The First New Mexicans

1. The First New Mexicans

2. First New Mexicans • Big game Hunters (Clovis and Folsom) • Desert Dwellers (Mogollon and Anasazi)

3. Migration • 12,000 to 8,000 Years ago Nomadic Tribes, following herds of Giant Bison and Mammoth crossed the land bridge from Siberia into North America • A Land Bridge was formed when the Ice Age caused the the sea level to drop 300 ft. • These nomadic tribes crossed the land bridge and continued to spread throughout North and South America.

4. Clovis culture is the oldest in New Mexico. Named after a spear point found near Clovis NM Little is known about Clovis Culture except they were big game hunters who hunted Giant mammoth, Musk Ox, sloth and wide-horned ox. Folsom Culture 1908 George McJunkin a cowboy and former slave discovered Bison Bones in a wash after a hard rain near Folsom, NM. In the Bone was a spear point. 1928 Archeologists begin to dig the site. They found more bones and more spear points Using carbon-14 dating scientist have determined that both cultures lived around 10,000 BC Clovis and Folsom Cultures

6. Big Game Hunters continued to live in NM until the Big game was gone. The end of the Ice Age change NM Climate from a grassland to desert. Hunters moved on to the Great Plains to continue their nomadic ways hunting smaller game like buffalo. Desert Dwellers People who stayed behind moved into western NM. 3 Stages of development Big Game Hunters Out,Desert Dwellers In

7. 1st Stage Desert Dwellers • 8,000 to 5,000 years ago • Hunted deer, antelope, rodents; fished and gathered seeds, nuts and berries.

8. 2nd Stage Desert Dwellers • 5,000 to 2,000 Years ago. • Incorporated farming into life style after noticing that seeds left behind in a certain place had grown into plants the following year. • Continued to move around but intentionally left seed behind so ther would be food when they came back the next Year

9. Basket and Milling Stone • Desert Dwellers used baskets to gather, store, and even cook food • Milling Stones were used to grind seeds into flour.

10. Sedentary Desert DwellersMogollon and Anasazi

11. Mogollon • As early as 3,000 BC ancestors of the Mogollon began growing corn. • By 300 BC mogollon became true farmers growing corn, squash, and beans. • The culture reached its peak about AD 500.

12. Anasazi • “The Ancient Ones” or “enemies of our ancestors” • Developed more slowly than Mogollon.

13. Early Anasazi • AD 1 - 500 • Basketmakers (no pottery) • Used Atlatl (for Hunting) • Domesticated Dogs

14. Modified Basketmaker Anasazi • AD 500-700 • Began Farming corn, squash, and beans. • Lived in Pit houses • Pottery • Bow and Arrow

15. Anasazi Pueblo Culture • AD 700-1050 • Begin to build rows of adobe houses above ground sometimes in the shape of an L or U • At the center was a Kiva or religious center. • Matrilineal Culture • Polish skills in pottery making. • Weaving cotton to make summer clothing • Cradle boards = flat head. Within a few generations the physical appearance of Anasazi changed as a result of the cradle board.

16. The Golden Age of the Anasazi • AD 1050-1300 • Became the dominant culture of the area. • Used stone masonry to build multistoried Buildings. • Cliff Dwellings • Complex water control systems and roads

19. What Happened? • Anasazi culture abruptly ends about AD 1300. • 1276 drought hit the area • Wars with neighboring tribes • Civil war • Anasazi assimilated into nearby Pueblo tribes.