GENERAL REMARKS
Writing about the Mogollon [Culture] is rather like dealing with a time bomb. It is impossible to ignore it, but one has the uncomfortable feeling that whatever one does about it is likely to be wrong. In the relatively few years which have elapsed since it was first suggested that it was a separate entity[89] and not just a regional variation of the Basketmaker-Pueblo pattern, there have come to be many theories.[102] Many archaeologists are convinced that it must be given the status of a [basic culture] comparable to that given to the Anasazi and the Hohokam,[50][84] but there are some who feel that it should be regarded as a variant of the Anasazi, and others who consider it the result of an early fusion of Anasazi and Hohokam.[99] Unfortunately, too few sites have been excavated to evaluate fully all the conflicting theories. It has been said that “The Mogollon appears to be an illegitimate whose paternity is still under scrutiny.”[1]
We do know that a group of people lived in west-central New Mexico and east-central Arizona who were largely contemporaneous with the Anasazi and the Hohokam and shared some traits with both cultures, particularly the former. At least during the earliest periods, however, they had a [culture] distinctive enough to cause many archaeologists to feel that it is impossible to equate them with any other group.
Although the origins of the Mogollon are still shrouded in mystery, one likely theory, which has been advanced by those who favor the belief that the Mogollon is a [basic culture], is that the Mogollon people may be descendants of the eastern branch of the ancient food gatherers of the Cochise [Culture].[54] Their stone work is similar, and, while the earliest Mogollon people did practice agriculture and hunting, they too seem to have had an economy based to a great extent on the gathering of wild plant foods. Apart from the problem of origins, there is the further consideration of determining to what extent the early Mogollon people were influenced by other people and to what extent they influenced others. This is one of the most important questions with which Southwestern archaeologists are struggling today.
Much further work will be necessary before even a partially satisfactory answer is found. For the present, there are a few facts and innumerable conjectures. In a publication of this nature, all that may be attempted is to outline the available factual material and indicate some of the theories to which it has given rise.
Fig. 54—Map of the Southwest showing sites referred to in Chapter V.
1. Bear Ruin 2. Cameron Creek Village 3. Galaz Ruin 4. Harris Village 5. Mattocks Ruin 6. Mogollon Village 7. Starkweather Ruin 8. SU site 9. Swarts Ruin
The name assigned to the [culture] was derived from the Mogollon range of mountains which lies in the district in which many of the chief ruins have been found. The principal sites which have been excavated lie in the valleys of the San Francisco and Mimbres rivers in west-central New Mexico, in the Forestdale Valley of Arizona, and in southeastern Arizona. It is probable that, as further work is done, the geographical range of the [culture] may be further increased. The area in which Mogollon remains have already been found is a large one, equally as extensive as the Basketmaker. Proponents of the theory that the Mogollon is a [basic culture] point out that it is an important fact that it has geographic substance.[59]
It would be pleasant to be able to divide the Mogollon into clear-cut periods with established dates and full lists of the traits which characterize each stage. Unfortunately, this cannot be done. It has been possible to determine, in a general way, the stages of cultural development in certain sites in New Mexico where there was some degree of uniformity. In other areas, however, conditions were different, and it is impossible to say that at any given time all the Mogollon people had the identical type of [culture], although there are enough points of similarity to permit us to assign them all to the same general group. It seems probable that, as further work is done, separate regional chronologies will be worked out as has been done for the Pueblo sequence where we recognize significant differences between cultural centers such as Chaco, Mesa Verde, and Kayenta.[59] For the present these regional variations add to the complexity of the problem. A further complication arises from the fact that even those who recognize the Mogollon as a [basic culture] feel that it is only during the earliest times that they are dealing with a relatively pure culture, and that after 700 or 800 A. D. the Mogollon Culture was beginning to be assimilated by the Anasazi, and that there were also Hohokam influences.
