Oshara Tradition, the northern tradition of the

Picosa culture The Picosa culture encapsulates the Archaic lifestyles of people from three locations with interconnected artifacts and lifestyles. It was named by Cynthia Irwin-Williams in the 1960s for those areas: Pinto Basin (PI), Cochise tradition (CO) and ...

, was a

Southwestern Archaic tradition The Archaic Southwest was the culture of the North American Southwest between 6500 BC and 200 AD (approximately). Paleo-Indian era The Paleo-Indian tradition before that dates from 10,500 BC to 7500 BC. The Southwestern United States during the A ...

centered in the area now called

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Cynthia Irwin-Williams Cynthia Irwin-Williams (April 14, 1936 – June 15, 1990) was an archaeologist of the prehistoric American Southwest. She received a B.A. in Anthropology from Radcliffe College in 1957; the next year she received a M.A. in the same field. In 196 ...

developed the sequence of Archaic culture for Oshara during her work in the

Arroyo Cuervo Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arroyo ...

area of northwestern New Mexico. Irwin contends that the

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

developed, at least in part, from the Oshara.Stiger, Mark. (2008). ''Hunter-Gather Archaeology of the Colorado High Country.'' Boulder: The University Press of Colorado. p. 28. .

Phases

This sequence defines no fewer than six phases of occupation, each identified by

Projectile point In North American archaeological terminology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a weapon that was capable of being thrown or projected, such as a javelin, dart, or arrow. They are thus different from weapons presumed to have be ...

forms and other less well defined artifacts. :Jay phase (7,450 to 6,750 years before present) – Artifacts of hunter-gatherers, distinguished from earlier Paleo-Indians, and evidence suggests that people concentrated on hunting and gathering of locally available game and food, often living near canyon heads.Stiger, Mark. (2008). ''Hunter-Gather Archaeology of the Colorado High Country.'' Boulder: The University Press of Colorado. pp. 28-29. . Artifacts found include crude stone tools for processing food and long, narrow

projectile points In North American archaeological terminology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a weapon that was capable of being thrown or projected, such as a javelin, dart, or arrow. They are thus different from weapons presumed to have be ...

.Gibbon, Guy E., and Kenneth M. Ames. (1998). ''Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia.'' New York: Taylor and Francis. p. 798. . :Bajada phase (6,750 to 5,150 years BP) – Distinguished from the Jay phase by the presence of different

projectile point In North American archaeological terminology, a projectile point is an object that was hafted to a weapon that was capable of being thrown or projected, such as a javelin, dart, or arrow. They are thus different from weapons presumed to have be ...

s, different hearths, ovens, and more sites. :San Jose phase (6,750 to 3,750 years BP) –

Metate A metate (or mealing stone) is a type or variety of quern, a ground stone tool used for processing grain and seeds. In traditional Mesoamerican cultures, metates are typically used by women who would grind nixtamalized maize and other organic ma ...

s and manos were used to process food. There was an increase in both the size and number of sites during this period. Trash heaps were also now found. :Armijo phase (3,750 to 2,750 years BP) – Cultivation of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

began during this period which allowed for food surpluses. A new type of site was introduced, a seasonal site for gathering of up to 50 people, believed to be possible due to the stores of cultivated maize. Irwin-Williams concluded that the Oshara may have been the first Southwestern culture to cultivate crops.Gibbon, Guy E., and Kenneth M. Ames. (1998). Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia. New York: Taylor and Francis. p. 640. . Projectile points were different from the concave, short projectile points of other cultures of the northern

Colorado Plateau The Colorado Plateau, also known as the Colorado Plateau Province, is a physiographic and desert region of the Intermontane Plateaus, roughly centered on the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States. This province covers an area of ...

during this time, the Middle Archaic period. Late in the phase the points were serrated, stemmed blades. :En Medio phase (2,750 to 1,550 years BP) – During this period there was again an increase in the number of sites, but generally now at the base of cliffs, and the introduction of the use of storage pits for surplus food. It was roughly analogous to the southwestern

Basketmaker culture The Basketmaker culture of the pre-Ancestral Puebloans began about 1500 BC and continued until about AD 750 with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era. The prehistoric American southwestern culture was named "Basketmaker" for the large number of b ...

. :Trujillo phase (starting about 1,550 years BP) – Pottery was introduced during this period.

Sites

Oshara sites have been found near

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the Upper Gunnison River basin,Stiger, Mark. (2008). ''Hunter-Gather Archaeology of the Colorado High Country.'' Boulder: The University Press of Colorado. pp. 26, 28. . and the

Mesa Verde Mesa Verde National Park is an American national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. Established ...

area of

and in several sites in

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

.Gibbon, Guy E., and Kenneth M. Ames. (1998). Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia. New York: Taylor and Francis. p. 15. .

References

;Notes ;Citations

Bibliography

* *

Phases

Sites

References

Bibliography

See also