Largo artifacts, a. pointed-bottomed pot, b. axe, c. arrow-shaft smoother. (Courtesy Laboratory of Anthropology.)
Black-on-white pottery, which was Puebloan in character, was made, but most of the utility ware was unlike anything made elsewhere by the Anasazi. These vessels had pointed bottoms and were decorated with fillets at the rim or just below. They were not scraped, but were smoothed by holding a mushroom-shaped object inside the vessel, while it was still plastic, and striking the exterior with a wooden paddle. This is known as the [paddle-and-anvil] technique. These vessels resemble Woodland pottery from the eastern United States and Navajo cooking pots.
Other distinctive artifacts included axes of a triple-notched type which required a T-shaped hafting, arrow-shaft smoothers, and elbow-shaped pipes. The smoothers are large pieces of fine grained rock with deep grooves in which arrow shafts were rubbed in the process of shaping them. On the bowls of the pipes were two little leglike projections which served to provide a base when they were not in use. There was an extensive use of antler.
To the east of the Largo country and on the other side of the continental divide are found similar sites which represent the same [culture]. This [phase] has been called the Gallina.[63] Both phases are often considered together and referred to as the Largo-Gallina.
In the Gallina country there is the same combination of pit houses and surface structures as in the Largo sites. Most sites are in good defensive positions, but this is not true of all of them. Sites usually consist of three or four house units grouped together, although single houses also have been found. Most of these dwellings are towerlike structures, square in outline but with rounded corners. They range from eighteen to twenty feet in diameter and have walls still standing to a height of from twelve to seventeen feet. These walls were extraordinarily massive, being in some cases as much as six feet thick. House interiors were characterized by flagstone floors and the wide use of storage bins with sandstone covers. The bins were usually on the south side. In most houses, there was an adobe bench encircling the northern part of the room. Fine murals had been painted above the bench in one house. On the whole, these structures resemble square kivas to which bins have been added, although they were used as homes and not as ceremonial chambers. Roofs consisted of a pole and adobe foundation with flagstones providing a shingled effect. Entrance appears to have been through the roof which, due to the great height of the buildings, must have been reached by ladders or platforms. In addition to the towerlike buildings there are also pit houses which are found in conjunction with them.
Anasazi traits include twilled yucca sandals, coiled basketry, feather-cloth, twined-bags, and black-on-white pottery. Axes, shaft-smoothers, and pipes, resemble those found in Largo sites and the cooking pots with the pointed bottoms are the same. Chisel-like objects made of deer and elk antler and unusual stone knives were also found. The latter were leaf-shaped blades with notches in the sides close to the center. One end was pointed and the other somewhat blunted. It is the latter end which seems to have been used while the pointed end was hafted.
In general, the Largo-Gallina seems to be a Pueblo [phase], probably derived from the Rosa phase[41] of the Governador area, which was subjected to foreign influences, probably from the north. Similarities between Largo-Gallina and Navajo utility vessels may indicate some relationship.
Athapaskan People
We may next consider the problem of the Navajos and Apaches who figured so prominently in Southwestern history. They are relative newcomers in the area and it is only within recent years that they have stirred the interest of many archaeologists, although the Navajos have been literally haunted by ethnologists for a long time.
Both Navajos and Apaches speak dialects of the Athapaskan language which is spoken by many groups in northwestern Canada. At some time in the relatively recent past, groups of Athapaskan-speaking people left their northern homeland and drifted southward, some going along the coast and others wandering farther east. Some reached the Southwest and the descendants of these migrants are the Indians whom we know as Navajos and Apaches.