Dates for Mogollon sites are very difficult to determine, for only a few tree-ring dates are available. One find tends to suggest a considerable antiquity for the [culture]. At Snaketown, in the earliest Pioneer level, was found a polished red ware, which, through petrographic analysis, has been shown to contain materials not used at Snaketown, but identical with those of wares from Mogollon sites.[31]d This pottery is better made than the early Hohokam pottery and would suggest that the Mogollon people had been making pottery for some time prior to the beginning of the Christian era. Another possibility which has been suggested is that both they and the Hohokam obtained pottery from some other source which has not yet been identified.[99]
BLUFF RUIN[58]
The earliest dendrochronologically dated Mogollon site yet found lies in the Forestdale Valley of Arizona. Tree-rings indicate that it was occupied about 300 A. D. As far as it is possible to judge on the basis of the very meager information available in publications at this time, the people who lived at this site, which is known as Bluff Ruin, had a very simple [culture]. They lived in round pit houses which were entered through the side. The little pottery which has been found is plain brown ware.
THE PINE LAWN [PHASE][84][85]
At present the Mogollon in New Mexico is divided into four periods. To the first has been assigned the name Pine Lawn [Phase]. It is known only from one location, the SU site which lies about seven miles west of Reserve, New Mexico. The site name was taken from a local cattle brand. No wood suitable for dating has been found, so it has been necessary to estimate the time of occupation on typological evidence. On this basis, it is thought that the SU site was inhabited prior to 500 A. D.
Most of the inhabitants of the SU site lived in very shallow pit houses. These were so irregular in shape, and there was such variation in size and construction, that it has been suggested that the indications are that house building was a relatively new [trait]. The greater number of the pit houses were entered by inclined passageways opening to the east. There were no deflectors such as are found in Basketmaker houses.
A few surface houses with wattle-and-daub walls have also been found. They are similarly irregular in shape and size. House floors, both in pit and surface structures, contained pits. There were usually several of these and in one case as many as eight. The largest were over three feet in diameter. Most were empty, and it is thought that they served as storage spaces, but a few contained burned stones and bones and may have been used for cooking. Few houses contained fire pits such as are normally found in Anasazi dwellings.
Pottery consisted of three undecorated wares which, like all early Mogollon pottery, were produced by a coiling and scraping technique and fired in an [oxidizing atmosphere]. Included are a burnished buff to reddish-brown ware, a thick unpolished brown, and a polished red. All were made of the same type of clay and this argues against the polished red pottery having been of foreign manufacture as has sometimes been suggested.
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]
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.
There are such distinct changes between Georgetown and San Francisco times, particularly as regards architecture, that an intervening period has been postulated. Excavations in Arizona are thought to provide evidence to substantiate this belief, but there are as yet no published accounts. It has also been suggested that the marked changes were due to outside influences, possibly both Anasazi and Hohokam. Still another theory advanced to account for the architectural changes at the beginning of the San Francisco stage is that the [culture] was modified by the addition of a Colonial Hohokam house type.[99] It is generally agreed that after about 700 or 800 A.D. the Mogollon was a highly mixed culture, but there are many questions which cannot be answered until more evidence is available. Whatever the explanation, many culture traits, notably house types, did change.
Fig. 55—Postulated reconstructions of the dwelling units of the three Mogollon phases represented by the houses in the Harris Village. (After Haury.[50] Courtesy Gila Pueblo.) a. Georgetown.
b. San Francisco.
c. Three Circle.
The small, roughly circular houses were replaced by deep rectangular pit houses with roofs supported by a main center pole and auxiliary poles along the long axis. Most had side entrances, but in some cases the entrance was through the roof. Some of the wood taken from these houses has yielded tree-ring dates. At Mogollon Village four houses, believed to have been occupied at the close of the period, contained datable logs. The dates fell between 896 and 908 A.D. At Starkweather Ruin, a house attributed to the San Francisco [phase] yielded two logs with dates of 927 A.D.
