 900, although two logs gave dates of 927. The
terminal date for the Georgetown and the beginning date for the San
Francisco stage are by no means firmly established.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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