OCR Text |
Show early date. If, as stated in a previous section, we postulated nomadic groups from the north as being a deciding factor in causing the abandonment of the San Juan region during the latter part of the thirteenth century, such pressure would have occurred still earlier in the areas to the north. Furthermore, the general precariousness of farming in this area may also have influenced the abandonment. All that can definitely be said is that after approximately 1100 A. D. we completely lose sight of these people. Where they went can only be conjectured. For the past several hundred years the nomadic Utes have been occupying a large part of the region. MODERN INDIAN TRIBES Although archeology is primarily concerned with the study of prehistoric peoples, one phase of this study lies in endeavoring to link these early peoples with the modern. Thus, the location, extent, and cultural achievements of present- day Indian tribes in this area are likewise of deep interest to the student of human history and efforts are made to trace these cultures back into the past. At the present time at least 15 different Indian tribes, representing five or more distinct linguistic groups, occupy various sections of the Colorado River Basin. From all indications most of these tribes have been in the area for hundreds of years, since the earliest Spanish records, dating back to the sixteenth century, show that members of practically all of these groups were encountered in the same general regions in which they are found today. In northern Arizona and western New Mexico the Hopi and Zuni Pueblo Indians still occupy villages in areas they and their ancestors, the prehistoric Indians who built cliff dwellings and multistoried mesa pueblos, have inhabited for almost the past 2,000 years. The same can be said for the Pima and Papago Indian tribes living today in the valleys of southern Arizona, tribes that are in all probability the descendants of the prehistoric Hohokam desert dwellers. Along the Lower Colorado River and its tributaries, in the territory formerly the seat of the Patayan Culture, occur the scattered remnants of the Yuman tribes, the Havasupai, Hualpai, Yavapai, Mohave, Maricopa, Yuma, and Cocopa, tribes that may be in part the living representatives of the prehistoric river peoples. The various foregoing modern Indian tribes all fall into the same general classification of sedentary peoples. To a greater or less degree all these groups are agriculturists, live in permanent villages, make pottery in abundance, and are skilled in the arts and crafts. Thus, the task of tracing their historic and prehistoric remains throughout the region is considerably simplified. However, turning our attention now to the present- day nomadic hunting and seed- gathering tribes - tribes that, strictly speaking, were not sedentary, were not agriculturists, and made relatively little pottery- efforts at tracing these peoples back into the past are infinitely more difficult. Archeological remains of these groups are very sparse and, consequently, much of their early history can only be postulated. It seems likely that, perhaps during the thirteenth century, bands of Athapascan- speaking peoples entered the Southwest, from the western plains or through the Great Basin, having come originally from western Canada where today dwell the main body of Athapascans. These bands spread in various directions over the Southwest and, after receiving accretions from the Pueblo . peoples and others, eventually became the modern Navajo of northern Arizona and New Mexico and the Apaches of eastern Arizona. These two tribes were mainly hunters and fighters, and agriculture and pottery making were only incidental features of their culture, developed after arrival in the Southwest under Pueblo influence. Our knowledge of the prehistory of the last of the nomadic tribes within the area- the Ute of western Colorado and Utah, and the Paiute of southern Utah and eastern Nevada - is limited. Relatives of these tribes have been in adjacent areas in the Great Basin for centuries, and it is highly probable that these two groups entered the Colorado River Basin at some remote time during the prehistoric period. It is evident from the foregoing that a great deal of work remains to be accomplished on the study of these modern Indian tribes, particularly the various nomadic groups, before the essential framework of their cultural past is clearly defined. Villages and camp sites of the historic period, that is, since 1540 99 |