In addition to the domiciliary structures, there were larger houses thought to have been of a ceremonial nature. These were kidney-shaped as a result of the drawing in of the sides at the entrance. They did not have ventilators. Storage pits were rare in houses but occurred frequently between the structures. They were usually undercut, so that they were wider at the bottom than at the top.
The same pottery types found in the Georgetown [phase] continued to be made and red-on-brown and red-on-white painted wares were also produced. Textured pottery increased in importance and included banded, punched, and scored forms.
Basin-shaped metates persisted, but there were also troughed forms, closed at one end. Grooved mauls are found in San Francisco levels. Grooved axes are not found in all sites, but some were obtained from the San Francisco [horizon] at Starkweather Ruin. Other stone work included broad-bladed hoes, roughly shaped stone vessels and both long and short pipes. Projectile points, blades, and drills were like the earlier types. A distinctive implement, and an important feature of the Mogollon [culture], was a form of bone awl with a notch cut a short distance below the head. Shell work was rare, but a few beads and bracelets made of this material have been found.
Graves are usually found scattered between the structures, although at Starkweather Ruin two adult burials were found below a house floor. Offerings were scarce, but in some cases vessels were broken and the pieces scattered in the grave. This foreshadows the practice of “ceremonial killing” of pottery which became so marked later. It is believed that this was done to permit the release of the spirit or soul of the pottery. While inhumation was the chief method of disposing of the dead, cremation was practiced in a very few cases and the ashes and unconsumed bones placed in pits. This [trait] may have been derived from the Hohokam to the west. A study of the skeletal remains indicate that the people had relatively low, broad heads and did not practice deformation.
BEAR RUIN[53]
In the seventh and eighth centuries another site of great interest was occupied in east-central Arizona. This site, which is known as the Bear Ruin, lies in the Forestdale Valley some eight miles south of Showlow. Tree-ring dates were obtained from three beams. The dates fall in the middle of the seventh century. These logs may have been cut at any time during the building period, however, and it is only through finding pottery of known age that archaeologists have arrived at the dates of 600 to 800 A.D. for the estimated age of occupation.
Bear Ruin is important because it shows hybridizing and blending of Mogollon and Anasazi traits. Probably the Mogollon was the original [culture] on which were superimposed certain Anasazi traits. Eventually the former is thought to have been so completely overlaid by the latter as to practically disappear, not only here, but also in other parts of the territory.
The people who lived in Bear Ruin, in the days when it was not a ruin but an inhabited village, were equally dependent on hunting and agriculture. They lived both in round and rectangular pit houses. Seventeen of these have been excavated, and it is thought that this may represent about fifty per cent of the village.
Most of the houses resemble those of the Anasazi area, yet some are like Mogollon houses and others show a combination of Anasazi and Mogollon elements. None contained either masonry or slab linings. A large [kiva] was found on the outskirts of the village. It contained a grooved trench, dug into the floor, which, it is thought, may have provided a fastening for the lower beams of looms.
Cooking was apparently done over large rock hearths in and about the houses. The technique employed may have been to fill pits with rocks which were then heated. Food wrapped in some insulating material, such as grass, was then placed in the pit and covered with hot rocks topped with earth. This [trait] is one of those which, it has been suggested, may have been derived from the ancient Cochise people.
The Bear Ruin people did not make any painted pottery, but this must have been a matter of choice, for they were familiar with the painted wares of the Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam, which they imported. A great percentage of the indigenous pottery was the plain buff to reddish-brown ware so plentiful in all early Mogollon sites. One distinctive type of pottery found in the Forestdale Valley is characterized by a black interior and a brown or reddish-brown exterior marked by black fire clouds. These clouds or smudges are the result of pottery coming in contact with fuel during the firing process. Another Forestdale type is a gray to light-brown ware which may represent a fusion of Basketmaker gray ware and Mogollon buff ware. A third is a red-brown pottery mottled by fire clouds.
