Scientists hav found new evidence that suggests that the Pueblo Indians may have traveled much farther south than previously thought. Origionally it was thought that they all settled in northern Arizona and northern New Mexico, but it now appears that they may have migrated all the way to the Rio Grand River. This belief is based on the similarities between the ruins at three sites: Gallinas Springs, Pinnacle Ruin and Palomas Creek. Another striking similarity is that all three of these sites were inhabited right after 1300 AD coinciding with the abandonment of the Pueblo Four Corners area. The exact reason for the abandonment of the Four Corners region. There are, however, may theories to explain the region’s abandonment. These theories range from conflict with neighboring tribes to a few decades of famine forcing migration.

*Anasazi is another name for Pueblo that was given to them by the Navajo. It ment enemy of the Navajo people.  

Evidence of the Mesa Verde, or Pueblo, culture can be found in the construction and pottery of these three sites. Mesa Verde culture is coined for its black on white pottery.

To view a video about modern Pueblo black on white pottery click here. 

*Zuni is one of the groups of Pueblo Indians that migrated south after AD 1300.

Pinnacle Ruin was the site located 250 miles away from the Four Corners region. Two hundred rooms at Pinnacle Ruin show signs of Pueblo habitation.

The Pueblo Indians have numerous clans which are determined matrilineally.

Source: Science Daily

              Wikipedia

New evidence suggests that the Hohokam indians who inhabited the four corners region may have lived as far west as the shore of southern California coast. This evidence points to the Patayan indians actually being part of Hohokam society. 

 The Hohokam indians had the most developed irrigation system in the New World, not suprizing concidering the dry conditions that span from the Four Corners region to Death Valley in California. As a result of studying obsidean an projectile points Steven Shackley at the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley has determined that the Hohokam indians inhabited a large region from the Four Corners in Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico as far south as Mexico. He now believes that in addition to this area the Hohoham indians may have moved as far west as California. This would redefine the ansecstry of many Native Americans who decendend from this area in California. This map represents the area that was previously thought to be the extent of the Hohokam polity. The Hohokam indians were a heterogenous polity where one identity was given to many different cultural groups. The Hohokam indians had many different languages and traditions, but identified as one possible due to the need for an organized irrigation system in this region. Shackley’s research is based on trade patterns that can be seen through obsidean and projectile points. You can recognize a society by their method of creating points, but the best way to document trade is through obsidean. This is because obsidean has a chemical makeup unique to the site where it was found. This is because obsidean is produced from magma runoff. You can trace a peice of obsidean back to its origional location, and you can also match it to other obsidean from other indian societies. This can give a trail of trade that leads you back to the origin of the obsidean.

To view a video about eastern California obsidean click here.

The Hohokam indians had a trade network of at least 50,000 square miles.  The biggest indicator that the Patayan people were actually Hohokam is found in the style of their projectile points which are identical to Hohokam points. Another factor is that they have an extremely similar culture including burial practices. This is an example of Hohokam art.

Source: Science Daily

Researchers at Texas A&M have made discoveries in the Texas foothills that may have an  impact on Native American history. Work done at the Gault site field school  may have uncovered the largest Clovis site currenly known in America. Clovis is a term depicting the earliest known American inhabitants living 11,500 to 11,000 years ago. The term clovis is derived from the Clovis point that is unique to this group of humans. The first Clovis point was found in Clovis, New Mexico, which is where it was given its name. This site is unique because it was inhabited year after year, which is not common for these huner-gathereer peoples. Many Clovis sites are only used once, and even this site was not a permanent habitation site. This site shows at least five layers of habitation. this site may have been returned to year after year because of its position near springs. The Clovis culture lasted from two hundred to eight hundred years, and began at the end of the last ice age. These people were the ancestors of all of the indians which inhabited north and south America. This image depicts the possible migration of the Clovis people into South America. Many Clovis points are discovered inside the remains of ice age animals. Bifacial percussion flaking, meaning both the ventral and dorsal side of the flint flake have been shaped, is a trait of clovis points. This is done by taking a bone and striking the flint many times creating a sharp edge. Signs of pressure flaking is also found on many Clovis points. Pressure flaking is done simply by applying pressure to a peice of flint until it breaks, often with an antler or bone. Clovis points are characterized  by the dip near the distal end of the point. It is thought that this may have been used to fasten to point to a stick.

To view an example of percussion flaking click here.

Source: Science Daily

               Wikipedia

Food burned on to an ancient bowl may hold the key to the origins of the Iroquois Indians.

About one thousand years ago the Iroquois Indians of the modern day New York area gave up their hunter gatherer ways to find more permanent settlements.  

At this time they moved into Long house, which are what many people think of when they picture the Iroquois people. Many people believe that the Iroquois Indians developed from a culture known as Point Peninsula , rather than having been their own cultural entity that developed separate from the Point Peninsula culture. They key to this lies in the corn that the Iroquois Indians cultivated. Corn is not native to New York . To find corn residue was not an easy task concidering that most pots in museums are thoroughly washed prior to display. Another issue with the recovery of this residue is that it is very destructive to obtain samples. Luckily a researcher named Schulenberg, a Ph. D. candidate found a private collector who never washed the pots that he collected. All of his artifacts were from the same site as well. After examination of these specimens it was determined that the site was occupied by both the Iroquois Indians and the Point Peninsula people seasonally. No corn was found on any of the pottery at this site. This may have been due to the fact that the site was only seasonally occupied. Though this may not seem like a discovery it does show that corn cultivation was not a pressuring factor in the permanent settlement of the Iroquois Indians.

To view a video containing more information about the Iroquois people click here

Source: Science Daily

It is the thought of most anthropologists that man first walked across Beringia about twelve thousand years ago. This group of individuals would be the first Homo sapiens to set foot in the New World . Based on new scientific discoveries of humans inhabiting South America prior to one thousand three hundred years ago there is new speculation as to the method of travel of the first American inhabitants. This new evidence is a site called Monte Verde in Chile that dates to twelve thousand five hundred years ago. It is now proposed that travelers may have sailed down America ’s west coast twenty five thousand years ago. It would have been impossible to reach America any other way during this time due to the glacier blocking Beringia, which lasted until twelve thousand years ago. This is not the first time that a site has been dated as older than twelve thousand years ago. All of these other sites have been found to have been dated inacurratly. If this site is dated as inaccurate than the theory of prehistoric boat travel to the new world will be proven untrue.

To view a video of the ice cap melting click here 

Source: Science  Daily