The dead were buried in shallow pits scattered throughout the village. Bodies usually lay on the back in a semi-flexed position with the heads to the northeast. Most of the graves contained mortuary offerings, usually pottery. One child was found buried with seventeen vessels. Nine of these were miniatures and were possibly his toys. Due to soil conditions, bones were poorly preserved. What evidence could be obtained from them indicates the presence of a mixed population, such as would be expected on the basis of the mixture of traits shown in the material [culture].
THE THREE CIRCLE [PHASE]
In New Mexico further changes took place during the Three Circle stage which followed the San Francisco. Pit houses were somewhat smaller and shallower and were all rectangular and often stone-lined. Roofs were usually supported by four main posts placed near the corners. Sometimes the supports were incorporated in the wall. In some cases, the side entrances were short and sometimes started with a step. Besides the domestic structures, there were also larger rectangular pit houses with long inclined entrances which are thought to have been of a ceremonial nature.
Troughed metates entirely replaced the basin-shaped variety. Manos were shaped and four-sided in form. Axes were sometimes notched and sometimes grooved for hafting. Stone vessels were still simple, but were sometimes ornamented with [incised] patterns. Serrations on both edges characterized the arrow points which were long and narrow-stemmed. Stone palettes appear in this [horizon]. They may have been inspired or introduced by the Hohokam, or they may have evolved from the simple paint grinding stones such as those found in the SU site. Stone pipes and short clay pipes with fitted stems have been found.
With the exception of red-on-brown pottery, wares already described continued to be made. A black-on-white pottery, which apparently shows a Pueblo influence from the north, was added to the assemblage. Textured pottery became more important.
Shell was widely used as a material, although only a few species were represented. Olivella shells and double-lobed pieces of cut shell were used as beads. Thin bracelets were made of glycymeris shell. Some beads were tubular forms made of bone. Others were made from hackberry seeds, and one infant was found buried with hundreds of these.
In general, burials were like those of the preceding period. Cremations continued to be very rare.
THE MIMBRES [PHASE]
More and more the Mogollon people were affected by outside cultural influences. By about 950 or 1000 A.D. their [culture] had been so greatly altered and was submerged to such an extent that the resulting blend may be considered a new entity and given another name. This [phase] or culture is called the Mimbres. It was named after the Mimbres River, for this valley seems to represent the focal point of the culture. The greatest development centers in Grant County, New Mexico, where excavated sites include the Swarts Ruin,[21] the Mattocks Ruin,[98] the Galaz Ruin,[8] and Cameron Creek Village.[6]
In these sites is found evidence of rapid changes in the construction of dwellings. The earliest houses were Mogollon-type pit houses, sometimes slab-lined. These were followed by semi-subterranean and single surface houses with rubble masonry. In the latest stage, houses were built entirely above the surface. They were one-story pueblolike buildings consisting of clusters of rooms. In some cases there were no more than five rooms, in others there were more than fifty. The larger structures sometimes had inner courts or plazas and at Swarts Ruin, where there are two big houses, there was a large dance [plaza] between the two buildings. Walls were built of masonry, often made of river boulders. Roofs were made of beams covered with brush, grass, reeds, and adobe. Some contained trap-doors, covered with stone slabs, which provided a means of entrance. In one architecturally advanced building there were windows. In the rooms were fireplaces and rock-walled storage bins. Kivas were rectangular, underground chambers.
One interesting [trait] of the Mimbreños was the practice of burying the dead under the house floors, although the houses continued to be occupied. In one room a total of thirty-two, sub-floor burials were found. Although this practice was the most common one, it was not always followed, for there were some burials outside of the houses and in the fill of unoccupied rooms, and a few cremations have been found.
Archaeologists are very grateful to the ancient Mimbres people for their habit of burying pots with the dead, for it is to this that we owe our knowledge of some of the most beautiful and interesting pottery that has ever been made. A few old people and children were buried without offerings, but most bodies had one or more bowls placed over the head. Metates and manos were also often placed in women’s graves, and there was some jewelry. One interesting feature of burial pottery, apart from the magnificent skill which went into its decoration, was the presence of a hole, usually punched into the pot with a sharp instrument, or sometimes drilled. It is believed that this was done to release the spirit or soul of the vessel which was thought to be a part of the maker. The ceremonial killing of pottery probably took place at the grave, for the piece knocked out of a pot is often found associated with it in the burial. Metates were often similarly treated.
The plain burnished-buff and polished-red wares of the Mogollon continued to be made, but black-on-white pottery assumed the greatest importance, and fine corrugated cooking ware began to be produced. There is also some polychrome ware with red and black designs on a white background. It was in the field of black-on-white ware that the ancient Mimbreños reached an artistic peak which has seldom, if ever, been surpassed in the medium of pottery. The black-on-white color combination at once suggests Pueblo influence. Certain design elements are reminiscent of the Hohokam, however.
Bowls were the usual shape. Designs were sometimes positive, sometimes negative. They were of two types, geometric and naturalistic. Both are equally remarkable. The geometric designs are very beautiful and are characterized by an extraordinary sureness of touch which is revealed by the accuracy of spacing and the precision of line. In one case, for example, twenty-seven parallel lines are to be found in a band less than two inches in width. The bowls with naturalistic designs show the same fine sense of composition. Some depict charming, surrealist creatures which Dali might be proud to claim, but others are quite realistic. The forms shown include birds, insects, quadrupeds, fish, and human beings.
From these we can gather certain clues to help us reconstruct something of the way of life of the people who painted them. Turkeys were among the birds most commonly represented, but a lack of turkey bones in the refuse heaps suggests that they were not used for food. Remains of fish, which are also commonly represented, have not been found, but this may, of course, be due to the fragility of their bones. Most useful are the designs showing human beings. There are some narrative scenes which show such activities as men fighting bears, setting snares, dancing, and picking bugs from corn plants. From pictures of people, we may learn something of the clothing which was worn. Men are shown wearing breech cloths. Women are sometimes represented wearing a fringed sash and sandals. Some are shown wearing blankets which extend below the waist and with fringed sashes hanging down in back. Their hair was worn in whorls on the side, much like the present head dress of unmarried Hopi girls. We know from burials that skull deformation was widely practiced, and this adds to our knowledge of the appearance of the people. Jewelry was rather widely worn. It is shown on human figures painted on bowls, and examples are found in graves. Beads were made of stone and shell. Turquoise was used in the manufacture of beads, in inlaying, and in making pendants which were worn as ear bobs. There were many bracelets and carved pendants of shell.
Fig. 56—Mimbres black-on-white pottery. Note hole in center of upper bowl which shows that the vessel has been “killed.” (Courtesy School of American Research.)
Stone implements include grooved axes, hoes, large knives, projectile points, and manos and troughed metates. Some interesting artifacts are mortars and pestles believed to have been used for crushing nuts and seeds. Some mortars were holes dug into rock outcrops and boulders. A considerable number of palettes have been found. Bone was widely used in the manufacture of awls. Some of these have decorated heads carved in the form of mountain sheep.
During the twelfth century the Mimbres people left their old haunts. The [culture] may have persisted for some time in some of the outlying districts to the south but the main area was left unoccupied. During Regressive-Pueblo times it was inhabited for a time by Pueblo people, but there were no occupied villages at the time of Coronado. Why the Mimbreños deserted this fertile valley, we do not know. There is no evidence of warfare and no sign of a hurried departure. When the people moved they must have had time to gather their belongings together and take them with them, for only heavy stone artifacts were left behind. We do not know where these people went after leaving the Mimbres Valley. The best guess seems to be that they moved south into Mexico where they were assimilated and absorbed by other groups, and that they lost their identity among the people of Chihuahua.